“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.”
Dr. George Sheehan, Author, Running & Being
8,000 feet in elevation gain; 32 miles; heat in triple digits . . .
This year, one of my goals was to move beyond marathoning and into ultra-running. This Saturday, August 23, that goal will be realized as I, along with my training buddies Tiffany Forster and bare-foot running stud Todd Byers, will complete the Bulldog 50 kilometer event in Malibu State Park. (Todd will be wearing shoes for this event, the first time I will have seen him run in shoes in almost 18 months!)
While finishing the event will be a big accomplishment, it is the six months of training that are the real win. As a result of that success, this event will mark a new beginning as well as an end. Bulldog now also heralds the start of my year-long training for the Goretex Trans-Rockies Run, a 6-day, 125 mile event in August 2009.
My run at this new level also requires some thank-you's:
To my family: Teresa and Hayden, who have adapted to my training schedule, long weekend runs, and occasional (?) crankiness, while showering me with encouragement every step of the way;
To Tiffany: training buddy extraodinaire, for the joy, humor, and mutual support we have shared over hundreds of miles—and for reminding me that youth is a state of mind and heart;
To Todd: for an bottomless stream of tips, training guidance, and wonderfully bad jokes that have made the miles fly by;
To Drs. Ron and Mary Hulnick and the staff, faculty, and fellow students at the University of Santa Monica: after many years away from running due to injury, in 2000, it was what I learned in the M.A. Program in Spiritual Psychology that showed me how to get running again in a sustainable, enjoyable, and self-caring way.
To Spirit: I have shed so many tears of joy, gratitude, and humility on my runs. The gift of my running experience continues to grow, inspire, and open me to deepening levels of beauty in my life.
So, starting at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, your prayers, blessings, Light, and/or general groovy vibes of your chosen persuasion are welcome for all the runners in the Bulldog events.
I'll close with words from the master, George Sheehan, once more, “If you want to win anything—a race, yourself, your life—you have to go a little berserk.”
PS: I'll be celebrating with two of my very favorite things:
- A weekend at Disneyland, (including several repeat rides on Space Mountain!)
- Attending the guaranteed-to-inspire Graduation ceremonies at the University of Santa Monica. These are held this Sunday, August 24, at 2 p.m. at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus. This year's speaker is the remarkable Roberto Assagioli.
