Born to Run Extravaganza (BTR) 2024

Image by: Tyler Tomasello 

For those who want the long read from last weekends adventure All We Do Is Run event Born To Run Ultra Marathons, here it is! Thanks again for the images Tyler Tomasello, this impression of Hudson and me capture a memory we will both cherish for life!

The adventure started Wednesday morning picking Hudson up from school early and making our way to the SEA-TAC airport. After a little over a 2-hour drive where I listened to my audio book for school while Hudson was on the tablet he gets for long car rides, we dropped the car off with our good friend Vinci and were off to Santa Barbara. The flight went well and when we landed we went to the Budget rental car for our “wild card” and received a red Tesla! After about 20 minutes trying to figure out how to get the car started and a few YouTube videos related to charging it up before going off the grid we were on our way. We loaded up at Costco with more supplies than reasonable and made our way 45 minutes to the ranch in Los Olivos.

Arriving just before 8pm we got off the main road and through the gate Hudson checked in at registration for the 4-day event with me as his pacer. We got back in the car and Hudson steered us the rest of the way to our camp to find our set up. We met up with Juan Carlos who dropped off the RV rental for the week, had a very positive exchange and run down of the amenities including fridge, showers, BBQ, and everything we could need for our time. We took some time to catch up with some past running friends, had dinner at the main camp and headed to bed for the night.

Thursday morning (Day 1) we woke up at around 7am and Hudson asked me to cook him some sausage and we sat out on the front area outside our camper and enjoyed the cooler morning with a heavy layer of dew over the grass. Immediately following breakfast Hudson was ready to hit the trails. We made our way to the start line and started our first lap on the pink loop. The time with Hudson “Tornado Blanco” was incredible this first morning. We laughed, told jokes, sang songs and held hands most of the loop as we navigated the ruts in the road and the occasional dried up cow pie. The aid stations are always an adventure at BTR and Hudson tried everything from the Hammer nutrition products to the endless supply of pickle juice. We made our way around the first loop in just under 4 hours fueled partially by the one piece of candy that Hudson received after each mile completed. We crossed the finish right as the sun burned off the morning mist and the heat for the day started to swoop in. The rest of the afternoon we spent time around camp making meals and catching up with longtime friends and meeting new ones. Hudson has lately become obsessed with sticker painting books so in typical fashion I bought him half a dozen for this trip and he was flying through them pretty quickly. We also played our first round of Settlers of Catan with my friend Manley Clausen. I hadn’t played in decades and the joy of it quickly came back in spades with each roll of the dice. My friend Gareth Evans came in just past 6pm and got settled in as he prepared to start his first 100 mile run attempt in the morning.

Friday morning (Day 2) was a similar repeat of the morning before with eggs and sausage before hitting the trail. Hudson once again wanted to get out on the trail and this time heading out on the yellow loop which is the more intense loop of the course in terms of elevation and terrain. At a little over a mile into the loop there was a recent cattle carcass with a ribbon tied to it letting you know you were on the correct path. Hudson was determined to take a bone and carry it with us, to which I advised against being the responsible one in the group. The pink and yellow loop stay together for the first few miles and then split off onto their separate courses. As we took the left to stay on yellow, we quickly started the long gradual climb up to the ridgeline for some incredible views and soaking in the sounds of the birds, crickets, and other sounds of nature. At the four mile mark a runner gradually caught up with us and introduced himself as Scott. He has a medical background and shared stories of his time in Uganda, and his life traveling and running different courses. Hudson in typical fashion kept pace with Scott as we ran sections then walked the next climb and repeated. We passed multiple blue ribbons along the way which indicate paths that you’re not supposed to take. On one of these this year they have a “blue route” where you jog up a quarter mile to a bonus aid station up a hill. We stayed away from the blue aid station this year which was likely stocked with Fireball whisky and other shenanigans. At about the eight-mile mark we took a break at the aid station and Scott managed to elude us and Hudson and me made our way to the finish on our own. This lap was almost an hour faster than anticipated because of our time with our new friend Scott and we pulled into camp in three hours and ten minutes. The afternoon was filled with another round of Settlers of Catan, more sticker books and conversations as the day winded down. The kids were all running around doing art projects, sports and playing with toys in the different campers. There was one minor incident where it sounded like one of the kids ran into Hudson’s hip and fell onto a metal table post cutting his eye just under the eyebrow and required a quick trip to urgent care for three stitches. Gareth played a round of Settlers with us as well before getting ready for his event to start. At 5:30pm we all made our way to the start line to kick off the 100 mile run start at 6. In usual BTR fashion there was some unique features including a Tarahumara medicine man giving a blessing, Luis Escobar sharing how this whole thing got started for him back in 2006 in the Copper Canyons and once you cross that line your whole world can change. Then he had everyone participate in the oath, “raise your right hand and repeat after me. If I get lost, hurt or die, it’s my own damn fault”. The runners take their mark and a shotgun blast sends them on their way.

