What inspires me? My firsthand account joining 18 year old Rae Heim on the last three days of her barefoot run across America.

Rae's Blog 

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Early in the summer I heard about some 18 year old girl named Rae who running across the country Barefoot promoting raising funds and collecting shoe donations for 

Soles4Souls. 

 I thought it was a pretty damn audacious endeavor to attempt. (I wish I was that tough) Throughout the summer I would hear occasional updates on her run and was amazed at how long a journey like that actually is.  Then a few weeks ago I got an email from Barefoot Ken Bob that Rae was almost done and get this, she was finishing in my hometown at the Manhattan Beach Pier and she would love to have some runners join her along the way.  Then last week in my Local paper there was an article about Rae.  Random acquaintances of mine kept asking me if I knew that girl.

"Not Yet, but I can't wait to meet her"

:)

It's pretty hard to drag my ass off the beach to go running but this was an opportunity to cool to pass up.  I'd been in San Diego over the weekend for the Krispy Kreme Challenge (race report coming soon) And figured out late Sunday night where I could join in.

Monday

Ray was eager to get started. 

After about a mile we finally caught up with her.

My first impression of Rae was "Wow this chick is pretty mature. " But I guess an adventure like this makes you grow up fast and well I guess an assumption of maturity from dude like myself who is seriously deficient in it maybe isn't saying to much."  

Our conversations ranged from if she'd stepped in poop or roadkill (no and yes) to what states were really cool and which were boring (Colorado and Utah)
I also asked Rae if she had thought about starting smoking now that she had turned 18?
(The question did not even warrant an answer.)
:)

It takes a good attitude to complete a run like this and after running with Rae it was easy to see why her run was so successful.

" You don't have to fast But you have to be fearless."

Ray got this mantra tatted on her feet during her journey

(But I get scared when I run slow?)

 Barefoot Ken Bob, Rae, Don, Me.

What a great way to spend the morning 

Later that evening I went on another run (this time on the beach) and took this picture so Rae could see what her finish line looked like.  (i get to see this site nearly every day.

Rae only had two days left to run!  I keep a pretty fly by the seat of my pants schedule and decided to tag along and chronicle the event, besides If I wasn't running with Rae I'd be running somewhere else.

Tuesday

A couple of Rae's sisters surprised her by showing up run the last few legs of the course

At the at the start of Tuesday's tun was Paul Both a dude that also has ran across the country and whom is recovering from a pretty horrific accident he suffered while riding his bike self supported across the country earlier this summer.  Standing behind him is another amazing dude Jim McCord who in 2002 ran across the United States raising money for Diabetic research.

Also joining the group were my good friends Shacky Vanessa and Ginger

We started with a few miles on the same bike path we ran the day prior 

Before

Heading into the concrete jungle

I wonder how many stairs it takes to run across the country?

David, Rae, Jim

You may notice that Rae is wearing Vibrams in this pic.  Her run was never totally about running barefoot although press and may lead you to believe this.  It just so happens Rae  loves running that way.  She told me that she would wear her Vibrams every sixth day to give her feet a break.

I was getting hungry so I stopped at a street vendor for some "Fast Food"

"No need to slow down I'll catch up."

(nothing like running down the mean streets of Compton chowing down on watermelon and cucumber)

 Ken Bob had rerouted the course so that he could return some movies along the way

He was shocked when the late charges tallied over $4,000

(sorry enough with shenanigans back to Rae's run)

Mom joined in for the last few miles of the day

Rae had her mom to hug, Shacky had Vanessa and I had Barefoot KenBob.

It was really special to see Rae running with her mom.  There was a lot of love shared between the two of them.

Group shot

Family shot

Barefoot Buddies

Shacky, Ken Bob, Myself and David

Rae cleans up pretty nicely :)

Later that night there was a party at a local pizza joint in Rae's honor.  I brought my camera but forgot to take pictures until I was about to leave so this is what you get.

People from all over country that supported Rae on her run showed up to surprise her.  They even made her a cake depicting Boston and a bunch of cupcakes with footprints on them leading to another cake depicting Manhattan Beach.

  

Wednesday

Film maker Steve Kroschel  took some "foot"age for an upcoming  Documentary about "Grounding"  He was a really interesting guy and when I searched his name on Google to find out more about him it took me to a friend's blog Sterling Noren whom I met in the Copper Canyons and who is working on a documentary about  Caballo Blanco.

(small world)

 Welcome to My Hometown of Manhattan Beach.

Rae's boyfriend Adam wheeled his way along final 6 miles.  Rae was so impressed with his efforts up the final hill she gave him a flower.

Go Rae!

