If you don't know Jon your life is less than it could be. He's a rare and inspiring individual and he impresses me.

I won't bore you with an unauthorized biography...just a few highlights.

He's British...or is it English...I don't know...he's from across the pond. His accent adds to his charm...fortunately :-)

He's THE dude that got team Checkpoint Zero/Inov-8 off the ground in...I forget the year...back in the day.

I'd met Jon once prior to the one conversation we had about forming a team (which is all it took)...in the kitchen at HQ at the NGAR...if you don't know what that stands for you're a newbie...and we hit it off.

I'm pretty sure Jon hits it off with everyone he meets...he's that kind of guy.

Despite what you may be thinking this post is not an ode...and I don't have a man crush...there's no bromance to whisper about.

Jon stepped back from the front lines of team CP0 at the end of the 2007 season and passed the torch, but he never stopped supporting the team, encouraging me as I continue to bang my head on the proverbial AR brick wall, mentoring newbies, volunteering at races...he's an under appreciated pillar of adventure racing who's done more personally to advance the sport than most of the self-proclaimed blowhards that think they're more important than they really are...myself included.

That's what this post is about and it's long overdue.

In keeping with his character Jon recently decided that he hadn't suffered enough as of late and decided to take a second shot at the Barkley Marathon.

It didn't go well...which is irrelevant. That's how he's wired. Take a minute and read his report and be thankful he walks among us.

Props hommie!!!

PS - Jon thinks carrying water in a bladder is a sign of weakness :-)