Saturday morning (Day 3) I woke up and somehow slept through the 30k start when the runners left at 7am. I got out just as they were leaving and picked up my usual coffee from the guys at the prescription coffee roasters tent. I came back to the RV and Hudson was all dressed and ready to go, he is so consistent and loves his routines. I made another round of sausage and we hit the start line at 8am for our final loop, this time back on the pink ribbon lap. This was the third day in a row with the cooler mist in the mornings protecting us from the sun which made for extremely comfortable running conditions. We started the lap passing by the cars and tents that marked the edge of the dirt path, made our way for the third time past the cattle carcass and took our right onto the pink loop just before two miles in. At each mile I would take my watch off so Hudson could see the lap time and select his piece of candy. A mix of either 100 grand bar, Twix, fruit roll up, or a Starburst. At about the five mile mark a new friend Andy caught up to us and Hudson wasn’t going to let him out of our sights. Hudson talked his ear off and paced with him step for step as we navigated the route. The second to last mile we were running downhill, and Hudson clocked his fastest mile of the trip with just over twelve-minute pace. We all ran into camp together and Hudson crossed the finish line to receive his amulet and successfully finished thirty miles! He also received his prize from Dad of 100 pieces of candy as well as a bonus 30 pieces for hitting all three laps under four hours each. The afternoon again was filled with games of Settlers, kicking the soccer ball around, throwing the football, a pinata for the kids, and the classic lego race.

So much fun watching Hudson play with his new friends Ian, Benji and others. Born to Run has a whole series of events that change up each year and you never quite know what to expect. This year a few highlights were the Patrick Sweeney and Samantha O’Brian wedding, the impromptu fundraiser for Karna Brugrind as she’s taking on her cancer treatment journey, the bands, the margarita party led by Greg Lowe, the wine event for Beverly, and so many other activities scattered around camp. I finally had the opportunity to get an image impression from Tyler Tomasselo after all these years and it turned out incredible featuring Hudson and me. The images are created on a metal sheet and the process, and final results have always been fascinating to me and I feel blessed to have my first one of me and Hudson. The expression on Hudson’s face really captures his personality in a priceless moment.

I talked with half a dozen friends and ultimately had Pappa Jim Clemens and Kathy as the go to guardians if Hudson had any trouble putting himself to sleep as I went out for my two last loops pacing Gareth to the finish of his first hundred-mile run. At 7pm Gareth came around and I gave Hudson a big hug and walked through the plan again and confirmed that I trusted him to get himself ready for bed and where to go if he needed anything. The first loop with Gareth went great. We still had daylight through the first half and clipped off the pink loop in right around three hours sharing stories and philosophies on life. After a break at camp, we headed back out around 10:30pm and the second loop on the yellow route this time at least for me really started to hammer home on the tiredness and time stretching on. I found Hudson in his pajamas asleep sitting up on the bench in the RV. I picked him up and tucked him into the queen bed in the front of the RV.

It was a great experience for me having minor discomfort and encouraging Gareth as much as possible as he took on this incredible feat for the first time. I was reminded how steady, confident, and focused he is as he takes on new challenges and addresses each element of the task as it pops up. A key take aways from our conversations for me was a realization for myself how I need to focus my energy and efforts at times if I want to make strategic impact vs having multiple high intensity focuses and obligations like I do now. At just before 2:30am we made our way back to camp and Gareth officially finished his first 100-mile run!!!

We slowly made our way back to the RV and when we arrived Hudson was sitting on the edge of the bed wide awake playing his tablet. We had been off electronics since the drive and I told him that when he was by himself for the night he could use his tablet. Apparently, he had woken up about half an hour before and had a great time waiting up for Dad to get back. I took a shower to get the trail dirt and sweat off and we all headed off to a much-deserved sleep.

Sunday morning (Day 4) I woke up at our normal time around 7am and made up the last of our sausage breakfast. As we walked down to the main camp Hudson started talking about how we had only done 30 miles and if we wanted a 50K we needed to do one more. I asked him if he wanted to do an extra and he lit up with excitement. We went to the start line and headed out half a mile and then returned back the half mile to officially finish his first 50K race at the 4-day BTR extravaganza! The people at the end had some extra 100 mile finisher medals with the BTR emblem on it and they decided that Hudson was deserving of it and gave it to him. We spent the rest of the morning packing up, passed the RV we rented through Outdoorsy back to Juan Carlos, played another game of Settlers of Catan and then packed up our Tesla and Hudson steered us back to the gate. We made the short drive back to Santa Barbara, recharged the Tesla and were back to the airport with three hours before our flight. Hudson was excited to jump on his tablet and I started work on my paper for my class. The flight was uneventful and I managed to submit my paper about an hour before the deadline and just before needing to put our tray tables back in the upright locked position. Vinci picked us up at Seatac at 8:45, and we were on the road by 9pm. We were both pretty tired but my audio book kept me awake and alert and Hudson’s tablet he’d been away from most the week kept him more than occupied. We arrived home just after 11pm after a very successful and rewarding adventure.

This year training up to the BTR 50k was such a joy with Hudson. We completed a 5k, 10k, half marathon, and this was the finale. Never racing them, except the 5k but just enjoying each other’s company. That concludes this training season, and I am released as Hudson’s running coach and pacer until he asks for another adventure hopefully in a few years or his early teen years. So proud of that kid!