40 Days - The Noble Canyon 50k

When lining up for an ultra of any kind, nothing is certain. But one thing that morning was relatively so... I had found a kindred spirit in Erich. I was excited to do this race with him. He was a beginner to this particular world, although hard work and overcoming adversity had been a regular part of his life for quite some time. This is how I knew that ultrarunning was the beginning of something great for him.

The air was crisp and cool as the race director announced the beginning of the run. It would not stay that way for long. The trails took us through a beautiful rocky landscape and desertous terrain. We travelled through areas that Erich had only ever seen from his helicopter, while flying in training with the Marines. A few miles in, we were greeted by my friend, Kirk Fortini. His gentle but strong presence was one that I always looked forward to seeing at these races. We shared a few laughs before he took off into the vast unknown. Erich and I were once again on our own, running from aid station to aid station, avoiding rocks and chasing each other through the desert.

It was days like this one that made me realize how much I truly loved this. There was something so amazing about going off into the middle of seemingly nowhere with the instructions: You have 9 hours to make it 33 miles in that direction. The arrows will lead you. GO!

This was a training run for me, but about 20 miles in, as I saw Erich begin to struggle a bit, I remembered that this was only his 2nd ultra and it definitely had its challenges. The first one he had done was the one where the two of us had met in the first place. Suddenly I found myself part of something bigger than my training, watching someone battle their own demons and push through adversity. There was fun to be had through this as well. The endorphines fueled a less serious side of both of us as we laughed and sang our way through the miles. One thing about these adventures is that they cannot always be retold as they were. I don't think I have ever laughed that hard or had that much fun during an ultra before.

We crossed the finish line with almost 30 minutes to spare. As we drove back to his place in Irvine, we discussed future adventures, including my first 100, Javelina. I have lost some people that were very close to me as of late, in two very different ways. But the world has this amazing way of replacing what is taken away. It was nice to have spent a day running off into nowhere with someone that I connected to in that way. Then it was back to reality once more...