This summer my 5-year-old daughter learned how to body surf. And although I proudly take credit for helping her fine-tune her technique (i.e. diving for the shore versus toward the sea), she took this activity on all by herself. As she had stood in the shallow surf, getting more and more tired of the same old waves breaking against her thighs, she decided it was time to make it more fun. She started to dive into each wave – and you could actually see and hear her thirst for thrill overtake her genuine fear of the wild waves as she took on bigger and bigger breakers.
The look on her face after she rode her first wave was that of someone who just found something they never knew they were missing. It’s that same awesome look my son had when he sat in a racecar for the first time at the Toddler Track and actually got to “drive” it, lap after lap. That combination of such a sudden thrill combined with an almost immediate bafflement, as if it was such a fantastic experience, he couldn’t understand why he hadn’t been doing this every day of his young life.
I felt that way the first time I really rode a mountain bike. The connection you get with the earth when you go off-road (or off-land) simply can’t be replaced.
Personally, I tend to spend most of my free time in touch with some form of cement/asphalt – on the road or in the pool – as I train for whichever triathlon or marathon that is on my annual calendar. And it never fails to surprise me how truly free it feels to bounce through the trails on foot or mountain bike. Each time I also wonder “why don’t I do this more often?”, I still have no answer – and no excuse. Maybe this will be the year I embrace that ‘new life’ feeling that comes with taking on one of these sports.
From mountain biking, to trail running to kayaking, this issue will help bring you closer to the world of off-road thrill. It’s already made a huge impact on our Managing Editor, Joe Nuss. Take a look inside at what he’s been inspired to take on. Talk about jumping in with both feet. We look forward to tracking his progress as he tackles one of the most challenging mountain biking events in the world – La Ruta De Los Conquistadores. He’s got four days to get from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica to the Caribbean Sea – 217 miles and 39,000 feet of climbing! Good Luck, Joe – you may be slightly nuts, but it’ll be fun to watch you tackle this extremely extreme event.
EVENT SPOTLIGHT: One big event you won’t want to miss is the 2nd Annual Whitewater Festival at the US National Whitewater Center in Charlotte [September 15th All Day]. In addition to the full day of activities and adventure clinics for kids and adults, not to mention the ongoing showcase of area bands, this year’s event will showcase a 4-mile and 10-mile trail run as well as a mountain bike race. Races start at 9am and the event will last all day (see their ad inside). Endurance Magazine will be there and we hope to see you too.
Inspire. Perform. Endure.
PS – Inside, you’ll notice our updated STUDENT SECTION – “Empowering Student Athletes”. If you know of a student athlete you’d like us to spotlight please send information to student@endurancemag.com.
