Should you’re an outdoorsy one who spends time on-line, likelihood is good that you simply’ve laughed at one thing created by author, illustrator, filmmaker, and creator of the Semi-Rad model, Brendan Leonard. You’ve even had the prospect to right here on iRunFar, the place Leonard comically illustrated a collection on path first help a number of years in the past.
An illustration by Brendan Leonard of Semi-Rad for iRunFar’s path first help collection.
Semi-Rad started as a weblog circa 2011, when Leonard started publishing humorous illustrations poking enjoyable at being a mean outdoorsy go-getter. The digestible, comical nature of the road charts caught digital audiences like wildfire. They’re now recurrently republished on “Outdoors,” alongside Leonard’s tales, amongst different publications.
“I drew a bunch of jokes inside a circulate chart of pooping within the woods. That in a short time turned the most important factor I’d executed. It went completely viral, for me,” recalled Leonard.
He continued, “It’s humorous how many individuals gained’t end an 800-word written piece, however if you happen to draw it, they will digest it in 15 seconds,” stated Leonard, who drew extra items, revealed a number of per week by way of social media, and added the illustrations to collectibles like espresso mugs. His inventive profession gained momentum.
Driving the lengthy sport of his inventive imaginative and prescient, Leonard began producing Semi-Rad when he had hassle reaching nationwide publications. “I had all these story concepts that have been by no means going to get revealed. I’d been pitching magazines and editors since 2004. ‘Mountain Gazette’ would often run my stuff, however I believed, this’ll by no means work at ‘Backpacker’ or ‘Outdoors.’ I don’t have sufficient expertise writing. They don’t assume it’s humorous. It was late 2010. I used to be like, ‘These folks don’t need these things.’”
Brendan Leonard showing on the GearJunkie podcast in 2019. Photograph: GearJunkie
One thing clearly modified. “I keep in mind the primary time I used to be writing for an editor of a giant journal and so they stated, ‘Simply write it such as you write it on your weblog.’ Then in 2017, after I’d executed the weblog for years, “Outdoors” stated, ‘We like what you’re doing.’ It was a praise, but additionally fascinating seeing how media was altering,” stated Leonard.
It was a time when particular person creatives may make the most of a wide range of platforms to achieve broad audiences that, maybe, even legacy publications won’t seize.
Leonard possible gained’t be the primary to talk of his success, however when he does, it could solely be with the self-deprecating humor for which he’s identified. However the evolution of each his path operating and inventive endeavors mirror that success is feasible by way of committing to the method even when validation doesn’t arrive instantly.
Now 45 years outdated, Leonard grew up in a handful of small cities surrounding New Hampton, inhabitants 3,000, within the northeast slice of Iowa. Within the state’s furthest, flattest nook, the shared boundaries with Wisconsin and Minnesota are often known as the Driftless Space, the place the glaciers of the Ice Age 10,000 years in the past by no means reached, not like a lot of the remainder of the U.S. Higher Midwest. This distinctive geology and preserved crops just like the northern wild monkshood, and organisms just like the Iowa Pleistocene snail, are sung about by conservationists.
Whereas being a child there, Leonard admittedly didn’t know a lot about that historical past. He did have a job selecting rocks out of the farm soil, which was some 20 miles from the boundary of the Driftless Space and loaded with glacial until. Any rocks larger than a fist needed to be faraway from cornfields, in order that they couldn’t break the mix harvester machine.
“The tallest factor on the horizon was a grain silo,” stated Leonard, who’s brother is strictly 18 months older than him, lives in Wisconsin, and isn’t a runner. “He likes to fish. Good dude.”
Leonard performed basketball till his junior yr in highschool, when he switched to soccer. He additionally ran monitor these 4 years, together with being staff captain as a senior. He ran the 4 x 100-meter and 4 x 200-meter relays, 200-meter sprint, and he dabbled within the 400-meter distance.
“I used to be gradual getting out of the blocks, bought velocity 10 to fifteen meters into it, after which I used to be quick from 15 to 200 meters. Within the relay, children would depend eight to 10 steps, and I’d depend 22. I used to be like a cartoon character operating in quicksand for the primary two seconds,” stated Leonard, who grew up in a goofy household, which he didn’t notice was distinctive till he was out of faculty.
A reducing from a neighborhood newspaper exhibiting Brendan Leonard operating monitor in highschool. All images courtesy of Brendan Leonard, until in any other case famous.
Studying the e-book “Humor Significantly” once we did this interview, Leonard is now extra conscious of his household dynamic.
“My dad is humorous. My mother grew up with six brothers and sisters, and so they attempt to one-up one another with jokes. It didn’t happen to me folks didn’t attempt to make one another giggle as a household — that it wasn’t widespread. After school, I’d go to buddies’ or girlfriends’ homes and assume the mother and father didn’t like me, as a result of they weren’t laughing. They weren’t joking with me, which was unusual for me, I assume. That was the simplest factor for me to do — default to humor and put levity into conditions,” stated Leonard. With severe matters, throwing in some humor can enhance the result of the message being obtained, he’s discovered.
