About

Hello, I’m Kirk Mahoney, and I believe that it’s dumb to make your happiness depend on your marathon or half-marathon performance.

You see, I trained back in 2002 for my first marathon. I did this by joining a group that met on Saturday mornings for long runs. The group also had us run races shorter than a marathon during the training season.

I did well in a 25K race that year, but afterward I learned what it meant to have a problem with an IT band.

I had to get several weeks of physical therapy just so that I could be ready for my first marathon. The therapy was painful and tedious, and it made me question whether I should have put a marathon on my bucket list.

I know that it sounds trite, but I had to find a way to enjoy the process.

I learned that I had to find things in my training for which to be grateful. I also have learned since then that it’s smart to make your marathon or half-marathon performance depend on your happiness, not the other way around.

This is why I think you should check out my SpryFeet.com books. They are all about helping you to become a happier runner or walker.

How I Started

I’m a researcher at heart and by training, but I found a higher calling that I feel compelled to share.

“Practical research for runners and walkers” was the original tagline for SpryFeet.com. I based it on four facts.

  1. I love to run and walk.
  2. I earned a Ph.D. from UCLA School of Medicine in biomathematics — a practical field of scientific research.
  3. I am a master at looking up stuff better than almost any librarian.
  4. I love to write about what I learn.

But, soon after I published my first two books for runners and walkers, I had an epiphany. I was completing an exercise with a business coach. I discovered my top five core values. They are integrity, growth, health, gratitude, and happiness.

Then it dawned on me. The real reason that I launched SpryFeet.com in 2009 was to meet these core values. I wanted to do this while serving runners and walkers — especially endurance athletes.

“I should re-position my website!” I realized, so I did.

Happier Running and Walking — GUARANTEED!™ became the new tagline. It is my higher calling that I am compelled to share.

My mission is to help you to kindle happiness in your endurance running or walking. I want you to do this while you enjoy growth and better health from the sport. I strive to meet my mission while I serve you with gratitude and integrity.

“I believe happiness affects performance.” is my personal motto.

You can see this in everything that I create.

There’s More to It

You may know me as a marathoner and an author, but there’s more to it than that.

My entire working life has been about communication — from many different angles.

  • I was a medical photographer at a teaching hospital for several medical and dental residencies.
  • I got to collaborate with the world’s best researchers in positron emission tomography (PET).
  • I developed the first websites for some of America’s top plastic surgeons and dermatologists.
  • I helped the world’s largest telecommunications company to launch and troubleshoot Internet-protocol television (IPTV). This work led me to receiving U.S. Patent # 8,223,954 and U.S. Patent # 8,488,770.
  • I created KirkMahoney.com as a place to discuss English punctuation, spelling, and grammar.

Starting in 2007, I blogged every day for 600 days straight at KirkMahoney.com.

It was a lot of fun, but two things happened along the way. First, I realized that I wanted to reach a broader audience with my writing. Second, I got back into marathon training after a six-year hiatus.

So, I launched SpryFeet.com and started writing books under the SpryFeet.com imprint. These articles and books became my personal way to make the world a happier place.

In the many years since, I have learned how to tell readers which books go together and when to read each one.

You can see my different book series here.

Why I Do This

I once had a fellow runner run away from me because her peers and I were “laughing too much” during a long run.

As someone who has completed a lot of marathons and half-marathons, I meet and train with many people.

  • Some have taken up endurance running or walking recently.
  • Others are long-time endurance runners and walkers.

But, here is the sad part: the joy of the sport is gone for many of them.

Maybe they took up endurance running or walking to lose weight. But, maybe they then got sidelined by injuries. Or, maybe they have never gotten injured, but their workouts have gotten into a rut.

Whatever the reason for their lack of joy with endurance running or walking, this is so unnecessary. Worse, it damages their performance, which, in turn, damages their happiness. It’s a vicious cycle.

Most people don’t appreciate the dynamics of performance and happiness. They start with measuring their performance and then obsessing about improving it no matter what. But, that’s the last thing on which they should focus. Happiness should come first.

