Big Sur Magic and Eating With Another Ultra Friend
For 2 full days we experienced what many call the most magic section of pavement on the Planet, Big Sur California! For both days the road twisted up steep climbs for what seemed like a successful summit to Everest (complete with gale force winds for added one step forward, one step back effect). Then, we would drop down to almost touch 30-foot waves crashing over jagged peaks of rock, holding their own against mother natures’ continual fury.
We had planned and trained for way long to be enjoying these “road earned” days along this magic piece of California coastline. Even Mother Nature gave us the gift of sunshine, as it was forecasted to rain hard. She had other plans and dumped a heavy deluge the night before, so as to clear the way for our 2 days of climbing and descending. Even if you’re not a runner, you have to come and experience this 100 miles of Pacific paradise.
It had shades of Northern Ontario as once again, we were in total wilderness with no cell or internet service to be found for 2 days. Great if one is traveling to get away from it all. Not so great if one is traveling to meet people, do interviews with radio and a local Fox station and keep our team updated with our progress. This was our situation, Steph had a 9am radio interview, as well, had to tee up the other mentioned tour items. So we set about speaking to everyone we ran by if they knew where a phone might be positioned. As luck would have it, we spoke to a guy riding an old Apollo 10 speed and he said there was indeed a phone, an old and international phone in fact.
Turns out that on the whole section of highway, there is but one public pay phone (or at least that’s what the guy said), and it is an old British style red box telephone. He was right, as Steph and Amber took off in search of world connection via this red box tucked away in the ever thickening redwood forest. I kept running on and found them a half hour later happy as clams after doing the interviews and other $10’s in quarters later, team phone calls!
One of those calls was to speak with an early supporter, local Ultra Runner, Andy Hergert! He had sent Steph and email a day after we departed last May wishing us safe running and that when we ran into Seaside, he was going to run our last miles with us, and take us to dinner! We met up with Andy a little later than anticipated, so we kyboshed the last couple of miles as it was getting late and he had asked if we were hungry? I think we almost bowled him over with our enthusiastic and hungry looking Yesses!!
Andy is one of those people we’ve met along the road who totally lives the life of Action. He’s an ex-Navy man, runs Ultra’s (Western States and the like), cares about being a better steward for the Planet and just an all around great person. His humility to his own athleticism made me respect him even more as we all talked about our collective run journey’s and life experiences over the BEST seafood as of yet, at local haunt, “The Fishwife”.
You’d think that was it, no. Andy also took it upon himself to ensure we enjoyed another restful sleep by booking us into the Holiday Inn! It will be a rude awakening after May 8th when at the end of a “post tour rest day”, we’ll have to make our own dinner and sleep in our own bed. For now, we suck it up and take one for the team and know that it is people’s ways of saying thanks for doing what we’re doing. We humbly accept and say thanks back, for believing in the cause, in us to carry it out and for offering your humanity to us as we run these remaining miles towards May 8th!
A big shout out to Andy in Seaside California! Thanks for your support and if you find yourself in Vancouver, you know it’s a reciprocal agreement.
A big shout out too, to Big Sur and the miles of pristine beaches with mondo waves and rocky shores protecting it’s magic from development.