Mike Stephens is a retired English teacher who served as English Department Chair at Shaw High School in Columbus, Georgia. He also coached the boys and girls cross-country teams, leading them to a combined eighteen region championships. After retiring in Georgia, Stephens taught American and British literature for six years at Smiths Station High School in Lee County, Alabama. An avid runner, he has competed at various distances for three decades and is an eight-time finisher of the Boston Marathon. In 2001, the author began section hiking the Appalachian Trail. Then in 2013 he began and comp...