By Michael Beadle

Shafts of sun pierce through a misty forest. A thick river of fog rolls through ancient mountains. Plump sparrows perch on a bare branch thin as tin foil.

By Michael Beadle

The marathon can be such a fickle race.

As much as you prepare for it, a lot can go wrong in those 26.2 miles. Missing a water station. Getting a blister. Maybe there’s a sudden downpour of rain or it’s an abnormally hot day. So much running and preparation builds into a matter of hours. And then disaster strikes.

By Michael Beadle

At first it seemed like madness.

Why else would anyone freely submit to running 15 to 25 miles up and down steep mountain roads and trails over a 24-hour period?

Little did I know what I was getting into when some fellow runners approached me at a 5K race and asked if I wanted to sign up for the Blue Ridge Relay, one of the longest-running races of its kind in the country.

By Michael Beadle

Laura Boosinger was a student at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa in the late 1970s when she decided to take a banjo class for a college credit.

By Michael Beadle

Sometimes John Grant sees a bear inside a rough block of soapstone. Sometimes he sees a buffalo or an eagle.

By Michael Beadle

Journey back to Christmas Eve, December 1941. The United States has just entered World War II after the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, and emotions run high as families say goodbye to their sons, who must go off to train for war.