What A Life? tour
As you read this, keep in mind, the one thing I dislike more than running is driving long distances! I’m the epitome of ironic and a glutton for punishment!
My goal race for the year was the Tahoe200 so I started diligently training in January while working in Houston for the XFL. I was busy at work so I ran what I could, when I could! I’m from a small town outside of Syracuse, NY and am therefore slightly averse to running in the cold, so starting my training in a Houston “winter” was perfect! I lived in Houston from 2002 to 2007 so my running adventures/training allowed me to rediscover some of the areas I used to frequent. It was a lot of fun to reacquaint myself with the city and although a lot of it has been updated over the years, there is a great familiarity at the same time.
I’m not going to harp on the fact that 2020 has been a shitty year, all around, it might be the one and only thing every person could agree with!
I’ve struggled with a deeper version of my why but in one sense, it came into focus as I made my way across the country to run the Moab240 in October. Before I get to that though, allow me to back up a little bit. I was supposed to run the Tahoe200 in September and hung in there until it was cancelled a few short weeks prior to the race, coincidentally the delay in cancelling the race happened to line up perfectly with my training plan, so I was able to get just about all of my long runs in before finding out the race was called off, funny how that happens?!?!?! After some consultations with my coach and thinking through my options, I decided to waitlist for the Moab240 which was scheduled for October. When I joined the waitlist in the early part of September, I was #40 and didn’t really believe I was going to make it. The waitlist cutoff was late September and I didn’t think that many people would decide not to run it. I kept a very moderate training schedule and didn’t do any really high mileage but rather tried to maintain what I had built up over the months of training. Little my little as I moved up the waitlist, I got excited but still didn’t think I’d get in, even when I reached the top 10 only a few days before the deadline!
As previously stated 2020 had been a shitty year. I started a job with a startup football league (my 2nd), moved to Houston, season stopped for Covid, the league shut down, laid off all the employees, filed for bankruptcy, moved back to Syracuse, and like so many others wondered what I was going to do next, professionally and personally. Finances were tight and the smart thing to do would have been to hunker down and focus intently on finding a job, any job! But the wind had been taken out of my sails and I needed to do something else. I just didn’t have the energy to attack a job search like I needed to. There were no job prospects and only an unemployment check to keep me afloat. Plenty of negative mojo to go around but the two things I had going for me were my family (parents, brothers, sisters) and running. Despite a torrent of negativity surrounding my immediate life, I have a deep understanding of how good I have it and how blessed and fortunate I am. There are too many people without the support that I’m so lucky to have. My training gave me an outlet and something to look forward to (until Tahoe was cancelled)!
My plan all along was to make a trip out of my running adventure, whether it was Tahoe or Moab, I was going to get away and drive across the country to either of those locations. If I wasn’t running in the races, I’d volunteer at them in some form or fashion. I started planning on my trip and on Sept. 18, I said goodbye to my parents, got in the car, and hit the road!
Stop #1 was Chain O’Lakes State Park, near Albion, IN. I knew this park because it was the site of one of my failed 100-mile attempts. The course is a beautiful 20-mile loop done 5 times to earn the coveted Indiana100 buckle! I naively set a sub 24hr goal for myself despite not being prepared for it and when I realized I wasn’t going to make it, I mentally broke and stopped at mile 60. I had returned to slightly redeem myself by finishing the hundred mile I signed up for and luckily it aligned with my training, now for the Moab240. I set up camp late on Friday and planned a 20 miler for both Saturday and Sunday. Both days were beautiful and the park and course did not disappoint!
On Monday, I packed up and took off, next stop Sioux Falls, SD! I really wanted to make it to Mt. Rushmore but it’s close to 16 hrs. from IN to Mt. Rushmore and driving for that long didn’t appeal to me. The thought too crossed my mind that I should try to adventure a little bit and see some places I had only flown over so I added Sioux Falls to the trip. It was on this drive, two days into my journey that the “What A Life!” Tour came alive…on accident!
I should say, for most of my life I have shied away from the camera, whether they be in still pictures or videos, never knowing what to say and being self-conscious about how I looked and sounded! Since the pandemic started, I’d let my hair grow out and at this point in late September it was pretty much blown out so in a sense, I had let go of the rope, and embraced my goofiness and inhibitions about how I looked and sounded.
