Just before finishing his first year as assistant dean of student conduct in April, Lou Kaminski completed a 100-mile race on March 23 along the Prairie Spirit Trail in Ottawa, Kansas.
This was Kaminski’s second 100-mile race, after completing the first eight years ago in 2016. This time around, Kaminski started training with the help of a coach about six months before the race, increasing his distance to include two overnight runs of around 31 miles and a 52-mile run in February.
He placed 7th overall and 5th in his division in the March race with a time of 19:32:38, among the 40 runners who finished the race — out of the nearly 60 who started. The runners took off at 6 a.m. on Saturday, with the final runner crossing the finish line nearly 30 hours later. The first-place finisher was almost two hours ahead of the pack, running 100 miles in just 14:11:12.
Lou says that he has always enjoyed the outdoors and participated in races such as obstacle courses in the past, but he found his love of distance running in his early thirties when he befriended a group of runners in Miami. Soon after, he decided to run his first 31-mile race in the Everglades.
He says running is his outlet. “It gives me time to process things and reflect in my head, without disturbance.” He typically runs eight to 18 miles a day — with no music or headphones.
After taking about a month’s break to recover from his latest 100-miler, he’s not sure when or if he’ll take on a third 100-mile race. But he will be back to training for his next race in September in Brookfield — this time just a short 31 miles.
Before coming to Colgate, Lou was employed at Paul Smith’s College as director of student life and housing. He received his bachelor of science in criminal justice and master of arts in criminal justice from California University of Pennsylvania. In addition to distance running, he enjoys camping and hiking the high peaks in the Adirondacks, reading, and spending time with his Weimaraner, Enzo, and white boxer, Evie.