You could smell the saltwater in the air as Rae crested the hill and got her first view of the Pacific.

A crowd  of friends, family and media awaited Rae at the base of the Manhattan Beach pier. but she didn't want stop just yet.

At the end  of the pier Rae's mom presented her with a medal and a couple tears were shed.

 Back at the base of the Pier Rae was met with a lot love. Skechers donated $1,000  and gave some shoes (probably going straight to charity) and few people shared heart warming stories on how Rae's run had inspired them.  But once again the coolest part was seeing the love and support that Rae had from her family.

 The CEO of Soles4Souls  Buddy Teaster flew in from Texas to run the final leg with Rae.  He is a fellow Ultra-runner and I was stoked to share stories to make a new friend.

Rae said she was inspired by Marshall Ulrich.  I'm inspired by 

Rae Heim!

You can't run all the was and not jump in the ocean

Although Rae's run is over it doesn't her charity could still use any donations you can afford

Click here to donate

More on info on the rest of journey can be found here

http://flavors.me/raeainslee

Thanks for showing us what's possible if you dare follow your dreams.

 Life is Good!

:)

Dia De Los Muertos, a celebration of life.

Dia De Los Muertos

 is one of my favorite holidays! Not only does it involve really cool skeletons. It also involves taking time to think happy thoughts about the people in your life that are no longer here. It's not a day for remorse! It's a day to celebrate of the lives they lived and a day to be thankful for the good times that we had.

As I think about the people I have lost I realize that I am very fortunate dude and that my list isn't very long.  Life is short and in remembering the deceased I find myself more appreciative of my own life and of my wonderful friends and family I get to share it with.

Yesterday I went for a long run on the beach thinking of the good times I spent with my father.  He passed away a few years ago and his ashes were  tossed in the sea just a few feet from where I ran.  I thought about  the joy on his Face when we would watch Endless Summer together as would recount his adventures as  surfer in Southern California during his youth.  

He was a diabetic for over 50 years and although his body was destroyed by the disease he lived an extra 4 or 5 years because of the love he had for his family and his desire to play with my nephews.

  I thought about how he would sing Buddy Holly songs to me as a child and he would crack a big a smile as he tried to sing the "ou's oh's"

I thought of my Gramdma and how as a teenager she would refer to as Wild and Woolly 

"Very aptly put"

and 

lastly I thought of Micah True and how how thankful I am for the friendships I have made because of him and  the inspiration that he has given me.

Let us remember are friends and family with a smile.  Although they are missed they shall live on in our hearts and our memories.

:)

Time to take off my Sandals and put on my Kilt Del Mar Mud Run 2012

Earlier in the week I gained a free entry to the Del Mar Mud Run. Last year  I ran and won the R.O.C (Ridiculous Obstacle Course) race at the same place and had a great time. The only problem was that Del Mar is 2 hours away and I was already running in the Manhattan Beach Homtown fair 10k at 7:30a.m. that morning?
Lucky for me the final race of the day was at 1 P.M.

So as soon as my sister finished the 10k we walked up to my moms house about 1.5 miles away  got cleaned up? (kind of silly to clean up before a mud run) and were on the road about 20 minutes later.

The race had said something about a free beer? So I was really stoked to have my sister come along  as a designated driver :)
(Not that she isn't good company otherwise)

Time to take off my Sandals and put on my Kilt

Not all Mud runs are barefoot  friendly I took a chance at the R.O.C. race going barefoot and it couldn't have worked out better.   It always amazes me at events like this less than of 1% choose to Set Their Piggies Free? I guess my idea of a barefoot friendly probably greatly differs from the general public.

To my surprise when I got there I saw  a lot of people walking around barefoot cringing as they stepped on even the smallest of pebbles.

They didn't run barefoot did they?

Ah Ha!
THe dirty shoe donation pile was a huge success.

I had a few minutes to kill before the race so I went over to the rope swing hoping to see a few face plants into the mud.  Then to my surprise a pretty cute girl swinging across barefoot (Awesome). Out of the the 200 or so people I saw go by she was the only one without shoes.

Time to get on with my own race.

We lined up in the gates for the 1 P.M.Start

 They only let 75 of us take off every 5 mins. If I wanted to win It was paramount to start in the front group so that I wouldn't get stuck behind slower runners who had started before me.

Before the race started I ran into a familiar face.  I ran against the Dude next me last year in a 5k. On that occasion I was running in third place right behind him and another dude when we went the wrong way.  Before It was too late I stopped and turned back while he kept going. I was able to recover and still finish 3rd that day but he had to drop out. The guy is good runner and I was stoked to get to race against him again.

