Artist profile: Kevin Carollo, author of ‘SHRED! Running and Being’

Like so many of us, when COVID-19 hit in 2020, writer, accomplished distance runner and MSUM English Professor Kevin Carollo’s plans went awry. 

Instead of spending several months of his planned academic sabbatical in Italy, he ended up on his couch. 

“And I’ve been there ever since, really,” Carollo laughs while discussing his new book, “SHRED! Running and Being,” published by NDSU Press earlier in 2024. “I just started writing these sort of random journal entries as a coping mechanism.”

As a professor of world literature and a published poet, it is no surprise that Carollo turned to writing as a strategy for coping with the sudden changes in his life. The classes he teaches at MSUM incorporate fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art and contemporary politics, so it is no surprise that those elements are all integral to the themes and rhythms of “SHRED!” 

What does appear surprising is the structure–storytelling in the form of an old-school running log.

Within the structure of logged miles and running times, “SHRED! Running and Being” reads like a conversation with a dear friend. Meandering back and forth through time and topic, Carollo shares memories, drops facts, and pauses for a poem. 

“Writing works on many levels. You can write for something bigger, while still tying yourself to other people. A message in a bottle. It’s an oddball book, you know, but it has a message,” states Carollo. “Though I don’t necessarily think you should read it all the way through in one sitting.”

The narrative is packed with rock music references, weather reports, existential anxieties, life-changing relationships, daily tasks, political observations and small joys. Acknowledging that connection starts with truth, Carollo allows himself to be vulnerable and authentic within its pages – and getting to know someone takes time.

Finding purpose through ritual and process

When someone runs their first marathon at the age of 12 and is still running 40 years later, it is easy to assume that running should be easy for them – especially if they’ve completed the Boston Marathon eight times in the last ten years. However, that isn’t always the case.

“I’m not very good at being regular, being consistent. Creating that time,” Carollo confesses.

The openness of his struggles to maintain a ritual practice of both writing and running provide the foundation to a very relatable narrative. While the pandemic made Carollo’s regular running routines unfamiliar, the difficulty to believe in the value of small actions when faced with overwhelming circumstances is a mindset most of us have experienced. 

Carollo’s narrative reminds us that under a constant barrage of negativity ranging from wars to social media chatter, it can be hard to believe our everyday actions have a purpose. Yet it is finding value in small rituals that provide the ability to cope with a reality that can sometimes appear to be staggeringly negative. 

By sharing his own struggles with running and writing, Carollo nvites the reader to acknowledge the importance of finding a “SHRED!” mindset, that is, leaning into activities that allow the body and mind to sync up and be present in the moment. 

He uses his own experiences to show the value of finding a way to step outside what he refers to as our “default settings.” That the pursuit will not always be easy. That the best way to keep from falling into fear is to keep showing up. Just start, and the rest will follow.

Carollo has a strong presence in the local running community and spends a lot of time with like-minded runners at Beyond Running, a local running store. His “SHRED!” philosophy has bled over into that same local running culture, where many runners have adopted the mantra, “Shred like Kev” whenever they need more motivation. 

Restoring faith in humanity

“We’re all isolated, and I think the pandemic gave further justification to that. We’re constantly connected with the internet, but persistently alone – aware of our own separation from people,” Carollo said of his own feelings of isolation.

While he is open about his struggles to strive past his own depression to create moments of connection with others, Carollo also stresses the value of intentionally searching out opportunities that will foster stronger faith in humanity.

“Everybody’s beaten down. Everybody’s busy. We can’t vote harder. We can’t hate half the country. We have to learn to see each other. Running, writing, anything really, can be a practice of seeing each other,” Carollo said. “We have to find places that build a capacity for empathy and compassion. I feel my faith in humanity somehow restored by hanging around people who have been forgotten.”

Carollo cites four locations that restore his faith in humanity the most: First is the psychiatric ward, a place he got to know intimately during an intensely low time in his life. “These are actual places, but it’s also the people who react to the state of the world and can’t handle it,” he said. 

Second is the classroom where he feels vulnerability is key to teaching. He’s taught world literature and creative writing at MSUM since 2003.

Third is the memory care unit where he spent much of the past ten years helping care for his mother-in-law Elizabeth Gregory and the inspiration for a poetry chapbook titled “Elizabeth Gregory.” Gregory is referenced several times in “SHRED!” and has continued to inspire Carollo’s creative endeavors even after her death from Alzheimer’s in 2023. 

His fourth and final source of inspiration: former prison inmates-turned runners. Carollo spent much of the pandemic social-distance running with felons.

Moving towards solidarity

Even though most of the region was still under covid restrictions at the time, Carollo learned of an opportunity to put his ideas into practice by volunteering for the Elemental Running Club at Centre, Inc., which provides rehabilitative housing and services to previously incarcerated individuals. 

“In my head I’m saying ‘I don’t really identify with anybody, I feel isolated here,’ ” he admitted when he first started coaching men on weekly group runs. “But at the same time, what happens if you just run with people you would never see otherwise? Those people come from all over, different walks of life, different backgrounds. What happens when you just start putting one foot in front of the other and get to know them?”

Carollo added that the people at Centre had no reason to trust him. After all, they were strangers and from seemingly different walks of life. 

“But something happens. Within a quarter of a mile everyone is joking, laughing, reaching out. The next week, the people will come back. And I’m fine. I love it, too,” he said.

Carollo’s naturally serious yet thoughtful demeanor makes way for pure joy, transported to a “SHRED!” mindset as he recounted his friendship with a former Centre resident, who has since stayed clean from drugs, maintained employment and evolved into a talented distance runner himself. 

Adding comrades 

Carollo is still moving forward.

“The goal is to run the Comrades Marathon in South Africa, which is a historic marathon first run in 1921, so the next book will be called, ‘Comrades.’ It will be about different people and different groups – and about running the revolution. Approaching it with a belief like, ‘This is what’s at stake. This is your chance.’ ”

Starting his next book with an essay titled “Speed of Wombat,” for which he is currently seeking publication, “Comrades” will still combine his love of writing, teaching and running. In the meantime, he plans to meet his mother, Anne Brandt, to whom he dedicates “SHRED!” at the Chicago Marathon on October 13. 

“My mom has been my biggest supporter and often joins me for my Boston Marathon journey every April,” he said. 

Then comes the big one — Boston Marathon — his ninth running of the elite global running event. At age 56, he’s aiming for sub-three hours, which places him in the very top of his age group for marathon running.

Mutual vulnerability

“When you’re sharing the same space, once you start walking or running with somebody, you have to become mutually vulnerable. You’re not checking your phone as much – you’re making connections. In a way, that’s the message of this book,” Carollo concludes.

In many ways “SHRED! Running and Being” reads more as an invitation than a novel. An invitation to share the journey, whatever that may look like, failures and all. To acknowledge shared feelings of helplessness. To stubbornly believe anything is possible. To find value in the seemingly small and mundane. To be vulnerable in a world that doesn’t usually reward such bravery. To reach past our own feelings of isolation to connect with others. And it’s also a reassurance,  a way of saying , “Here, I’ll go first.” 

“Please, o stranger

So familiar, join my

Movement of movement.

We have much to run on, so much

More to run towards.” — Excerpt from “SHRED! Running and Being” by Kevin Carollo

Purchase ‘SHRED! Running and Being’

Copies of “SHRED! Running and Being” are available through North Dakota State University Press, in-store at Beyond Running and online at kevincarollo.com/.