For the longest time, I’d wanted to visit the Field of Dreams in Iowa and this adventure was the perfect opportunity. When I arrived, I found myself kind of giddy at the site of the field and was thrilled to see the cornstalks in full bloom, which only added to my excitement! It was nostalgic and I found myself thinking about my own little league days. I sat in the bleachers thinking that at any moment I’d see some ball players walk into the outfield from the rows of corn! It was so cool, I felt an overwhelming urge to record my experience, and I thought what could more American than sitting in the bleachers, eating a hotdog, at the Field of Dreams! Unfortunately, they didn’t have hotdogs at the snack stand so I went to plan B and made a PB&J sandwich from the camping supplies in my car. I recorded a short video, took a bite of the sandwich and uttered the phrase that would change my trip and spark some ideas that could be life altering. That phrase became the namesake for the trip and a daily reminder of how fortunate I am, and with that the “What A Life!” tour was born. I must say the one thing that made it stick was the reaction I received after posting the video. Hearing from friends and reading their comments about the Field of Dreams video had a profound impact on me! Without the reaction, I probably would not have posted another video at all.
Even deeper, the reaction to the video reminded me too that so many people didn’t have an opportunity to travel like I did and a part of me wanted to continue the videos for them. If I could provide some entertainment, a smile, or split second of distraction for even one person then it’d a success and I’d be happy to do it.
After my pitstop in Iowa, I was back on the road to Sioux Falls! I’d reserved an AirBnB in Sioux Falls and had remembered a few things that I’d forgotten so my time in SF would be spent, running/adventuring, shopping, resting, and organizing my drop bags. What I discovered in SF, was a quaint and quiet midwestern city. There’s a great park trail (paved) around the downtown area and close in suburbs, some really neat and historic neighborhood parks, reminiscent of parks you’d find in Savannah, GA, and of course the Sioux Falls falls. A few highlights of my time in SF include the following:
1. People tended to be really nice, which I noticed while I was running. If I was on the sidewalk, people in cars would give me a wave, randomly. it was awesome and such a departure from what I get running in either upstate NY or in Houston or pretty much anywhere else I’ve run! I even got, waves, nods, and actual hello, how are you?’s from people walking, running, and on bikes...that RARELY happens (especially from bikers) in upstate! The video I posted referred to this point, about how kind people can be, when we choose to be. In most cases the cost is minimal, if anything, and there really isn’t reason not to be.
2. The Buffalo Ranch Chicken wrap at Slim Chickens is wickedly good! I was in SF for only a few days but had several visits because it was right next door to my accommodations! I was supposed to be eating healthy in the runup to Moab so don’t tell my coach?!?!?
3. History. Some places I visit I’m intrigued by the history and SF was no exception. I found myself thinking about two different histories though. One being the history of the city itself and how it was a central depot and stopping point for Sioux Quartzite mining and milling in that region as the US was expanding west. It’s a long journey out west in the modern era and would have been especially long prior to the industrial revolution. It’s no wonder it would become a stopping off point but still kind of curious because of its remoteness back then. The second history that crossed my mind was that of the Sioux Indians. I wondered what life must have been like for them, prior to white men coming to area and then having their land taken away from them over a period of time. Having seen how the falls and downtown SF are now, I’m curious to know what it looked like and how they used the same area and surrounding area.
I spent three full days in SF before heading on to Mt. Rushmore and the Black Hills, which I was very excited for. On my way, out there I stopped at the Minuteman Nuclear Missile Museum, it didn’t take long and is pretty small but it was a nice break to stretch the legs. You can find it close by the entrance to the Badlands, which I did not see. I saved it for another trip!!! Going through the museum took me back to being a kid. My dad worked for the US Dept. of State and was stationed overseas for the early part of my life and most of the formative years of my (much) older brothers and sisters! We lived in Germany through the late mid to late 80’s so some of the exhibits portrayed what life was like going through that time for the Nuclear Missile Program, close calls and the impact on the world and our lives.
