Monthly Archive: October 2015

Sharing the Love in Texas (Team RWB Trail Camp)

What do you get when you mix the west Texas hill country with a combination of Team Red White and Blue Veterans that love to run? Three days of dirt and rock, laughter and pain. I was invited back to Camp Eagle for the third year in a row over the weekend of October 10-12, by Liza Howard, Director of the Team RWB Camp and a Leadville 100 Mile winner. My role was that of a mentor, to share my knowledge and experience with other trail runners and to also get to know them and hear their story. Friday afternoon saw a convergence of Vets at the San Antonio Airport and we boarded a charter bus that would transfer us to Camp Eagle, 2 hours west. At check in we were assigned cabins that would hold 8 of us. The porched cabins faced inwards toward the center of a circle and it encouraged introductions and conversation.Eagle up!So why a trail running camp? Team RWB has always been about enriching veterans lives through physical activity and connecting communities and veterans through such activity. It promotes a sense of family, connecting, engaging each other and the body as well as the mind and this is what a lot of Vets need today. A connection, an external release be it activity or conversation. Those in attendance came from a variety of levels pertaining to running.

Some were looking to do their first trail race and some looking to do their first 50k or more.Living the dream!

The weekend consisted of a variety of clinics. On Friday night there was a night run of a couple of miles with headlamps. A way to shake the legs out and meet and greet. At 7 a.m. Saturday four groups were formed based on the level of fitness. B-Group was my assignment for the weekend. With a jolt of coffee and a quick introduction we headed for the trails and a sunrise run and to discuss our plan for the day. The morning sessions saw us running to points around camp and taking part in Trail First Aid and improving speed on the trail, both valuable to any runner. After lunch there was a core class and a session on Training Schedules. Saturday night I was honored to show my documentary “12 Million Steps”. The world is small but made even smaller when 2 people told me they had served with soldiers whose names had appeared in the film. Saturday nights bonfire revealed many touching stories. PTSD seems to be the most troublesome part of a Veterans life and many I talked to suffer from it. Many had contemplated suicide until their involvement with Team RWB which resurrected a will and desire to persevere. Many organizations do great things but often you never realize the impact until you experience it in a conversation.

Sunday morning greeted us with a beautiful sunrise up near a windmill. Moments like that remind us that only are feet took us to a beautiful place. A full agenda awaited us as we covered hydration, nutrition, technical uphill and technical downhill running followed by a day ending obstacle course covering 3 miles. I managed a spot out on the course shouting encouragement to all who ran by. For many particularly those in the back, this might be the only time they would challenge themselves on such a course. Later after all had finished the mentors raced off. The fast, fast guys were all up front, shirtless, but I, being more about self preservation and maintaining a much slower pace, opted to keep my shirt on. My moment of glory amounted to being the second shirt guy to finish….Bridge of Life

One more early morning run on Monday awaited us. Slowly we made our way through the scrub oak and switchbacks. The confidence level of those in my group had risen to an unrecognizable level. I was like a proud parent. I do not know the adversity they face in their private lives, relationships and jobs but I sense they have the strength to persevere. In my talk the night before I said that it does not matter how many races you run, if you win or how fast you are. It does not matter how much money you make or how successful you are. At the end of the day what matters is what you have done for others. When you do that, you win.