Cory Reese

Hi. My name is Cory. I am a…well…it’s complicated. I am a husband. I am a dad to three teenagers. I am the owner of a Great Dane named Little Debbie who loves nothing more than to steal pizza off the kitchen counter. Wait. There is so much more to me. I am a Kia Sorento driver. A CPAP wearer. A Utah Jazz fan. A child of a father who took his life. An ally. An ex-Mormon. A terrible handyman. A recovering Twinkie addict. A snow hater and a sun lover. A composer of piano music. A believer that good things are coming. I am afraid of needles. Obsessed with Bruce Springsteen. Fierce in my distaste for seafood. Proud of myself for memorizing every line of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. I am an ultramarathon runner. I’ve run dozens of 100-mile races. Badwater. Western States. Wasatch. 100 miles around a high school track. 100 miles around the deck of a cruise ship. I ran across Tennessee. I’ve fallen in love with the sense of satisfaction that comes from seeing what I’m capable of, and realizing that it’s usually more than I think. I am an author. I’ve been a long-time columnist for UltraRunning Magazine. I’ve written a few books titled Nowhere Near First, and Into the Furnace. My latest book, Stronger Than the Dark, was listed by Men's Journal as one of the Top 20 New Books of 2021. I am a social worker and therapist. For two decades, my career has involved walking with people into the darkness, and talking about hard things. My occupation: aspiring beam of light. I know people all around me are fighting silent battles. I have been the one providing therapy, and the one receiving it. I am passionate about advocating for mental health. Wait. There is so much more to me. Those are the labels that define me. But I am more than a list of labels. I am enthusiasm. I am determination. I am broken. I am whole. I am light. I am adventure. I am creativity. I am love. I am enough.