Quickly him and I jumped out in front.  Running barefoot I didn't feel like I was going that fast but that was because it felt easy, when I looked at my watch I was running a Sub 5 min mile.  (Later when I would got to look at my watch all I would see is mud.)

After 500 yards it was just him and I but he had 75 foot lead.

When  we got the first mud tunnels I plunged straight in.  I was there to win and it was good thing my ears were covered by a bandanna Because there's a lot of room in between them for mud to hide.

The pit consisted of about 8 inches of mud with 1ft or murky water above it.  Instead of crawling through it I let my body float above the mud only using my arms to propel me forward by scooping my hands into the sand.  This required almost no effort  and I pretty much caught up to the dude in front .

By the time we got out of the second mud pit the other guy seemed winded.  I had the lead and there was no way I was gonna give up without a fight.

 

 Less than 5 minutes in the race I started catch stragglers who had started at least 30 mins before me in the 12 p.m. group. but lucky for me they were staggered far enough apart not to really get in my way.

I really had to be careful not to make a wrong turn I was going at a fast pace with nobody to follow and there were multiple spots left open for maintenance vehicles where you could accidently skip large chunks of the course of the course.

It was hot afternoon but combo of not wearing much clothes and jumping in mud every couple of minutes kept me refreshed.  As the mud run progressed I felt stronger.  It was the total opposite of the 10k I raced in earlier that morning.  I wanted the win but more importantly I was having fun.  I looked forward to each new challenge that presented itself and when I new the finish line was coming soon I was disappointed,  because I wanted more.

Only one last obstacle remained, the rope swing.  By now the course was crowded with runners from earlier heats and I was really hoping I would'nt hit a back up.

I got lucky sprinted in front of a group of lollygaggers grabbed the rope in stride  and hoped I didn't fall.
(It felt graceful at the time but I guess pictures don't lie.)

Photo finish. well not really
The next dude to cross the line came a few minutes later but there was still a chance that someone who started later might beat me I guess I'll have to wait and see.

Time to get cleaned Up 

Kind of fun especially because there were few cute  girls in white shirt's next to me :)

They had an even fancier group shower with soap but the line was about 4 times longer that what you see in this pic. Plus I think the dude on top may be  peeing on them?

It's crazy to me how different the experience at mud run is between those who are going for a fast time and were there for good time.   So here's a couple of random videos to show you what the course looked like

So what now the race is over time for my free beer.
YIPPEE!

Wait a second that's not a beer

 Check out my new shirt courtesy of the Stone Brewing Company

Buy Here
Although I did drink the fizzy yellow beer.

 Not this dude again?
Pic taken at the R.O.C. Race

Where did I finished in the official results?

Yep that looks about right.

(Awfully nice of them to make it easy for me to find my name) Probably no one in the world cares but me  but I checked all the times for the day and I had the third fastest ? (Doh) Upon further research I was beat by 2 people in the 11 a.m. group 1st by a gut with no race stats who ran a 20:47 and then followed by 47 year old lady who's 5k P.R. was 20:08 and she ran a 20:53  (this doesn't add up).  If I am wrong I'm seriously impressed

My time:

21:29

I presume they didn't run the took an accidental short cut.  (But I guess others could presume the same thing about me).

I think directors should invite all the winners back next year to run for free and let us run head to head.

You here that Vavi?

:)

Better yet It would be ton of fun to run all 6 races in row and try and win them all?

If only I had 50 million Dollars to pay for it?

A crowd assembled to watch me receive my award and I didn't even have my speech prepared yet?
I actually thought I might get to go on stage.

The party boy music stopped and they announced me as the winner

Nobody cared :(
5 seconds later the party boy music started up again but I did get to claim a pretty cool first place bottle opener

Time to put that award to good use!

The Del Mar Mud run is a real fun race staffed by the super nice folks at Vavi Sports.  It is full of beautiful women and dudes in garters?  I had a great time and hope to back next year.

My only gripe is
Miller 64??? 
I don't think that qualify's as beer?
You guys can do better than that
:)

Aftermath.

Back to a life of crime

C.R.I.M.E

Compression , Rest, Ice, Massage, Elevate

My body Felt great during the race and I went running both the day after and the day after that.  However I then started to suffer severe pain in left Knee. For the next week it felt like it got worse every day.and I was forced to withdraw from the 100 Mile Endurance Challenge held tomorrow 10/19/12.   I decided to test my knee yesterday with a short 8 mile run and was pleasantly surprised that nothing felt torn or broken although it did feel very fatigued.

As much as I would love to run tomorrow I realize it is not in bodies best interest if I want my healing to progress.  As of now I don't feel like there is any need for surgery (I was really scared that there might be) and I want to keep it that way.