I have always thought about doing run from our apartment in Northwest San Francisco to the East Peak of Mt. Tamalpais which is about ~25 miles away by mostly trail. Due to the COVID pandemic I was furloughed from my job around mid April to mid June. I immediately recognized this as a great opportunity to complete this mission. I had my route all planned out and was praying there would be water available on the course. Since the pandemic was only about a month in and the parking lots at the parks were closed I was unsure whether the bathrooms would be open etc.. Anyway, I decided to find out and would have enough water with me to last awhile and I could always call Jess for a ride if the worse case scenario happened. Like many of us I was definitely in a weird place mentally and needed a big effort like this to clear my head and reflect on everything going on. The furlough allowed me to get out there during the week which was a good thing because I knew there would be a lot less foot traffic on a Wednesday. The run ended up being very spiritual and the water was on at Mt. Tam and in the Headlands. The last 15 miles on the way back were very tough as I was extremely tired and exhausted as it turned out to be a sunny and warm day. Rather than break this run down I am going to copy and paste an article that I wrote for Medium about this day. I will post pictures at the end.
Here is my article titled "Ultrarunning, Creativity, and Gratitude in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic"-----
"As a trail and ultra runner, or maybe more
of an ultra walker, I am tuned into the world of this niche sport. The
definition of an ultra run is any distance greater than a marathon, so
basically longer than 26.2 miles. In March all of the ultrarunning races within
the near future were cancelled due to limits on social gathering. People who
enjoy the pain of endurance running immediately came up with creative ideas for
virtual ultra races and similar challenges. Live video streaming of these
virtual ideas became popular along with other activities such as live music and
talk shows. One particularly inspiring idea was a “Quarantine Backyard Ultra”
conjured up by Personal Peak, a running company based in Canada. The Original
Backyard Ultra concept was created about six years ago by a race director in
Tennessee, Gary “Laz” Cantrell, and his event became so popular that other race
directors started their own Backyard Ultras. The format consists of all runners
doing a 4.167 mile lap every hour on the hour. You must complete the 4.167
miles before the end of the hour and can rest with any remaining time until the
next lap begins. If you fail to complete the 4.167 miles before the end of the
hour or don’t start the following lap at the top of the next hour then you are
disqualified. The event will continue until there is only one person left in
the race.
There
were some interesting and creative folks out there, especially since the local
lock down orders were stricter in some countries. One runner set up a small
route in a closed coffee shop and did thousands of loops around the perimeter
of tables and chairs. Another runner was actually doing tiny loops around his
living room and measured to accurately know how many circles he had to do in
order to achieve the required distance. There was a runner in Sweden, based in
a tiny cabin North of the Arctic Circle, and she did laps around a frozen lake.
Its mind blowing what humans come up with sometimes and it definitely held my
attention throughout the weekend. Fifty hours into the event only two people
were left dueling it out for the coveted trophy, a golden roll of toilet paper!
Throughout the day on Monday I was taking breaks from work to check on the
results. Two runners were heading into the 63rd hour with 258 miles under their
feet and one of the guys did not start his treadmill at the top of the hour
which was a rule violation. There was a technical glitch on his iPad and he did
not hear the virtual bell sound which went off at the top of each hour. The
other runner completed his 63rd lap and was declared the winner after going 262
miles! Both runners wanted to continue and could have easily gone much further
but Personal Peak called the race completed because they adhered to the rule. I
was fascinated by this event and how it brought people together. I felt
inspired to do something on my own but I had to be careful due to the
challenges of social distancing. At the time I was still working and doing
something on a weekend would be tough because that’s when everyone around here
seems to go outside.
I was furloughed from my
job on April 11th and a plan was quickly put into place. The idea of doing a
self-supported run from our apartment in San Francisco to the East Peak summit
of Mt. Tamalpais, and return home, has been on my mind since moving here in
2018. It was a distant thought during normal life circumstances but always
lingering in the back of my mind. In order to keep with the social distancing
requirements a Wednesday seemed like the perfect day as the trails would be
reasonably quiet. For the next few evenings my lap top was devoted to creating
the route, incorporating my favorite trails, and making sure the total
round-trip distance equaled fifty miles. All the logistics were set and on a
Wednesday morning at 6:15 AM I set out on my journey.
There were only a few people out on bikes this early as I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and took in the view of the San Francisco skyline as the morning was coming into existence. I had a bunch of podcasts downloaded and was going to listen as I worked my way through the run but I was so deep in thought that I did not have a desire for technological stimuli. I climbed up and down the hills of the Marin Headlands, crossed through Tennessee Valley, and eventually made my way up to the East Peak of Mt. Tamalpais. The only time I turned airplane mode off from my phone was to check in by sending my wife Jessica a picture from the top of Mt. Tam letting her know I was looking back in her direction.
So many thoughts raced through my head throughout this run about everything going on. As I made my way back along the coastal trail to Muir Beach, I began to feel the familiar mental and physical pain from all the elevation gain and miles under my feet. Climbing out of Muir Beach was very challenging. I focused my mind to what our healthcare workers and first responders are dealing with and came to the realization that my temporary pain was insignificant. My ultra marathon would be over in a few hours but their ultra marathon has been going on for quite some time with no end in sight. The gratitude for these selfless heroes gave me a boost of energy. I work with a lot of healthcare professionals and my mother is a retired a nurse and father a retired firefighter so I have always had a deep appreciation for these folks. That appreciation has risen to a new level in the current circumstances of our world. I also thought of all the grocery store workers and so many other professions who are still going out there and doing their jobs through this wild time in our life. We have come to expect and deal with certain types of disasters but I can’t imagine a virus was on the forefront of many people’s mind. Navigating back through the Marin Headlands toward the bridge I was reduced to an extremely slow foot shuffle and a lot of walking as well. When I got to the bridge, I was excited as there was only a few remaining miles between me and a shower followed by our couch.
While
crossing the Golden Gate Bridge on my way home I reflected on my personal
journey throughout the day but also started to think about positive aspects of
the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, we’ve held Zoom video hang outs with
friends and family on a weekly basis and attendance has been great since
everyone has time. It has been years since we have spent this much time with
them and it’s conveniently done through technology. Society is usually so busy
that it’s eye opening when folks are forced to take a step back from crazy
schedules and maybe play a game of cards or watch a movie together. In some way
there is a feel that we have gone back in time. It’s also moving how people are
pitching in to help out with food banks or in anyway they can. For instance, my
mother has made thousands of masks for healthcare workers from her home in
Ohio. Finally, the creativity of humans is what makes us a unique species that
can inspire each other. Whether it’s a virtual backyard ultra or a family
making a funny video together it gives me much hope for the future. The most
important lessons I have learned is that we need to stick together, maybe slow
things down once in a while, and really show gratitude for the unsung heroes in
our society."
Pics from the run:
