Persistence Brings The Goal

The subject line said, “Would you like to volunteer”. My thought was, volunteer for what? What was it? So I read the email and became intrigued with the possibilities, but not as a volunteer, as an actual participant. What was it? It was an Everesting Run Event. What is that you might ask? It was an International Hill Climb event held at various locations and times around the world and nation. The objective is to mimic summiting Mount Everest which is 89 032 meters. Hence the name of the event Climb 89.

Approved locations and courses all have the same rules. You have up to 32 hours to complete the course. Another rule was no sleeping during the event. Caught doing this and you were done, your last certified lap would then become your final count.

There were a few things to consider. One, I had never done anything like this before. Two, it was in December. Three, Uphill’s have never been my strong suit. In fact they are one aspect of running I need to improve.

One of the things that intrigued me was that if you did not make 100 laps you could still receive a medal based on the numbers of laps you did complete. I liked that. Running up and down a hill for 32 hours to get 100 laps seemed a bit beyond my current conditioning. However receiving a Medal for summiting mountains with lower elevations seemed like a great way to improve my conditioning and strength, if it didn’t kill me first.

This was not your typical running race. I was hooked, I was doing this one. I saw it as a plus that the Race was being help just one day after my 70th Birthday. What better way to celebrate the big seven zero, than to try something new. I set my goal to summit a mountain peak that would stretch me but not kill me.

We started at 8 am and the weather was cold. The high for the day would be in the low to mid 30’s. Luckily there was not a lot of wind predicted and no rain till the following day. The course was up a gravel service road with gravel disappearing shortly after the half way point, then it became loose basalt rocks with a steeper incline. Once you reached the turnaround point you went down the same course as fast as possible.

There is a rule of thumb among Ultra Runners that you shouldn’t run up anything at mile seven that you would walk up at mile seventy. With that bit of advice I started climbing. I used my Trekking Poles to help push me up the hill faster and to keep me from falling when I was going downhill. They worked great, I was glad I had them.

There is an almost instant comradery that happens when people are struggling toward a common goal. Perhaps it comes from the hurt of the moment or the realization that you are not alone. Support was a big help emotionally, especially after the sun went down and it began to get colder.

There was the constant concern of staying upright and not falling. I am glad to report that I did not fall. I did stumble a few times on the rocks in the steep section as I began to get tired and was nearing my goal. The food was good, the coyote chorus added to the ambiance.

There were times I lost count, thinking I should have had more laps. Then I realized, the timing equipment had a better chance of being correct than I did. After all I was out in the cold focusing on nutrition, electrolytes and staying warm.

I could feel the excitement building within me as I neared my goal. Ten laps to go. Then five. Then three. Then two. With one lap left I called my wife to come pick me up. With a little luck she might arrive in time to watch me cross the start finish line for the fiftieth time. ?

I was elated as I reached my goal. I had summited the equivalent of Mount Rainier 14,411 feet of elevation gain, with an equal elevation decent. The overall distance covered was 35 miles without sleeping. I was the oldest person on the course. I hadn’t fallen, cramped or frozen. I had done a lot of things right. Next time we can focus on doing it faster. But for a first go at something like this, I was satisfied.

There are many lessons that could be gathered from this experience. One that stands out paramount is the lesson of Persistence. I did not reach my goal in one big leap, it took many small persistent steps. I could have stopped anywhere along the way when the going got tough, but I persisted. If you set your mind to do something and begin, persistence will bring you, your goal.