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Quicksand
I used to love Tarzan movies. Adventure, exotic travel, fighting, treehouses and a scantily clad damsel in distress. What's not to love? Although I must admit I was always a bit troubled wondering how...
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Beckley Prison 101
“Could be worse, could be raining” – Marty Feldman© Copyright Rod McLean On February 14, 2011 (Valentine’s Day) I reported to Beckley Federal Correctional Institute to begin a 21 month sentence. I am...
View ArticleFree your mind and the rest will follow
I want to thank Joe Nocera for his powerful article on the front page of Saturday’s New York Times Business Section. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/26/business/26nocera.html?ref=business Today I awoke...
View ArticleNo matter where you go, there you are
"Honoring oneself means that one should never surrender his or her dignity to those who may appear more powerful, or abandon that which they know from their own divine spark to be right, simply because...
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LONELY AND HOPELESS (Don't worry, it's a good thing)
To my way of thinking, my life up to this point has been loaded with brilliant highs and crushing lows and not a lot of time spent in the safe middle ground. I would love to say that this is by my own...
View ArticleI didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you
One year ago, May 20, 2010, everything changed for me. I was arrested and charged with about 100 crimes (okay it was actually 15, but it felt like 100). I was sure it was just a big mistake and would...
View ArticlePrison Romance
I never thought it could happen but I am having a love affair in prison. I feel vulnerable, exposed, anxious. I look longingly across the compound at the odd shaped dirt track where I meet my muse...
View ArticleCinderella Story
When I was 15 years old, I decided to start playing golf. In truth, I simply went out one day and played nine holes with a buddy. I was hooked. The decision was made for me without my approval really....
View ArticleLonging for Libya
We had run for 2 solid months without a day off, covering more than 3,000 miles to reach the border of Niger and Libya. Sadly, it appeared that our journey would end there, incomplete and unsatisfying....
View ArticleMother's Finest
Today is Christmas day, 2011. This story is for and about my mother, RebeccaHargett Ranson, the writer. We can't be together today but that's not all that unusual for us. We both prefer independence to...
View ArticleConviction
"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything--all external expectations, all pride, all fear...
View ArticleI Just Want To Finish
Runners are strange. Since I'm a runner, by default, that means that I'm strange too. No surprise there. When I say that we're strange, it's not so much about who we are as individuals, rather it's...
View ArticleEviction Notice
"What is truly teachable is unlearnable outside of oneself. I need only open my mind's eye a bit wider. Everything always exists. It is only me that must learn to exist with everything. Can I take what...
View ArticleNo Matter Where I Go, There I Am
After my release from Beckley Federal Prison on June 20, 2012, I was transferred to a halfway house in Greensboro, North Carolina, where I remained for a couple of weeks. I already had a job and a home...
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Transition Times
This is me running around the 1/4 mile dirt path at Beckley Federal Prison "He had his whole life in front of him; it wasn't a comforting thought." - The Art of Fielding I have always considered...
View ArticleSurviving 8
I don't really believe things happen for a reason, mystical, magical or otherwise. Rather I think that things just happen and what ultimately comes from it is dependent upon what we DO with what...
View ArticleHow Many is a Brazilian?
Finally it's time for some pain and suffering that I can really enjoy. On January 14, I will be joining my friends and teammates Chris Roman and Tony Portera for a little trek through a portion of the...
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Endurance
Today I am leaving for Brazil to run 351 miles along the Caminho de Fe (Way of Faith). Starting Wednesday, I will be attempting to run about 60 miles per day for 6 straight days. Thankfully I am...
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Dead Man Running
Today is February 14th, 2011, Valentine’s Day. Today is also the day that I report to the Federal Prison in Beckley, WV to begin my 21 month sentence. It is a bit depressing to think about entering...
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Leave It To Beaver
The first piece of advice I got that was really useful was told to me by an inmate named "pick n roll" who was fast approaching his 10 year anniversary in the system. He told me not to put my hands in...
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