5, 4, 3…. I have been in this place many times before… The Countdown.. my heart starts to pound, goosebumps cover my body and I can feel the blood flowing through every vein in my body.. My eyes focus down the chute to the first of the course markings.. everything becomes quiet and so peacefully still….the rest of the countdown become a soft gentle whisper… ... 2… …..one… The ground begins to rumble, as my vision blurs, the sprint out of the start begins, as i become breathless.. The overwhelming spirit of everyones dreams in one place working toward one common goal, and one beautiful moment of shared passion.
As the blades of grass touched the sides of my feet i could feel the moisture of the morning dew awakening my senses.. We approached the forest and the contrast between the bright green grass and dense dark brown trees was surreal.
We charged up rolling trail and down hills as my legs tingled and began to burn. No conversation was made between three of us who ran together in our pack.. Just this feeling of our shared love for trail, the thrill of the run and we continued to push each other..
The first loop was over and after slamming some coke, and some food into my face, we out again the three of us stayed in our pack until I throttled back. I kept the other two in my sight until we reached one of the last aid stations.. I unscrewed my cap off my bottle and surged forward I filled my bottle and in less than five seconds i was off..
Sprinting out to the final section of course, I ran hard and ignored the screaming feeling that was coming from my legs.. finally I could smell the finish.. I pushed and pushed until the trees parted and the contrast of the darkness of the forest, green of the grass, and beautiful blue sky appeared again. I was back to the start of where i would finish.. The start of something new, the start of a amazing adventure that had just begun..
A new PR was nice, top ten was great, and First in my age group was too. But knowing what was coming was the greatest award of all and to check off the first race.. it was time..
I found myself in the middle of downtown Denver, on my best buddy Justins couch..The sounds of sirens filled my ears and cars zoomed by. As I scratched the sleep out of my eyes and looked out the window, I saw the sun shining and its warmth was waking the green grass and trees with the most gentle wake up call.. I got up and walked to a coffee shop as Bob Marley filled my ears I made my way down the sidewalk, oblivious to the vehicles and people that were everywhere around me.
The day before I had left Winter Park. My home, and my life, Winter Park has been such apart of me for ten years, that place will always be with me as long as I'm alive..
But my adventure had begun and for the first time in years I was free.. No bills, debt free, and no work, made me feel so empowered and full of a energy I haven't felt in years filled my soul. I left most of everything I owned and packed only the things i needed for this adventure. And left without looking back..
It was so beautiful out that Justin and I decided to bang out some errands and then go for a run. We arrived at a park next to a busy highway, there was a paved trail that melted into well groomed dirt one that wound up and down a soft grassy hill. A cool, gentle river flowed next to the trail as a single track hugged the shore of the water.
Running through the long grass, the rushing water that filled river flowed past, crashed into rocks and the shore line.. I found myself becoming lost in this moment, cars, concrete, and the population no longer existed… I was the in the moment with nature, dancing a soulful dance which no one could interrupt or cut in.. I felt honored and proud to be connected with such a beautiful thing..
This was just the beginning, I was truly free and alive, for in that moment the link with her was oh exciting and real… Here's to adventure!
The cold water wrapped around my knees, and the heat of the day warmed my skin as the contrast of the two elements soothed my soul.. I crossed the Urique river in search of adventure and a trail that my sandals had never touched before..
Cows crowded the side of the hill, as cactus, thorns and briars littered the side of the loose gravely canyon wall..
I crawled and climbed up the steepness, sliding and slipping down the loose rock, until finally I was rewarded with my first view of the trail I had dreamed of..
The thin ribbon of trail hugged wall of earth as the opposing side dropped hundreds of feet to the Urique River below..
Scrambling and running up and up, the dust and dirt filled my nose with the scent of her sweet earthy perfume. I couldn't help but smile as I pushed myself up the treacherous trail, dodging and weaving uphill through cat claw thorns and cactus that called this place home.
As time went on I found myself struggling and lost, trails split off in infinite directions, all I knew was that i was heading up, to the top of the canyon. I don't know why I didn't turn back, was it the allure of the unknown? Exploring a new place? I pushed on, glancing over my shoulder, enjoying the hostel, where all my friends were, get smaller and smaller.
Every now and then i would come to flat sections that were so beautifully perfect for pounding out some amazing miles.
I neared the summit, the view was absolutely incredible from here but the trail became extremely treacherous. Stopping to enjoy the view, I slowed to a crawl, at this point the trail was non existent. With the drop falling thousands of feet, if you were to slip the only thing to stop you would be a random cactus or the occasional cow.
