BREATHTAKING!
The GORE-TEX TransRockies Run—a life experience unlike any other.
On August 27, after six days, 117 miles, and more than 25,000 feet of climbing, I felt the rush of crossing the finish line at the 2010 GORE-TEX TransRockies Run.
A true endurance summer camp for adults, this event delivered on its promise with every mile—challenge, reward, challenge, reward, challenge, reward. I’ve never seen or felt anything like it.
The varying landscape, the engaged personalities and clear-headed people, the beyond gorgeous views with sweeping mountaintop scenes you can feel to your core—so powerful you will involuntarily stop in your tracks to allow your entire self to take in as much as you can—all combine to create an experience you will never forget.
Face Your Doubts
This event is perhaps most compelling because it is one that requires a huge amount of faith and belief in yourself. From the start, most people have never attempted anything that approaches this.
You struggle to sign up, thinking, “I’m not sure I could do that.”
You spend months preparing yourself to get there with so much unknown that your mind slowly starts to accept that you simply need to be emotionally available and physically ready to handle pretty much anything.
You wonder what it will be like to run through knee-deep, ice-cold mountain streams.
You can’t emulate the race from where you are because the conditions are unlike most other places on the planet.
You are not even likely to match the mileage (or come even close) because, quite frankly, you aren’t even able to imagine how you could run that far in that many days—that is, until you get there.
My longest weekend came in early August—it was 18 miles, 20 miles, and then 22 miles in humid 103-degree North Carolina. Getting through that test was incredibly rewarding because I got beyond believing in myself to knowing that “I just did that!” Still, that was only 60 miles, about half of what I would face in a mere three weeks—and about 10,000 feet below where I would be. There’s not a lot of oxygen to breathe up that high.
But that test and the others that preceded it got my mind around performing beyond my understanding and past my comfort zone. When I got out to wherever that place was when I would feel unprepared, I would have the confidence that this, too, was possible.
Don’t Sweat the Logistics
It was an amazing experience, and it helped that the GORE-TEX TransRockies Run event team was well above any other I’ve seen. I got the chance to run stage 5 with race director Aaron McConnell, and everyone we saw on the course made it a point to thank him for producing such an amazing event. The food was amazing—catered each morning and night with a spread that left little to want. The campsites would be set up each night before we would arrive and then taken down each morning after we left. The Salomon team hosted the Relax Zone with varying beverages, snacks, hot chocolate, and a big fire pit for late-night bonfires. The most impressive element, however, had to be the mobile locker room/shower stalls. They offered hot showers anytime you needed it and were cleaner than any locker room I’ve been in. The attention to detail for the comfort of the runners was well above expectations. All we had to do was sleep, eat, and run.
The sponsors are a huge part of this event as well. They were front and center as participants, event staff, volunteers, and cheerleaders for the entire event—something I’ve never witnessed before. The swag bag included all sorts of gear that had to be worth over $500—Salomon GORE-TEX trail shoes, a WINDSTOPPER Jacket, a Timex Ironman Watch, a Headsweats hat, and much more. Each night we’d receive another important piece of gear, like WINDSTOPPER gloves for the cold expected early the next day. It seemed to never stop—they would bury us with gear and it all was stuff we could use during the event.
Cynthia Amon, spokesperson for W. L. Gore & Associates, would stand at the finish line and hand each and every finisher of each stage an ice-cold drink complemented by her incredibly contagious smile. She would also entertain the entire event each night as only she could while she congratulated us for accomplishing the previously daunting task of the day. As Cynthia puts it, “The extraordinary thing about this event is that we have not only the elite runners who run competitively but also everyday people who simply have a passion for running. They are delighted with their experience no matter where they finish in the pack.” At Gore, they refer to all participants as “Masters of the Extreme,” and our collective passion for excellence inspires their product development. Honestly, I’ve never seen sponsors engage with the participants in so many ways as those who support the GORE-TEX TransRockies Run.
There’s No “I” in Team
As if this event wasn’t unique enough, the basis of the six-day event is that you run it with a partner—as a team. This isn’t a relay. Each person on the team has to run the whole of the course. And the team needs to stay together. You can only go as fast as the slowest teammate. This team element makes it very interesting and exposes things for each person they may not have expected, creating an additional emotional challenge for some. I saw several husband-and-wife teams, and they surprisingly handled the balance of power better than many all-male or all-female teams. I’ll need to dive into that one another time, but needless to say, you can create a two-person team any which way and you need to be prepared for the strengths, weaknesses, and needs of your teammate.
Just Three Days for Me, Thanks
This year they added a three-day option, which allows runners to participate solo—no teammate required. It’s a great option if you are pressed for time or if you are interested in just a taste of the TransRockies experience. But I’ll tell you, as worn out as I was after the first three days (I would have been psyched to be finished after day 3), I would have missed my best stages of the run if I hadn’t continued. I loved days 4, 5, and 6.
Ultimately, your experience is up to you. You can fight the challenges each day or you can embrace them. My happiness reached a much higher level once I embraced the various daily challenges. More importantly, that made it just plain fun. After slogging up the long climbs, I felt like a kid as I bounded down the long descents (a strength I apparently can claim) – a very tired, yet increasingly inspired kid.
You Have to Be There
Master photographer Kevin Arnold was able to capture so many of the fantastic scenes throughout the course. And as stunning as his images were, it was clear there was only one way to actually feel the view. You had to go to it. You had to get yourself up above 11,500 feet to the ridge of the climb each day and have the presence of mind to let yourself feel how much lighter you are when you get up there.
It’s safe to say that I fell in love with what the planet offers above 12,000 feet. I haven’t spent many moments up there—which is perhaps why I recall it so fondly—but I know I will enthusiastically take every chance I get to experience what it feels like to climb above all else that fills my head, if only to remember what I am capable of offering.
You Can Do This!
Registration is open at www.transrockies.com for the 2011 Gore-Tex TransRockies Run, August 21–26. I hope to see you there—you won’t regret it.