I am not a celebrity athlete. For example, I once got invited to Who’s Who … as a practical joke. But, I am a guy who keeps trying to improve his endurance running and walking. Along the way, I share tips and techniques that will protect your happiness as an endurance athlete. This is the polar opposite of what you will see most celebrity athletes doing. And, the worst move that you could ever make is copying everything that they do. First, with their super-human abilities, they are not like the rest of us. Second, they are not always aware of the dynamics of performance and happiness. I try to teach you a different way — a better way. I look first at building and protecting your happiness. Then you can figure out whether you’re following the right training schedule or wearing the right GPS watch.

If this seems complicated, don’t worry; it isn’t. You’ll start to see results as you adopt my techniques and embrace my approach. I am about building and protecting your happiness as an endurance runner or walker so that you perform better. SpryFeet followers want to improve their performance while enjoying the journey. My goal is to uncover and document ways that show endurance athletes like you how to be happier.

Join the SpryFeet.com Readers Club to get started.

You Are Not Alone

I am not your typical Runner’s World writer.

My training buddies and I start our summertime Saturday-morning runs in Houston as early as 4:30 AM. This is well before Houston’s famous heat and humidity reach a fevered pitch, but also well before the sun rises.

I once twisted my ankle during one of these runs because I was relying at that point on the lights from the freeway under which I was crossing. I was running on a smooth concrete sidewalk beneath the overpass. Without my own light, I did not notice a chunk of concrete sitting atop the sidewalk. The next thing that I knew, I had stepped on that concrete chunk and twisted my ankle.

This put me on crutches for the first time in my life. I had to stop running for several weeks. I bought a device to turn my bike into a stationary one, and I trained in a pool. I hated being away from running.

I finally came to appreciate that things don’t always work out as planned. I also had to admit that I could have avoided this injury. And, I put this story in Injury-Avoidance Habits for First-Time Marathoners and Half-Marathoners.

I filled that book with stories like this one because there is a gap between where many writers live and where the rest of us run. For example, writers who live in the northeastern United States may not run early in the morning. Summers let them run in daylight; winters make them run after sunrise. As another example, writers who live in southern California almost never have to think about the weather. And, full-time runner/writers have jobs that allow or even encourage them to take a running break during the day. But, we do not all live in New England or SoCal, and we may have to run before or after work. We face challenges that they do not face.

I write each of my books because of gaps like this. You can find all my books here.

I Pay Attention

Sometimes, to rephrase a sign often posted along marathon routes, pain is weakness leaving the book.

When I launched Mental Tricks for Endurance Runners and Walkers, it was a big hit. When I launched Weight Loss in 10,000 Steps a Day, it was a big hit.

Each book was getting four- and five-star reviews at Amazon, which helped me to reach those who had not read the books.

One day, though, a woman posted a one-star review of Mental Tricks. Other customers upvoted that review, which hurt my ability to help other possible readers. Later, someone posted a one-star review of Weight Loss, and some readers posted similar reviews.

The one-star reviewers of the first edition of Weight Loss all had a similar complaint. They said that they expected the book to include a 10,000-steps-a-day program. They said this in spite of the fact that the Amazon sales page said in three places that the book was a guide to others’ programs. I rewrote Weight Loss with my own 10,000-steps-a-day program in place of my guide to others’ programs. The one-star reviewer of the first edition of Mental Tricks said that the chapters were redundant. I wrote the first edition with the idea that readers would want each chapter to be standalone. I released the second edition of Mental Tricks with tighter, rearranged chapters.

So, yes, I pay attention to reviews of my books. The negative reviews are not always easy to read. I don’t always agree with those. Many reflect a difference of opinion. For example, someone gave Mental Tricks a negative review because he said that he did not believe in the Law of Attraction. Other negative reviews have a kernel of objective truth that makes me think a second time.

Obscurity is a death sentence for any business. This includes the business of writing books. Reviews, even the negative ones, provide a stay of execution for a book-writing business. Reviews raise a book’s visibility. Even if you do not love one of my books but you want more from me, then please post a review of it at Goodreads or your book-seller. And, who knows? If your review covers something objectively wrong with the book, I may rewrite that book — thanks to you!

A, or B, or A & B

Paper, or digital? Sometimes it’s a true either-or situation.

Almost all my books are available in paperback and several ebook formats.

Sometimes, though, I have to choose paper, or digital, but not both.

When I began to write my Run:Walk Pace Tables books, I wanted to release them as ebooks. I wanted readers to have the tables handy on their Kindle, Nook, or Nook devices as well as on their smartphones and tablets. I tried and tried to make the tables look good on these devices. I read everything that I could find about how ebooks render — or do not render — tables. I never found a way to make my pace tables fit well in an ebook format.