Finally I passed above the shrubs and trees, I had reached my destination. The top of the canyon was a sight for sore eyes.. I sat on a rock and looked out over the beautiful place that has a home in my heart, I thought to myself… why did I come here? why had I pushed so hard to get there? But I realized I didn't do it by myself, he was there with me.. He was showing me a placed he had loved as well, a place so quite and so peaceful. This feeling was a feeling I wish I could share with everyone, the feeling of being truly free. Without a single thought in the world, this was it.. This was the moment when i realized where i belonged.. Where I belong isn't a place, it was inside me, and where ever i wandered i was home..
As my apartment begins to get torn apart and my life packed away into cardboard boxes, I reminisce about all the memories and time I've spent in this beautiful town.. Winter Park Colorado has been my home for ten years, its a place that has seen the best and worst of me. It a place thats seen all the growth i've experienced in this life.
As butterflies fill my stomach, I see what will be my life packed into a 62 L backpack, I start to feel awake, and filled with a new energy...
This overwhelming, all consuming feeling of wanderlust began a few years ago when I was on a hike in Mexico with my friend Micah. We spoke about the freedom that is strived for in many peoples lives. And of how some people over the years lost the passion for adventure, and how freedom and success aren't measured in material things, but rather in the relationships we make with the people we meet, and the experiences we share with those people.
Ever since that day I found myself waking up everyday with a feeling of wanting, and needing adventure.. A new world was opened in my heart and a new reality was in the works.
For the next several years I did a lot of traveling and a lot of racing. I met a lot of great inspirational people and learned a lot about myself every place i went. Until recently home was a physical thing.. A apartment, a trail or a town..
But as I pack everything away, and get rid of most of my physical possessions, the definition of what home is becomes much clearer… Home, to me, is here and now.. Home is the people I meet, the places I go, and the collections of memories in my heart. Home is my family and friends, my home… is you…
I tied my Luna's, grabbed my bag, slammed the hotel room door shut, and pushed play on my iPod. It was 4:45am as I began my walk to the start line of the Leadville Silver 50, the sky was pitch black, and the sun was waking, outlining the surrounding mountains with highlights of blue. The air was cool, it kissed my knees, tickled my nose, and sent a wake up call up my spine.
My hotel was about a half mile from the start, which gave me plenty of time to gain some focus, while jamming some tunes and dancing all the way there. As I made my arrival to the start line, I threw my gear into the ski hut at the base of Dutch Henry Hill. For almost an hour I skipped in circles and paced back and forth trying to warm my chilled body.
It was now 5:50, and with a quick but beautiful performance of the national anthem, we were just a few minutes from tackling this tough course... Smiling from ear to ear i walked through the crowd shaking hands and saying hello to many old friends, and wishing good luck to all the other runners.
With about a minute to go we all lined up at the start line, the RD Josh Colley hiked up the hill with a shotgun loaded and ready for the start. The bass from the speakers bumped through my chest, I put my headphones in, found a quiet peaceful place, and focused on the top of the hill. I could hear the announcer counting down "5...4...3...2..."and with push of a button my GPS was on, and so was my race. I sprinted up Dutch Henry Hill as fast as i could, I felt my lungs screaming as I reached the top. I looked in front of me and there were only 3 or 4 people, it was my goal to be one of the first up this beast of a hill. And there I was.. I grinned and thought to myself, "this is going to be a good day".
2012 SR50 Start
It took a few minutes before I could catch my breath but i had plenty of time over the next 10 miles, which slowly took us up and the first big climb. The climb was very rocky, as small streams flowed down the trail making the ground between the rocks very muddy and in some spots rutted out. Running, hiking, and chatting I met several awesomely amazing people on my way up this hill. I charged the last mile lungs burning and my legs tingling I finally reached the top. This is where we received our first breathtaking view, I looked around and was surrounded by huge mountains shooting up from the earth high into the clouds which now shielded us from the heat of the beating sun. I stopped took a sip from my water bottle, admired the beauty surrounding me and pounded down the road. From here there was a 4 mile down hill on fire roads to the next aid station. While charging down the road i spoke with several people about my life and my mission to carry on the work of our friends Micahs dream. To help preserve the running culture of the Raramuri tribe of Mexico. I spoke of how thankful I was to have received such a powerful, beautiful gift from such a humble people and how honored i was to share their spirit while i ran.
Pounding down the road was easier than i thought so i ran 7 minute pace for the 4 miles leading into the aid station, I flowed through the station with such confidence, filling my water, and popping a few pretzels in my mouth then was gone before they even knew i was there.
I was 14 miles into a tough 50 mile race and felt amazing, my only goal for this race was to keep a positive attitude the whole time, and so far i was way ahead of my goal. I kept smiling, encouraging, and chatting with people as we started our climb up the next big hill. I put on some music lowered the bill of my cap and a started to dig deep for this next climb. Running up and down the trail jumping over roots and rocks, I found myself with a grin, as i emerged from the dense forest. We had made it to timberline, and the view was amazing. 360 degree views of the most breathtaking mountains, I thought to myself, "THIS is it, THIS is why I run". When I am up high in the mountains and on trail I feel at home. Its the time when i feel the most like myself. Goosebumps covered my entire self, grinning ear to ear I ran up the rest of the climb.
