2008

monkeyboy kamp. 2 weeks out. 2008

i find myself, along with one other runner i know of, in the unique position of having been on the entry list for the 2008 western states 100 and also the 2020 event that was just recently canceled due to considerations related to the global outbreak of SARS-CoV2 virus known worldwide as the coronavirus disease.

the 2008 cancellation was acute. it was due to a wildfire that affected the course that was the result of lightening strikes a week out from the race. the cancellation was due to poor air quality, safety considerations of volunteers and crew members and the potential need for fire and ems resources to be allocated away from the public need in order to support the event.

for me, personally, this was devastating at the time. the car was packed and i was minutes away from leaving eugene when both my pacer and one of my training partners called me to tell me hold tight and not leave for squaw valley just yet. like so many others that year, i was looking at clear skies, feeling fit and rested and anticipating my first 100 mile run after 3 years of buildup and setbacks to get me to the starting line. it wasn't yet real and my considerations were self centered. reality was the smoke in squaw valley was thick, the considerations listed above were too great to safely hold the event and it was canceled for the first time in the 34 years of the event.

in 2020 the sport, the event itself and the reason for cancellation have global considerations far outreaching the acute local affect of 2008. To date, the virus has killed more than 25,000 people worldwide in a very short time and globally were are a planet being guided by CDC and WHO guidelines to mitigate exposure and try to ease the strain on limited medical resources that are already overwhelmed world wide. western state will be back. as an entrant, i now can shift my running from "training" to health and wellness so i can devote more time supporting my community as a health care provider without the daily emotional strain whether or not i will have the time to get a run in...which has been a new global reality for runners that have been affected by the outbreak of this virus.

the current race director of western states was also scheduled to be a participant in the 2008 race and knows what cancellation feels like. A large representation of the current Board also was a part of that process. i feel this decision was made from a place of experience and very complete consideration on all parts and i support it, especially the timing of it.

2009, like 2014 after a post race wildfire directly affected the course, was a celebration. what is happening globally is life and death. there is a shift in our global economy, healthcare system and day to day life that far outweighs whether or not we get to run from squaw valley to auburn the last weekend in june this year. i'm looking forward to being a part of the next celebration in june 2021. be safe. look out for each other.

lance

"excuse me, sir. can you move through the chute, we are expecting mr. armstrong any moment"

--------------------

i remember passing lance just after the 10K mark. i was running about 2:47 pace at that point, still warming up and i moved over to the left when i saw the teardrop shape throng of wannabes aping the yellow clad bumble bee squatting and grunting his way down the road. these were the salad days of the digital cameras and pre selfie. certainly no stick. seems these cucks were just hoping to get in the paper the next day. 80-100 runners aping a cyclist, trying not to be anonymous in a large marathon crowd. what a waste of all that prep letting an inexperienced cyclist dictate your race strategy for the day. the spectacle of celebrity.

--------------------

two night before i was with family and friends at alibi bar, a former jail turned watering hole, and a drink shows up in front of the closest thing to a sister in law i have and brought by a waiter asking if she'd like to make a new friend. waiter nods over to the private table where 7x has formed a bronado and has decided to a make a run at the local ladies. beesh, not missing a beat says "no thanks. i've got plenty of friends. besides, i'd never fuck a retiree"

--------------------

i had run a hard 60K trail race at peterson ridge the weekend before, and was only in boston to watch my friend, meghan, compete in the us olympic trials the day before. i signed up because i was heavy into western states training that year and where better to get a long run that monday. beesh lived on the course so we got to see her run by a few times from the comfort of the roof deck. it was disappointing to see the course changed from traditional route to more criterium style racing, but the volume of folks already in town to run the marathon made it a dream for the ladies participating. meghan honored uta pippig well that day along with being one of the oldest participants in the trials. 

--------------------

i didn't have to catch the early bus to hopkinton. beesh worked at boston childrens and knew all the routes to get to the start about 30-45 minutes before the gun so i could avoid the 4 hour wait sitting in the grass in hopkinton. during the drive up, she sees lights and sirens on the highway and pulls over to the side to see 4 staties on motos, followed by a unmarked cruiser with lights, a black van with LIVESTRONG on the side, another unmarked cruiser and 4 more moto staties going 90 mph towards the starting line area. full police escort. i would have rather seen the RD get that kind of treatment, not the cyclist. 

--------------------

not long after passing the ape train, i started picking it up and ended up running 2:41 with a 1:18 second half split. my board shorts had 5 pockets and an 11 inch inseam. i got lectured by a race official at the finish line about wearing my bib on my shorts instead of the front of my shirt. later, turns out my photo was in the boston globe as many times as lance that year. 

--------------------

no less than 200 photographers were at the finish line waiting for lance to come striding down boylston st. one of the volunteers in the chute handed me a bottle of water and threw her chin at the throng and said "whoar all these greasties waitin for? they think dunkees showing up with da chocolats with the jimmies on top? haven't seen a group up like this since jawny kelly ran his final finish in nointy too. kehd was ehty fowar". i gave that woman a big hug for making my day, said my goodbyes and i haven't been back since. 

--------------------

lance ran 2:51 and announced his return to professional cycling 4 months later. he rode in two more tours, never winning again and was given a lifetime ban for doping in 2013 and officially stripped of all his titles.