Drew Kairis was never into running growing up, and used to say that he hated to run. As a golfer, endurance training wasn’t top of mind. Although he played ultimate frisbee in college, that was the most running he’d do.
Now, at 26 years old, he is a marathon runner with Mill City Running. He is also a group leader with the Cooldown Run Club and has fallen in love with endurance sports.
In 2022, Drew’s friend Gabe asked him to sign up for a Tough Mudder. This race has obstacles that test endurance, strength, and mental toughness. The race had 5, 10 and 15k distances and his friends had signed up for the 15k. Drew thought to himself, “I’ve never run more than 1 or 2 miles in my life.”
Drew had only four months to train and was slowly increasing his mileage. The first time he ran 4 miles in a training session, he remembers “being in so much pain.” Fortunately for Drew, the Tough Mudder is broken into stages, which allowed him to catch his breath and helped him finish the race.
After two challenging Tough Mudder races, he developed an interest in endurance training. Initially, he saw running as a way to complement weightlifting, recalling, “I figured I had to do some running now and then.”
In 2023, his friend Gabe told him about the Ultra Loony Challenge at the Twin Cities Marathon. The Ultra Loony Challenge is a 5k, 10k, and a marathon all in one weekend. Drew thought, “That is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. It’s just wild.”
Drew signed up for the Loony Challenge, even though it sounded crazy. He would have to run a 5k, 10k, and half-marathon in just two days.
He described this challenge as “Still crazy for me because each week I was running, at most, four miles.” But this challenge marked a turning point in Drew’s life as he got his first taste of the race day atmosphere. “Race day was electric and one of the most fun atmospheres I’ve been in, and I fell in love with it immediately.”
After completing the Loony Challenge at Twin Cities Marathon weekend in 2023, Drew found out about Cooldown Run Club from a video on TikTok.
Cooldown Run Club was marketed to him as a “social group disguised as a run club.” and Drew felt it was perfect for him. So he and his roommate decided to attend their first of many weekly meetups. But they got off to a rough start, accidentally showing up 30 minutes late.
However, a few weeks later, Drew went by himself to a meetup and met now one of his closest friends, John who was an Ironman athlete and inspired him in many ways. This led to both Drew and John bringing other friends and meeting a ton of new people, forming great relationships and a true community of runners.
A few months into attending the weekly runs, Drew was then approached by a leader of the Minnesota Cooldown group, asking if he’d like to become a leader of the group. His outgoing personality and consistent attendance were the perfect fit for leading 100-200 runners every week.
Surrounding himself with marathoners and Ironman athletes, this community encouraged him to sign up for his first full marathon. At the start of 2024, Drew decided to fully commit to running and “started calling myself a runner.”
When asked about what the best part of being in a running community is, Drew said, “It’s hard to narrow it down to one. The inspiration that you get from all the amazing people you’re surrounded by, there’s nothing that compares to that.” He also noted how running is an individual sport, but being a part of a group has made a huge impact on his journey.
Drew ran his first-ever marathon in May of 2024, saying, “I had no idea what I was doing as far as nutrition and hydration.” He thought he should take a gel and a cup of water at each station, but had no detailed plan throughout the race.
So, around mile 17 mile of his first marathon, Drew said, “I felt like I was dying. I was super dizzy and weak.” He remembers walking and hoping for a water station. Although he finished the race, he said “I knew I never wanted to experience that again.”
This terrible experience convinced Drew he needed to do a Sweat Analysis Test. He had heard of Human Powered Health from his friend Gabe and was excited to see sweat testing was available, thinking, “This is going to save me, so I know exactly what to do for my next race.”
He visited the Edina Performance Lab in August of 2024, during his training for the Twin Cities Marathon. He discovered he was losing a high volume of sodium while running, saying, “It was awesome to see the actual data, it told me exactly how much sodium I lose in a set timeframe and pace.” After testing, Drew was given a detailed plan with recommendations on water, sodium and salt intake during his race.
Heading into the 2024 Twin Cities Marathon, he came prepared with various gels and salt tabs based on his testing results. He said, “I followed the plan closely and I felt incredible throughout the whole race. I didn’t just make it through; I felt good too.”
For his first marathon, he aimed for a 3:30 finish time but ended up finishing at 3:40. But 6 months later in the Twin Cities Marathon, he finished with a personal best of 3:13. He spoke on the impact of the sweat test saying, “I give a majority of that credit to that sweat test, it was life-changing.”
Drew also completed VO2 Max and Running Gait Analysis testing at Human Powered Health, saying that his visits have “been an incredible experience.” and also “The physiologists helped break down the data in an easily understandable way for me as a new runner.”
He spoke to the level of personal detail, saying, “They built out a plan for me and helped me understand what I needed to work on with my running gait, as well as what my VO2 Max meant.”
The performance testing has transformed Drews training and his mindset on endurance running, saying, “You can guess whether you’re doing things correctly or get tested and never worry about it again.”
Growing up with the attitude of hating running, Drew has learned plenty in his journey. Sharing “You have to surround yourself with like-minded individuals in a community, in a sport like running it’s great to help keep yourself accountable.” Also, the importance of pacing yourself, saying, “Take things slow, endurance is a journey built over many years.”
Now running around 25-30 miles a week, along with strength training, Drew is set to run the Grandma’s Marathon in June and the Chicago Marathon in October. His goal is to build off his success at the Twin Cities Marathon and run a sub 3:00 in June and then sub 2:50 in October to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
He is using the data collected at Human Powered Health to build his training program, saying, “It’s been such a pleasure coming into the lab, I really have enjoyed my time there.” Drew’s running journey and involvement in the running community is truly inspiring. We wish Drew all the best on his running journey and applaud him for being a great example that True Health is Self-Made.
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