Husband. Father. Son. Athlete. Coach. Philosopher.

My conversation with Charlie Kern is unlike any conversation I think I've ever had with an athlete. In terms of sports, he is like a warrior poet. He is a fierce competitor but his cerebral approach to sports and life in general is not stereotypical  in jocks.

His Journey is unique. Adopted by his Parents in New York State, He became obsessed with the state of Kansas. He came to find out later that perhaps he had a biological pull to that state. He  discovered his athletic talent  playing tag in the neighborhood. He had a bigger stronger motor than anyone else. Luckily for the sport of running, he had bony shins and was afraid of ground balls. We spoke up growing up blue collar and giving our kids more than we had.  We talked about how he met his wife. How he convinced his now father in law that he was worthy. How he ended up at York and we spent a lot of time chatting about life in general. 

Kern is the current Co-Head coach of the York Community High School cross country team. In terms of significance, York is probably the greatest cross country program of all time. Outside of coaching this historic program, Kern also owns his own running coaching business http://ckrunning.com/ .  He loves running, the running community and of course runners. 

After our conversation ended and I left, I felt enriched, somehow wiser. I could listen to this guy talk about anything. Enjoy.