Leonard acknowledged that his knack for humor might have been detrimental in grade college.
“I might be a scientist now if I hadn’t been goofing off at school. It appeared like a cool factor to be,” he stated. Nonetheless, Leonard graduated from the College of Northern Iowa with a advertising and marketing diploma, and began reporting for the newspaper his senior yr, which he was enthusiastic about.
The next yr, in 2002, he pursued a grasp’s in journalism on the College of Montana. After two years, he graduated, revealed one article — a narrative in “Idaho Journal” about climbing the tallest peak in Idaho, for $40, his total freelance revenue for the yr — and moved to Colorado’s Entrance Vary.
There, the then 26-year-old dabbled in path operating however usually “was not into it.” He was psyched on mountaineering and mountaineering for almost a decade, till 2015.
However then good friend signed up for a 50-kilometer race within the Denver, Colorado, suburbs. Leonard took him out to dinner after he’d completed a 22-mile coaching run.
“He talked about how badly it went. He’d run out of water and needed to ask folks for assist. I believed that sounded superior. I signed up for the 50k, for enjoyable. I believed I may run half of the 50k and stroll the second half,” he stated, crossing the September end line of the Bear Chase Path Race 50k solely 24 days later, at age 36.
Brendan Leonard coaching within the hills. Operating is now a giant a part of his life.
“I’d run a marathon as soon as and hated it. However I’d spent a number of lengthy days within the mountains doing 14-hour days mountain climbing in with a backpack, climbing, descending, and mountain climbing out. I knew a 50k would take much less time than that, and that I may hold shifting. I knew I may do this and never die. I got here from a unique angle than individuals who run roads and have a time in thoughts. I needed to outlive it and see what it was like,” recalled Leonard, who was additionally trying to substitute his climbing with the same exercise that’s full of lovely mountain surroundings, pushing your self mentally and bodily, and ache and struggling — but far much less threat.
Subsequent, he dove right into a 50 miler, the Ice Age Path 50 Mile, in Might 2016. “I believed everybody at first line would seem like Ironman triathletes, however everybody was regular trying and really bizarre in the identical method — all of us thought that this could be enjoyable or difficult or price it in a roundabout way. Ultrarunners are my kind of weirdo,” he stated.
In the end, Leonard sees numerous parallels between being a runner and being a inventive.
“Operating is such an excellent metaphor for inventive work. Should you work for your self otherwise you’re a runner, it’s important to be self-motivated. Nobody is making you get out the door to run when it’s freezing or raining or scorching. You determined you needed to run a race, and now it’s important to prepare for it,” he stated. “I take pleasure in flexing that muscle over and over and staying motivated sufficient to maintain the work coming.”
Leonard navigating the Wind River Excessive Route.
Between 2013 and 2016, Leonard revealed his first three books. He’s now authored greater than a dozen, together with “Make It: 50 Myths and Truths About Creating,” which hit cabinets in April 2023.
He stored up with path operating and ultrarunning, and dare we are saying developed this curiosity much more. Regardless of hating his first marathon, Leonard ran 26.2 miles 52 instances in a single yr. He traversed Colorado’s Sangre de Cristo Vary and Wyoming’s Wind River Vary by foot. He additionally completed the 2017 Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile, 2019 Hellbender 100 Mile, and 2019 Bighorn Path Run 100 Mile.
In case you’re questioning how he bought by way of these lengthiest races, one among his favourite authored books is, “I Hate Operating and You Can Too: Learn how to Get Began, Preserve Going, and Make Sense of an Irrational Ardour.” He stated, “It’s a brief e-book about how you can get into operating, or how you can hold operating if you happen to don’t prefer it, with 80 illustrations. It’s been translated into three or 4 languages, which is a giant deal for me. That’s been some of the enjoyable ones.”
Additionally in Denver, Leonard met his now spouse, Hilary Oliver, a author and editor, whereas she was working at Watercourse Meals, a vegetarian restaurant, in 2012.
“She was actually into mountain biking and I used to be into climbing. Neither of us do this anymore however we each nonetheless run. Out of the 2 of us, she enjoys operating. I’m extra of a, ‘I’ve to do it, like brushing my enamel,’ runner. For getting exterior, I want issues that’ll get me out the door, however I’m slowest to get out.” he stated.
He was residing in his 2005 Chevy Astro van on the time, which he lived in for two.5 years. After six months of relationship, Oliver moved into the van with him.
“I keep in mind trying down on the place our van was parked in Zion Nationwide Park, subsequent to a sprinter van, and was like, ‘That’s big. I wager they will rise up once they put their pants on.’ It was nice for what it was. It was $6,500, and that was my total life financial savings,” stated Leonard.