I was at the top, I paused took a minute to enjoy this beautiful moment, then bombed down the other side of the pass. Jumping off rocks and sprinting through berms, I made my descent down the steep mountain. The backside of the mountain was covered with thousands of wild flowers, blue, red, purple,green, yellow, the colors were like an explosion of motivation for my soul.
I reached the bottom dipped my hat in a stream, ran down another little pass, slapping hands and giving daps to people who were on their way back up from the 25 mile turn around.
As I made it into the turn around my legs were a bit tired, so i made it to the aid station and grabbed my drop bag. I ate some Saquito, shot a 5hour, and grabbed some more toilet paper. And i was off..
Cruising back over two passes and through the 50K aid station i was cruising a 7 and half minute pace, and felt really good. I knew that rain was in the forecast for the afternoon, so when i got to the next aid at mile 36.5 I grabbed a trash bag, tossed it over my head and was gone. I approached the long 3+ mile uphill just as the rain began, at first the rain came down as a nice refreshing mist and soon turned into a down pour. Once again i pulled down the bill of my cap and pushed hard up this hill. About a mile from the top the sun peaked out of the clouds illuminating all the colors of nature. The colors of the flowers looked more vibrant and the green leaves of the trees blew me away. The rain was a blessing, I appreciated it as did the flowers and trees.
The sun was out rejuvenating me, as I chatted with my new friend Megan. We talked about the ultra running world and how we could change the world. :)
Before we knew it we at the top...10 more miles... all downhill. Before I started the descent I popped a a SCap, a GU, and downed some water, then dove head first into the ole pain cave.
I ran as hard as I possibly could, over little rollers, across puddles and through aid stations. My quads were on fire, and my calves were completely tight and locked up, as my stomach did flips. It felt as if i was looking through a straw for the last miles. I remember talking to my friend Micah for those last 10 miles, our conversation was beautiful and the moment was surreal. Nothing mattered at that point, pain was secondary, dehydration didn't exist, and nothing could stop our final push to the finish. We passed about 10-15 people on my way down making up about 15 minutes over 10 miles. Of all the times of the day THIS was our time. Finally crossing under the arch to the final down hill of the race i knew i was about 100 yards from the finish. I stopped at the top of the hill, to thank Micah, the earth, and myself for such a powerful, positive and beautiful day. Then ran as hard as possible down the hill ignoring the cramping and pain that filled body, I sprinted faster than i did all day as my eyes locked in on the red carpet that welcomes all the finishers of Leadville. I crossed the finish in 9 hours and 30 minutes... 1 hour and 28 minutes faster than the previous year.
This was a beautiful day full of positivity and beauty. Thank you to all the volunteers, runners, and supporters, without you this race would not have been what it was.....
After a loooong interesting night in Denver i finally made my way to the airport around 3:00am. My plan was to grab a bus and get here and catch a full nights sleep on a bench or comfy pleather sofa. But I happened to get a little side tracked.. So here I'am, after a few hours of tossing and turning on a floor at DIA, its 5:30am, reminiscing of the beautiful sleepless night last weekend that set me up for the best race I've ever run....
I crawled into my sleeping bag and laid there thinking of the day that stood before me. I had about seven hours until I had to wake up and run 100Kilometers... It was a brisk 23 degrees, with a nice breeze that cut through my bivy tent like a knife through butter. I rolled back and forth.. shivered.. then rolled back and forth some more... I received several texts and Facebook messages that warmed my heart, and momentarily my frozen toes.. I shivered for what felt like hours, until i finally fell asleep.
Like a bear waking from hibernation, I opened my eyes, feeling groggy and well rested i checked my clock and it read "1:45..AM!".. 1:45am?? Damn it.. That means I had only been sleeping for two hours.. "Screw IT!", I thought to myself, So I jumped in the car and took off to a 24hour grocery store to get some coffee and get my muscles warmed up. After running a few laps around the parking lot at the store.. It was back to Chatfield State Park to chat and shiver with all the other racers...