As a complement to this, when I started to write Running with Dogs, I hoped to release it as a handy paperback as well as in ebook formats. I figured that dog-friendly races in the USA do not change often. After all, I had run marathons that had been around for years, if not decades. I was so naïve! Almost as soon as I released the first edition of Running with Dogs, I had to update it to a second edition. Dog-friendly races had disappeared, and new ones had appeared. Soon thereafter, I had to release the third edition! (You can look up Running with Dogs at Amazon to see what the edition count is now.) Each change in page count in a paperback means a new ISBN — the book world’s stock-keeping unit or SKU. This complexity killed my dream to release Running with Dogs as a paperback.

So:

Except for these three books, you can choose paper or digital for any SpryFeet.com book.

Plus, if you want paper AND digital for one of my “regular” books, then buy a new paperback from Amazon. This lets you get the Kindle ebook edition at no extra charge! Learn more here.

Second-Class Citizens No More!

Speaking of run:walk pace tables…

As a run:walk athlete, I got tired of being a second-class citizen.

Before I wrote Run:Walk Pace Tables in Minutes/Mile, I looked in vain for a book like it. I kept meeting run:walk athletes who had no idea how to estimate when they would finish a race. Compared to all-run or all-walk athletes, we were like second-class citizens.

There were pace tables to tell you how fast to run or walk to finish a marathon or other race in a particular chip-time. But, until I wrote Run:Walk Pace Tables in Minutes/Mile and in Minutes/Kilometer, there were no pace tables for us.

Like a regular pace table, a run:walk pace table has one “output” variable: your chip-time to finish a race. But, a regular pace table has just two “input” variables: the race distance, and your running pace. In contrast, a run:walk pace table has two more input variables: your run:walk ratio, and your walking pace. Computing a run:walk chip-time is not as simple as comparing a distance to a pace.

By expressing the problem in algebraic form, I had a formula to generate any run:walk pace table. Two hundred pages later, I had a minutes/mile pace table for each of ten run:walk ratios and twenty race distances. Not long before this, I had gone to Toronto, Ontario, for a marathon. I met a woman at the expo who said that she ran a pace of “6”; this struck me as odd, given that she looked incapable of running 6 minutes/mile. But, I as I ran past 42 kilometer flags in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon, I realized that she meant 6 minutes/kilometer. So, I generated 200 minutes/kilometer pace tables for a second book for Canadians and others.

It has been gratifying to see these two books sell around the world. They meet a need among run:walk athletes. This is a need not met by regular pace tables. This need is not met by run:walk calculators, either. Being able to turn to a page for a particular race distance and run:walk ratio and see lots of chip-times seems to explain why.

If you are a run:walk athlete, then check out my videos here or here before you order one of these books!

I also wrote a book about run:walk method mastery that you may want to check out, too. It goes beyond what most run:walk coaches teach.

Word of Mouth

Word of mouth is one of the most common reasons why people first visit SpryFeet.com. As an example, 58% of respondents to a SpryFeet survey said that a friend was responsible for them hearing about SpryFeet. I am grateful for every one of my readers, as well as everyone who has written a testimonial for one of my products. Thank you!


Kirk Mahoney
Author, SpryFeet.com

P.S.

For my protection and yours, I want you to know the following information:

DISCLAIMER: The information contained on this website, including ideas, suggestions, techniques, and other materials, is educational in nature and is provided only as general information and is not medical or psychological advice. Transmission of the information on this website is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, a client-coach or any other type of professional relationship between the reader and Kirk Mahoney and should not be relied upon as medical, psychological, coaching, or other professional advice of any kind or nature.

You may see me on this website or in an email message recommend a product or service for which I may have an affiliate relationship. But, I only recommend products and services that I would recommend to my friends and family members.

For example, I recommend BlueHost for website hosting not only because of my affiliate relationship but also because the company hosts all of my websites.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission makes me post a consumer notice like the following, even though you very likely already know this.

CONSUMER NOTICE: You should assume that any mention of a product or service on this website or in any email sent from this website may be made because the publisher of this website could have an affiliate relationship and/or another material connection to the provider of the mentioned good or service and may be compensated when you purchase from said provider. You should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.