Back on the road, I was stunned by the vastness and openness of the plains and struck by how big the sky was! The knock I’ve heard repeatedly on the Midwest is how flat it is, which is true but for the first time in my life, instead of being bored with the lack of elevation, I saw the beauty of it. The sunrise and sunsets, the amber waves of grain, the seemingly endless fields of livestock, and the simplicity that comes from it, was BEAUTIFUL! We should take time to reflect on our surroundings and rather than find reasons not to like it, search for reasons to appreciate it and each other.
I expected the Black Hills to be remote and generally quiet but what I found was the small towns dotting the landscape to be touristy and somewhat commercialized. Not in the sense that there are tons of strip malls and chain stores but more built out like a theme park with cheesy novelty stores. To be fair, the Black Hills are remote and not close to a major metropolitan area with endless forms of entertainment so with only a couple things to do, the theme park like attractions may be necessary to keep the kids entertained and distracted. It certainly didn’t have an authentic, remote wilderness kind of feel. To be honest, I was hoping for that so was taken aback when it was different.
My campsite was down the hill and kind of around the back side of Mt. Rushmore. The best part was there were some connector trails that would allow me to hike/run to see Mt. Rushmore. It was a little over two miles by both car or by trail so I opted for the trail and some adventuring! When I hit the trails, I’m always concerned about interactions with wildlife, especially, bears, mountain lions, and snakes and the hike to Mt. Rushmore was no exception. I’m not sure if it’s because I wasn’t fully prepared, unfamiliarity with the trails, or if some of my friends had gotten in my head about how big, bad, and dangerous it might be! The entire 2.5 miles I was nervous and even thought about turning around but then told myself it’s only a little bit further, and that I’ll be fine! Luckily, I passed some hikers going the other way which helped ease my concern a bit. I started talking to myself out loud to make noise, which would hopefully scare some critters away! I’m not sure which topic of the day I was solving but I do know I was speaking rather loudly because I came up behind a woman and her dog. They were both looking at me like, “Who the hell are you talking to???”, perhaps they were a little startled to find out I was only talking to myself! After a brief trail chat with the woman and her dog I was on my way. She also reassured me that the wildlife I was worried about only came out at dawn and dusk and that I’d be fine! From that point on, I lowered my out loud voice and kept my musings to a lower volume!
There’s no other way to put it, Mt. Rushmore is magnificent! It would be even more so without all the tourists but still to stand there and look up at the marvel of ingenuity and the vision it took to carve had me in awe. I’d intended to be an early bird but didn’t want to get out of bed so there were a decent number of tourists at the site by the time I arrived mid to late morning. I took the extra time to take the Presidential Trail, which isn’t a trail at all but rather a boardwalk like path, which allows you a little closer view of the mountain. The detail of the artwork was evident from the closer up view. Along the boardwalk there are areas designated for picture taking and signs explaining various topics having to do with anything from the construction timeline to the Presidents themselves. Towards the end of the path, you can walk by the artist’s studio, which was their HQ for the daily work done on the mountain. Given the remoteness at the time, electricity was hard to come by up in the mountains. After a significant amount of effort to run power, workers were having issues every Monday. They would lose power and the day would be lost to work but nobody could figure out why! After some investigation it turns out, Monday was laundry day in the towns around the site, so the power needed for construction was being siphoned off in order to get laundry clean!
Total time in the Black Hills was a little more than 2 days. One day, my focus was Mt. Rushmore, the other was spent exploring Custer State Park, which is the home to an open range of wildlife and known famously for their Buffalo herd. If you’ve ever seen pictures of cars driving along a road surrounded by Buffalo this is where those pictures would probably have been taken. It’s a sprawling park with loads of wildlife, views, and informative signage. I suppose my timing isn’t that great because the yearly roundup occurred the weekend I was there! So, the 1000+ Buffalo were in an enclosure to be counted and managed. Initially, I was a little disappointed because I can see Buffalo behind a fence at a zoo, anytime! When I got to their “pen” I laughed because the “pen” was still several hundred (if not thousand) acres! It’s big enough that the Buffalo were still several hundred yards away and I couldn’t see the other side of the fence! So, don’t feel too bad for them, or me!
