Christian Johnson

 

Christian is 38 years old and married to Betsy, the most beautiful, talented and supportive woman on the planet, they have two wonderful kids Mason and Paige.  Christian is a GIS Specialist (think maps).  Hometown is Syracuse, Utah.

 

Here are a few facts about Christian when we asked him about his running:

 

Years running: 15 or so, interrupted by 10 years of cycling.

 

Weekly mileage: 60 to 80 in season with about 12-15,000' of vertical for the mountain ultras.  I keep a pretty detailed spreadsheet of my training and I take a fair amount of grief from my friends about my record keeping.  For any given day I know the time, mileage, vertical, route, and what shoes I wore.  I figure if I don't know what I've done, I won't know how I can improve with any reliability.

 

Favorite race distance or race: I feel like I can actually race 50 milers and really enjoy that distance, but my favorite race is the Wasatch 100.

 

PR's - (5K, 10K, ½, mara, Ultra) or proudest running accomplishment:  Finishing my first 100 miler, it felt like I had lived a lifetime in the span of 27 hours.

 

Favorite training run:  The Desolation trail on the ridge between Millcreek and Big Cottonwood canyons.  Nowhere else in the Wasatch can you experience so much diverse terrain and isolation so close to civilization.

 

Why run - (motivation, inspiration):  In short, it makes me feel good.  The longer answer is that I truly feel like I get out of it what I put into it.  There are only a few areas in life where I feel I can work hard at something and see the direct benefit or pay off and running is one of those areas.  I also enjoy the trail running scene, there are so many friendly and supportive people involved in the sport it is hard not to like it.  Even if I'm not running I really enjoy hanging out at a race just because of the atmosphere.

 

Goals:  Get into and finish the Hardrock 100, The Ultra Tour Mont Blanc and to catch the Cheetah at the Wasatch 100 (sub 24).

 

Favorite music to run to:  I love music, but I don't listen to music that much anymore while I run. I find it makes me feel disconnected from the trail and I don't like the wires.

 

Favorite running gear - (shoes, apparel, etc.):  I'm still searching for the holy grail of running shoes.  Currently I'm trying the Brooks Cascadia 5's and they seem to be a good all-around shoe.  My favorite socks are Darn Tough wools and I like wearing fingerless cycling gloves (protection from falls and keeps my hands from getting sticky).

 

Best advice you've been given as a runner:  Always carry TP unless you're running in the snow.

 

Best motivational quote:  "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." 
-Theodore Roosevelt

 

Your role model:  Betsy for her patience and loving nature, my running friends, my Uncle Eric and my step-father Roy.

 

Favorite food:  Mediterranean and Indian food and Swedish fish.

 

Hobbies or interests other than running:  I still enjoy cycling and mountain biking for fun and even raced my cyclocross bike this fall.  In the winter I skate ski and downhill ski with the family.  Very soon I plan on getting into backcountry touring.

 

Anything else the world might want to know about you:  I've never done a 100 mile week or a sub 5 mile, both of which I want to accomplish this next year before hit the four o.