Tahoe and Stuff

The grind of China is unrelenting.  It is strange to me that the more time I spend in China the more I learn I don’t know anything of significance about Chinese culture.  Even after 8 years the only thing familiar is the unfamiliarity of it all.  The people.  The culture.  The food.  The bathrooms (holy crap, the bathrooms).  And even without the warm comfort familiarity brings I still enjoy visiting China.  Today, I will write about what I know and, more importantly, what I have yet to learn.

“This is China”.  A quote I hear all too often.  Usually after something indescribable happens.  Something that is so different that is evident to not only me that I will never understand.  As an example;

Once, probably my first trip, my colleagues and I were picked up at the hotel to start our work day.  On the way out we passed through a toll station.  We passed that station every morning of the week prior.  There was nothing remarkable about this toll booth.  Pretty standard, even in US standards.  But this morning was different.  This morning, on our way through I noticed a man dressed in camouflage holding a turtle over his head.  Like a waiter with a tray.  Using one arm.   My interest piqued, I inquired as to why this gentleman was holding a turtle.  Not only did I not get an explanation, my comments weren’t even acknowledged. Stranger still, on the way back to the hotel that night he was still there.  And again, even with a different group of folks in the car, my question literally went unanswered. 

My guess is that this was something that I would never understand so my hosts didn’t even know how to tell me that I wouldn’t ever understand.   And that is what precisely strikes me the most.  In all my travels in China, anywhere and with anyone, there seems to be a secret the Chinese know.  They not only understand that I will never get some things but they also understand precisely why I will never understand. 

There is another world I live in, the world of ultra-running.  Much like the culture in China, I still don’t yet understand all the intricacies of this world.  Even though I am up to my eyeballs in it.  And just as quickly as the Chinese understand they can’t explain the unexplainable to me, I know I don’t need to know why the culture is so wonderful as it is.  I know I can just be a part of it. 

Very recently I crewed my friends and paced Trevor at the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 Endurance run.  I have never visited Tahoe before and I was very excited to finally get to see this beautiful place.   And I did.  I’m thankful I could experience Tahoe in a way that is pretty unique.   As advertised, Tahoe is a beautiful area.  It is rugged and somehow still soft.  A quiet beauty that creates a lasting boom to your senses.  Up in the high country it even smells different.   I couldn’t help myself from feeling inspired.

We all arrived in Carson City on Thursday.   The meeting of the Catawba Ridge Runners had actually started the night prior in a Charlotte, NC when Chris drove from Boone, NC to meet Trevor and I at a Courtyard Marriott so we could fly out early Thursday morning.  It was great to see him and I know Trevor was excited to get the show on the road.  Chris had been hand-picked early by Trevor as crew/pacer after getting into the TRT100.  Mainly because Chris is not only a talented runner and amazing crew member but also because he is a solid person who understands the unspoken as well as the spoken. 

Not long after everyone got into Carson City and settled in we moved on over to do some grocery shopping.  Each of the little groups went around grabbing food, snacks and last-minute race needs.   It was actually a sweet moment to watch.  Everyone working together.  Talking.  Listening.  It was so touching to see these old friends freely share not only what they were buying but why.   Trading information about the purchases but also little insights about themselves.  Momentary snapshots into their everyday.  Their real selves. I think it is a great way to get to know someone.   Right there, in unfamiliar Carson City, NV we were all getting familiar items to help us feel a little more at home.

The morning before the race we woke up early so we could drive over and see the start/finish of the TRT100.  It was a pretty straight shot from the hotel.  Which was nice.  I get lost easy.  It was also a beautiful morning.  I was feeling excited about getting to see this place. My nerves were also starting to settle.  Being part of the crew and pacing for Trevor is a responsibility that I take very seriously.   As we walked around that Friday I felt a sense of community that once again made this unfamiliar place feel like home.  Several of my friends came up to me and told me that I was going to do great.  At this point, the runners outnumbered the pacers.  These men who were about to go out into the wilderness for 100 miles of running were telling me that I was going to do great.  That’s community, that’s family.  

