BRS Member Profile of the Week -
Michael "Ronin" Stamm
Fire Jumper
Michael “Ronin” Stamm, 23, resides in Duluth, Georgia, but was born in the Netherlands and grew up in Alcañiz, Spain. He has run the Pamplona Running of the Bulls (shod style), and says, “This World Cup has been incredible for me.”
Michael has attended Georgia Southern and currently works as a Head Coach for Lil Kicker's "teaching children everywhere the wonderful game of futbol (soccer)." He has a “wonderful mutt” named Cupcake! “She used to be my barefoot running partner but she injured her knee. I'm helping her make a full recovery though.
”His hobbies and interests consist of rock climbing (great gym called Adrenaline near my house); theater (I love acting! Currently playing Captain Hook in Peter Pan and Wendy at Lionheart Theater in Norcross); reading non-fictionand literature (philosophy, traveling, Hemingway, Orwell, Thoreau, Nietzsche); singing (in the shower, while running, street corners, anytime I can); camping; futbol; tabletop RPGs (I'm a closet nerd); triathlons – Burning Man (arts festival in the desert); cloud watching; playing with Cupcake off leash; MMA (I train at Creighton Gym in Suwannee); riding my bike; swimming; living as green and sustainable as possible (walk softly upon our earth); eating Paleo as much as possible (thanks Rex!!); and “enjoying” (I think it's important to enjoy every moment you can).
When asked about his running background, he replies, “I'd like to think I was running towards something my whole life, but really about 10 years. My goal in life is to be able to run an Ultra at the age of 60.”
Michael describes his most memorable running experience as “I was running through a back trail with the Cross Country team in 2004 when a flash flood happened, and our run turned into a swim to get back the car. It was because of a fantastic display of guts and teamwork and a little bit of luck that we all survived!” His favorite distance is “that distance right before a bear jumps on my back and then some miles past that."
His favorite race is the Warrior Dash. He recounts, “You want me to run a 5K and THEN jump over fire? Oh hell yeah! It was a race held in Mountain City, Georgia, that had a HUGE turn out. Costumes, mud, and beer everywhere. What more could you ask from a race? Absolutely fun. My Avatar is a picture took of me jumping over the last obstacle of the race, The Warrior Fires! Although the obstacles weren't as hard as I would have liked them to be, it was still a very, very fun race.” If you know of any crazy runs you think he’d be interested in, he’s up for it; just let him know!
Michael is one of the faster runners among us, reporting times of 5 minutes for the mile, 15:40 for the 5K, and 40 minutes for the 10K.
He says he enjoys running because, “Your friends, family, and sanity might not always be there, but the road will never leave. Any problem that can't be solved by the end of a long joyous run isn't a problem worth having.”
What brought him to barefoot and minimalist running was, “I had a friend in High School who ran barefoot, and I always thought he was crazy. A few years later, I tried buying a new pair of Nikes of the style I wore all throughout high school to find out they did some unneeded upgrades that I wasn't crazy about (something about linking to your iPod to measure the amount of your steps). I wasn't going to pay for all that; I just wanted some new shoes. So, after reading Born to Run (if you are a runner, read this book, it'll make you want to run more), I decided to buy a pair of Vibrams. I absolutely loved them for the time being, but I went running with that high school barefooted buddy, and he was going a lot more silently than I was. Jealous of his silent running, I decided to try it myself. So, I slowly built up my foot muscles, and I've been barefooted ever since. (Also, I love the way my toes squish in the mud.)
He cites his reason for joining the BRS as, “I was so excited that there is a Society for us that I had to join. ‘Hi. My name is Michael...and I'm a barefooted runner.’[size=2 face=Verdana>”
[img]http://www.barefootrunners.org/images/barefoottj/BRS%20News%20Articles/MichaelStamm1.jpg[/img][/size=2 face=Verdana>”
