Matthew Vest
First off, just tell us a little bit about yourself — how you came to be in Bozeman, your awesome wife Leah and rockstar boys Jude and Lucas, what you do, etc. Go with it and say whatever you'd like.
Southern by birth, my childhood years were all about the Appalachian foothills streams and lakes where my five siblings and I were either wakeboarding and barefoot waterskiing (from 5 yo on) or kayaking local steep creeks (ie, drainage ditches) after heavy rainstorms would bring the levels up. Dirtbikes, mountain bikes, horses, backpacking, and countless winter trips out to the Rockies for snow skiing filled in the cracks, but kayaking was my first outdoors love.....After college and grad school, I played rugby and beefed up until my much better half Leah (and spelunking world record holder...ask her about appearing on David Letterman at 12 yo--she's going to hate me for putting that in here), dragged me into the silly and painful sport of running, cycling, then triathlons. Eventually, this endurance bug turned me somewhat more sensibly towards trail running in 2011.
Notable adventures or memories - any that went remarkably, epicly wrong? Favorite memories with your two boys who, lets be honest, are a lot cooler than you.
Won't ever forget the two week kayak trip down the Grand Canyon with my dad when I was 13, nor the first time dropping 50' Little River Falls the year before. . . . There've been lots of memorable runs since then, some fast, mostly slow, never boring. Western States ('16) and IMTUF ('17) are really good running memories, though nothing compares to running my first 100 with, ahem, rookie conditioning. Hands down our boys Jude (10) and Lucas (9) are my favorite pacers/crew, and it won't be too many years now until we swap roles with me keeping their bottles topped. They started skiing the Ridge this past year, but I sure as hell plan to make them work for it when they crank past me on Ridge laps one of these days.
I hate when people ask me this question but…. tell us something unique or unknown about yourself. Something most or your TMP community buds wouldn't necessarily know about you when you’re working out together
I teach philosophy (ethics mainly, all distanced based now for Ohio State U). Play violin & viola. Am known around TMP for branding my initial "V" permanently on my shin last year (can show you how, if interested). Favorite authors: Wendell Berry, Flannery O'Connor, Walker Percy.
If Wolfe asked you to get a haircut with him in solidarity would you
Run away immediately?
Choose a mullet or a rattail?
Fav hairstyle: uh, I guess whatever Wolfe has at the moment...is that the right answer?
*TMP Note: Matt is too nice to tell Wolfe that he would never get a haircut like his.