The next morning, I took off on a 12 hr. or so drive for Moab, UT. I volunteered to help course mark for the 240 and needed to get there Monday so we could get going on first thing on Tuesday morning. People don’t think too much about course marking until they get lost but it really is important to the overall experience of a race, especially a 240-mile-long race! The drive was pretty uneventful but was filled with some gorgeous vistas…I now know why they call it Big Sky country! After a quick stop in Denver for some supplies at REI and lunch at Steubens I was on my way across the Rocky Mountains and what a drive it was. Highway 70 is amazing and when I have time, I’ll stop at some of the towns the highway cuts through and by. It would be a harrowing drive in the winter time and I’m not sure I’d care to do that one! Popping out on the other side of the Rockies drops you into a desert landscape reminiscent of what Mars might look like but just like the plain’s states, it’s unique in its beauty and with the sunrise or sunset can take your breath away.
We’d spend the better part of the week course marking and with a one loop course it can be challenging to get it all done. Generally, the idea is to work as efficiently as possible to get the course marked but a course like Moab doesn’t lend itself to efficiency because there are some VERY remote aid stations and difficult terrain to drive on, hike, or even bike. Luckily for me, the two Lead Markers (Garrett and Riley) are very capable and have some experience doing this sort of thing! To start the morning, we’d get ourselves organized and divided into crews with one person assigned to be a driver for the day. We were broken down as follows:
1. One driver for the day.
2. Two crews.
3. One crewman takes a vehicle to the end point of a segment (usually an aid station).
4. The primary vehicle then goes to that point to pick up the single crewman.
5. Now everyone is in one vehicle heading to a roughly the midpoint for the day.
6. Both crews get out and start in their own direction.
7. Assigned driver goes to the end point and picks up the crew going that direction.
8. The other crew works their way back to the drop off vehicle.
It’s simple enough, however there can be considerable time constraints because it could take 3 hours’ worth of driving before even one marker is placed! An individual segment could take up to 7 or 8 hrs. carrying up to 25 pounds of gear and then you’ve got another hour or two of driving to return to the campsite. Doing this consistently for 4, 5, or 6 days can be draining in good weather, imagine if it’s raining, snowing, muddy, extremely hot or cold, etc.…. you get the idea.
My first day in Moab, I was assigned to drive which I was ok with because I didn’t sleep very well! Because I got in late, I didn’t set up my tent. Instead, I “slept” in the car and yes, it was very uncomfortable! To say I “slept” is misleading but I did close my eyes for a little while! As a driver, I was responsible for picking up the crew at their meeting point. I felt pretty confident I could handle that task but did get nervous when Riley asked if I knew how to drive standard. Let’s just say it’s been several years (maybe over a decade) since I even attempted driving a stick-shift! The hills were a challenge, I’ll leave it at that! Mission accomplished, I met the crew at the assigned location but I forgot to pack a lunch so I was pretty hungry so I was eager to get back to the campsite to eat and set up my Taj Mahal, cot included!
Day two, was a bit tougher, I was now on a crew, carrying a pack with supplies and we were marking the toughest segment from Pole Canyon to Geyser Pass. This section of the course is around mile 170 and climbs to an elevation a little more than 10k feet. And this was my first real taste of the course! I was honestly worried about my ability to do the race because I was sucking wind and my legs were burning! I had some serious doubt about if I was going to finish the race. That evening I called my buddy Bradford and told him if he could make it, I’d gladly take his help for the race!
Day three was a bit easier, I drove Garrett to Salt Lake City to pick up the rental truck they’d end up using to resupply aid stations during the race. It was a long day of driving but I was able to see some old friends and get some authentic Hawaiian poke from Side of Aloha.
Day four was thankfully an easier section of the course. Actually, after experiencing Pole Canyon, anything would have been easier?!?!? So, we marked Hidden Valley to Amasa Back, it’s an early section of the race but still beautiful.
Day five was Porcupine Rim down to the Colorado River. Course marking and on race day, this section is grueling. It’s a downhill section but highly technical and is actually intended as a mountain biking trail, which adds another set of challenges because they like/need different terrain than runners do! Like the rest of the course, it’s beautiful but definitely mentally challenging because you know the end is near and yet it takes a long time to get through.
Like ultra-running in general, the people are what make it so special and the course marking crew and experience are no exception. I had a great time on the course and at the campsite getting to know everyone and listening to all the stories! It was a great way to wrap up my training for the Moab240.