As the sun started to rise above the lakes, i felt the warmth caress my skin, the heat washed away all my worries, and made me feel almost weightless. We all huddled in a small group at the start line, joking, laughing, and grinning ear to ear, Roman the race director explained a few course details, preparing us for the river crossings and technical trail that lie ahead. With a few jokes and minimal instructions, he counted us down. 5..... all the runners index fingers took the ready positions on their watch.... 4.. 3..2..1 And we were off, charging out of the start with the lead pack was a thrill as it always is. We cruised on dirt roads for about 3miles chatting about how similar our pack looked to being in the lead pack at Leadville last year. We cruised together until we hit the first aid station.. Knowing there wasn't much food on the course i grabbed a clif bar and shoved it down my shorts, and took off again. A quarter mile down the trail i saw several men standing around in very official looking uniforms. This was the first river crossing and they were Search and Rescue, these guys were out there to help make sure that we made across safely. I decided to take the beaver dam across that was so conveniently placed next to the crossing to keep myself dry and some what warm. The water was cold and so was the air this early in the morning, so i thought this was the best option. Until I ran another quarter mile...
Here there was an even wider river crossing, but not quite as deep. So I charged into the almost frozen water, the water hit my feet and sent a shock all the way through my legs and my toes instantly went numb. I got out on the other side, legs burning, I kept pushing forward, until we went about another half a mile. Guess what was there.. thats right another river crossing. Over the entire course there was five crossings, and over five loops, twenty five river crossings in all.
After several loops on this 12 mile course, I finally made it to the halfway point. As i came through I asked the timing guy where I was in the race. He told me that I was in last place in the 100K and if i didn't pick up the pace, i probably wouldn't make the cutoff... So I grubbed down a bean burrito, slammed a beer and I flew out of aid station. I looked at my Garmin and saw that i was running seven and half minutes miles as I pounded up and down the trail trying to make up time. Dust flying from my Luna's and sweat spraying from my hair, I started to catch other runners. I tore through the over growth and shrubs, bushwacking, as I yelled " ON YOUR LEFT", " ON YOUR RIGHT". I blew the rivers, enjoying the cool, relieving water on my aching burning muscles, as i tried to enjoy and embrace the cramping and pain. I kept catching runners until I made it back to the check point.
After one more burrito and another brew, I was off on my last loop.
At this point I knew that I was going to make it back before the cutoff. So I thanked every volunteer on my way through the course, I'm sure they thought i was nuts for being so happy after such along time of running. But without volunteers none of us would be able to do what we do. I ran as fast as I could through the loop, with one mile to go in the race the sky opened up and it started to pound rain.....sideways.. I ran as hard as I could, but there was a large field on my way back to the finish. I turned my head to look and to my surprise there were three deer standing in the field watching me run I stopped and looked to the sky, in that moment a ray of sun came down from the dark rainy clouds, and a rainbow appeared. I wish I had a photo of this exact moment for it sums up one of the greatest reasons i run. To be with nature, feeling free. I stood there in awe for about a minute or two, then with a satisfied smile on my face I ran the last mile of the race, finishing in 12HRS39MINS, and my first 3rd place finish.
This was my first adventure of many over the past month, I enjoyed the ride! And I hope you all do too...
We awoke early, checked out, and jumped in a cab. The driver flew through the city flying around corners, but actually obeying some traffic lights. As the driver screeched to a stop a man ran over to our car yelling at us in spanish.. He jerked our bags from the trunk, and hurried us on the bus, passed a long line of people standing, and waiting to get on. He set my bag next to the driver, and then shouted at me and Pat "Tip!? Tips?". Pat gave him a few Cordobas, I just had larger bills, so he shook his head and left the bus. The bus was standing room only, Pat and I were the only gringos on the bus and the only people on the bus standing. But no one aboard even noticed two scruffy, Surfer type, travelers, everyone was into their mp3 players and cell phones..
After two hours or so of bouncy Nicaraguan roads we finally had gotten our own seats. It was a very welcomed pleasure to sit and rest our weary, shaky legs. The seats we found were at the front of the bus right behind the driver. There were to little girls sitting next to the driver, assisting him with horn. They were very young and very sweet. Pat and I entertained the girls, with extremely crappy spanish,and teaching them to read some english.
We hung with our little friends for a few more minutes before arriving at San Jorge, the port where we'd catch our ferry to the Island of Ometepe.
The driver's partner grabbed our bags and threw them on the Lancha boat, and with a smile wished us luck. We were on our way.
Lake Nicaragua is the largest lake in Central America, and is known to be the home of sawfish, and sharks. As the boat thrashed up and down i peered across the lake. There it was, the Island of Ometepe.
Ometepe Is made up of two volcanos, Concepcion and Maderas, and joined by an isthmus toform the island. The island is home to monkeys, tropical birds, snakes and many other species of plants, and insects. It is a beautiful, magical place, filled with mystery. The mystery we were soon to discover.
After an hour or so we arrived at the island. There was an energy there that words can not explain. Everyone on the boat pushed toward the exit. Excitement filled my soul, and i forced my way through the crowd and made my way off of the boat. I finally reached the dock, a large banner hung above the road reading "Fuego Y Agua 25k 50k 100k". "This must be the place", i thought to myself....The fun has arrived..
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