I’d be remiss to not mention that we met the RD near the start finish and got a small course preview.  George Ruiz is a pretty down to earth guy and even gave me some intel on the new GoPro 5 (which I’ve had my eye on).   All the guys really ate up the information he was giving them and I know it was an unexpected treat to get some time with the RD.

After checking out the course we ran over to the packet pickup.  There Andy, Chris, Michelle and I all signed the necessary paperwork and picked up our pacer bibs.  It was starting to settle in that this was real and I was getting excited.   Trevor even got us a little something for coming out to crew him.  Totally unnecessary and totally appreciated.    When we left there, we headed into town for a last-minute gear run and then back to the hotel.   Andy, Chris and I decided to go for a run to shake out any last-minute pacer nerves and when we got back we ordered some pizza.  Dominos to be exact.  Avoid the Noid.   Ate our pizza and then all of us headed off to bed early.  Morning was approaching quick and with it glory.  Sorry, I’ve always wanted to say something like that in a blog post.

Race morning started early.  3 to be exact.   I volunteered to drive most of the racers to the start so that the balance of the crew could get a few extra hours of sleep.  Having said that, I know they didn’t.   Too much excitement.  Too much anticipation.   Kristen drove Jordan, Matt and Josh Starner to the start and we met up with the almost by happenstance at the start line.  Group pictures, hugs, high fives and “go get ‘em!”s… then they were off.   I got a little emotional, but I’m an emotional dude.

The crew at the start.  From Left to right: Jordan Chang, Josh Starner, Brett Sherfy, Josh Hamiliton, Trevor Stewar and Torey McBadass (I never got her last name). 

At the first aid station we met up with Ginger, Lois and PT.  ALWAYS A PLUS!   As the runners came in we got pictures and videos.  After some message exchanges with Soon, we finally met up with him at this aid station.  He fit right in, right away! We also found our crew groove.  Everyone working around the runners, helping.  Getting them ready to get back out there.  It happened almost seamlessly.   Once again, in this unfamiliar place this amazing group of people found solidarity.   Magic.

The race was tough.  For the runners, it was really tough.  For the crew, it was logistically easy but crewing itself is never easy.   The Tahoe Rim Trail is beautiful and slyly unrelenting.  The gentle sweeping of the trail surface lulls your mind into thinking you can run forever.  The abrupt and lengthy climbs remind you that you shouldn’t.    As a point of reference, I only ran the last 20ish miles of the course as a pacer.  Those last miles began on a double black diamond ski slope.  A hill I have named “bag of dicks”.  I was fresh and it made me a little frustrated.   If I was 80 miles in I think I would have been wholly infuriated.  Yet, to his credit, Trevor attacked that hill like he does everything.  Focused determination with a sprinkle of humble optimism.

Sunrise at Tahoe

We had some good times on the trail.  Good conversation between each other.  With Shannon, who I hope finds us on Facebook.  We talked about a lot of things.  We had stretches of silence.   I won’t get into a full race report, that is the glory for Trevor and the folks who ran the race to report.  But I will write this last bit about watching someone achieve a goal.  Watching someone fight up climbs and run when it was the last thing he wanted to do.  Someone who talked with fervor all the way up a lengthy climb about being a father, a husband.  How he loves it and loves his family.  Giving advice to a soon to be new father (Shannon, not me 😊).  Being there among the beautiful suffering of burning the last matches.   I wouldn’t have traded those moments for anything.

Epic Trevor looking all epic 

I’ll wrap this up with this.  Unfamiliarity can look like many things.  A new place.  A new situation.  A new person.  What is important is that we remember those moments because we learn from them.  It has been famously said many times that you can’t grow if you stay comfortable.  Stretching our boundaries, stretches ourselves.  I would never be as bold as to say the only way to find out who are is to run a ridiculous amount of miles, but I will say it is a good way to do it.   Having said that I do think community is important.  Even the earliest explorers went in groups.   And that is what we did in Tahoe.  We explored who we were in a foreign place, together.  Faced the unfamiliar with family.  Lost and found ourselves, with each other,  among a collection of ups and downs that can never be explained and only experienced.

Lake Tahoe, Sunday after the race