Once course marking was done and dusted, I moved my campsite up to Geyser Pass and slept for three nights at about 10,000 feet. I think it helped me acclimate to the altitude but beyond that it was amazing to get away and spend a few nights in the woods, it was so peaceful and some of the best night’s sleep I’ve gotten.
Because I’m a restless person anyway, during the day, I’d make my way down to race HQ and help out where I could, being careful not to do too much!
Getting Race Ready:
Bradford, my crewman arrived on Wednesday afternoon so after I picked up him at the airport, we grabbed a bite to eat and then headed up to camp before it got too late. Almost immediately I started filling him in on race strategy and giving him the lay of the land. Because he joined so late, he had a lot of catching up to do so he could best understand what I would need. Our conversations almost always get sidetracked it took most of the two days before the race to brief him and even then, I know I left a few things out! Bradford is a smart cookie and been around Ironman before so he understands the endurance events, even though this is slightly different.
No matter how many times I pack and then repack and then thought about if I packed correctly or not, I never actually felt good about how I packed the drop bags. The only solace I had was that Bradford was going to be at some or most of the AS so if I forgot something or needed to change something, he’d be there to help me adjust. Looking back, I think my drop bags were woefully under packed. I should have packed them with a change of clothes!
Packet pickup was awesome! Due to covid, the RD decided to assign times for runners to come pick up their packets and instead of the traditional race meeting, she did a video and emailed it out to everyone. My assigned time was 4 – 5 and when I showed up there was nearly nobody there so it was super easy and fast. First stop was medical, then to Spot Tracker, Swag Bag, and head shots. I was in and out in maybe 15 minutes! After some last-minute prep, I was ready to go, now all I had to do was wait for the race to start.
Because I’m a back of the pack runner, my assigned start time was 6 am and oddly enough I didn’t have any problem waking up! The volunteers attached the Spot Tracker and after a stirring rendition of the national anthem I was off!
I’ll spare you the long-detailed race report and leave it at this:
1. Threw up at mile 40-ish.
2. Got to Mile 72 (1st sleep station in 25 hrs. – goal was 24).
3. Slept and ate a little bit.
4. Feet really started bothering me on the stretch from The Island to Breaking Bad, hit every rock and pebble along the way!
5. Kept at it!
6. Shay to Dry Valley was a really tough one for me and I had a little breakdown at Dry Valley.
7. Slept, ate a glorious California Roll with soy sauce!
8. Thought I was out of it after falling asleep at Wind Whistle…. felt like I fell asleep for about 3 hrs. but it was probably more like 30 minutes.
9. Woke up choking at Geyser Pass…. startled me but the medic attributed to the dust, altitude and being 200 miles into a 240-mile race! I jokingly told him I had 40 more miles in me!
10. Bradford wanted to pace me the last 40…. ended up calling at 22 miles! I dropped him at the last AS in the good hands of the medic! His feet were worse than mine!
11. Had a strong finish!
I will never forget that experience, there is no appropriate adjective to describe taking on that kind of challenge but I can’t wait to do it again!
After a few days of restless resting post-race, I packed up the car and headed back towards Syracuse. Initially, my thought was to sleep in my car in whatever parking lot I found and then I recalled how uncomfortable it was going to be so I opted to find a hotel each night and slept MUCH better!
Other than the nightly hotel stays I only made two pitstops. The first was to see Shan & Callie somewhere in Nebraska. Shan is running across the USA to raise money and awareness for Food Share. Callie is crewing for him.
The second stop was in South Bend, IN and the University of Notre Dame. I’ve been a fan of ND for a while and whenever I’m close by I try to stop and visit a bench outside Walsh Hall. The bench is special to my family because Uncle Tim lost a battle with cancer some time ago, his friends honored his memory by having a plaque put on a bench outside the dorm where they met. ND campus is a special place anyway but it’s made even more so in my eyes to have Uncle Tim memorialized there. I stopped at the bench to say hello, pray, and have a few moments of reflection with him. He was on my mind quite a bit during the Moab240.
The next day, I made it home kind of late but it was so nice to be back after a few weeks on the road and sleeping in my own bed! Although the trip was over, my What A Life! Tour will continue…. I’m not sure in what form but as I said all along, the tour is more of an attitude and less of an event. I’m going to work on carrying that attitude with me each and every day!
