Steve Emmert

Steve Emmert

I was always involved in one sport or another while growing up.  But when I went off to college, I fell out of the habit of keeping myself in shape, a trend that continued for several years after college.  I wasn’t the person I wanted to be.  So, one day I determined to reverse the trend and began the process of getting myself back in shape.

In 2000 my wife signed us up to run the Chase Corporate Challenge, a 3.5 mile corporate fun run in Chicago.  Training for that little run, I rediscovered my love of running.  A couple months after Chase, I ran my first half marathon, and four weeks later I ran my first marathon.  I began to realize I was capable of things that I had previously believed impossible, and I was hooked on it!

I knew a good friend from college who had been running marathons and doing triathlons for a few years, which got me interested giving triathlon a go.  So, I got a bike, taught myself how to swim, and in 2001 started doing triathlons.  At the end of 2001 I did my first half Ironman, and in 2002 I did my first Ironman in Madison, Wisconsin.  This began a streak of seven consecutive years competing in Ironman Wisconsin, like an annual ritual.

In 2008, my passion for triathlon began to wane a bit, and I set my sights on a new challenge – ultrarunning.  I fell in love with the purity and raw simplicity of trail running, and my passion was reignited by the challenge of pushing myself into new and uncharted endurance territory.  I started with a 50K, then a 50 miler, and then a 100K, all on trails.  In 2009 I set the bar higher and completed the Kettle Moraine 100 Mile Endurance Run.

For 2010 I was lucky enough to be selected via lottery to compete in the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run, the granddaddy of 100 milers.  As part of my preparation for Western States, I am currently looking forward to my first trip to the Grand Canyon, and what better way to experience it than to run it from rim to rim and back!

I’ve been happily married for 19 years to my lovely wife, Jennifer.  We have three young children:  5 year old Derek, 1-1/2 year old Darcie, and 3 month old Dustin.  One reason I do this stuff is that I want my children to grow up with a different definition of what is possible.  I want them to start from a different place…to start dreaming bigger dreams, earlier.  I want them to see examples of people “achieving their impossible”.  I can’t wait to see what their impossible dreams will be.