Brendan Leonard stress-free in his van.
Altogether, Leonard lived within the Denver space, together with a fixer-upper within the Metropolis Park neighborhood with Oliver, for 15 years till relocating to Missoula, Montana, the place the couple may “purchase a home greater than 800 sq. ft” in 2020. That’s the place that they had Jay, now one yr outdated.
Oliver nonetheless edits every thing Leonard creates. “She edits 100% of every thing I do. I’ll present her my silly drawings, and she or he’ll say, ‘Yeah.’ She used to giggle. Now she simply tells me if it’s humorous or not,” he stated.
The couple all the time talks about inventive issues — motion pictures, movies, books — and passes books forwards and backwards from bedside desk to desk. “There are such a lot of books I might not have learn had I not been together with her. I attempt to learn 50% books by authors that determine as feminine. It’s tough. I gravitate towards male writers, and to consciously select feminine writers is a giant deal. Since she [Oliver] naturally reads extra girls writers, I profit from that, and she or he has nice style in literature,” stated Leonard.
They’ve additionally shared many miles by way of crewing, pacing, and operating occasions aspect by aspect. In November 2023, the duo ran the Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim within the Grand Canyon, a 48-mile route with 11,700 ft of ascent, as a primary journey after the delivery of their child. Leonard wrote concerning the expertise in his weekly e-newsletter, “The Grand Canyon Twice, in 11 Images,” penning:
“Hilary was amazingly nonetheless crushing with 5 miles to go. All of the sudden, I bonked, and hurriedly ate some meals. Then Hilary hit a wall, her physique immediately realizing it had been going for 14 straight hours. All of the warning lights got here on: cramps, nausea, fatigue. She dry-heaved to the aspect of the path, our headlamps the one seen lights. This was our first all-day, child-free date since Jay was born. It felt very on model. As we handed the 1.5-mile relaxation home, I noticed the emergency telephone, and remembered, oh yeah, you possibly can name for a rescue right here. We have been clocking 38-minute miles, however we weren’t going to die. We simply sort of felt like we have been going to die.”
With a child, life stability seems extra like a triage of daycare, viruses, and occasional clean days.
Being a mother or father “might be the toughest factor I’ve ever executed. It’s relentless. You’ll be able to all the time stop a 100-mile race. Even if you happen to do end it, it’s over. That is relentless, that’s the most effective phrase I’ve heard. But it surely’s micro doses of pleasure on a regular basis. You’ll be able to’t actually complain. Plus, we did it to ourselves. It was our thought! I simply centered on taking good care of Hilary so she may deal with Jay, as a result of I can’t breastfeed,” he stated.
Brendan Leonard operating the 2021 New York Metropolis Marathon.
Regardless of shaking up the routine with a 3rd member of the household, Leonard nonetheless will get exterior to run and nonetheless creates humorous content material. In August 2023, he revealed the movie, “The Seven Summits of My Neighborhood,” about biking and operating to the very best summits inside a 20-mile radius of his residence, a substitute for the a lot pricier expeditions to summit the very best mountains on the planet.
Over time, Leonard gravitated towards movie creation after attending movie festivals and watching buddies transition from podcasting into filmmaking, like Fitz Cahall, founding father of the “Dirtbag Diaries,” adopted by “Duct Tape Then Beer.” “It was cool to observe an viewers absorb what you made, versus writing, the place you often get an electronic mail from somebody who is just not your mother,” stated Leonard.
In September 2023, Leonard hosted a path operating and inventive workshop, in partnership with Freeflow Institute and Alpine Operating Guides, which was a brand new spin on a writing workshop he’s sometimes hosted, by way of a whitewater journey, since 2019. With a first-ever path operating focus, the spots have by no means bought out so quick.
“Persons are getting e-book contracts for writing captions or for TikTok movies that attain folks. I take pleasure in that. I’m not superb at drawing, and lots of people would say, ‘I’m not good at writing, and positively not cinematographer’ — however are you able to do it effectively sufficient to get your level throughout? We’re in a media atmosphere that’s forgiving for these issues. You don’t watch TikTok for Oscar-winning cinematography,” he defined.
Leonard agreed, being a creator full time displays a stage of success. After I requested what his favourite a part of being a creator is, Leonard stated, “I believe simply the liberty to do inventive work day-after-day. To maneuver issues ahead and make issues. With the ability to come again and do it day-after-day is wonderful. I take into consideration individuals who do effectively with a model or e-book promotion. I’m wondering what it’s wish to have one actually good e-book that you simply’re cranking out talking engagements on — they’re in all probability making a ton of cash, however speaking about the identical factor over and over, that will additionally suck. I get to decide on what I do each day, due to my lack of success, so it’s a present, too, to not achieve success.”
“With the ability to sit down day-after-day in my workplace and draw or write or create, that’s the actual reward. If it permits me to make a residing, superior. That’s the extent of success I’m pleased with.”
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