When Jesse and I lived in CA we went to a few races put on by Luis Escobar and they were incredible. Difficult but beautiful courses and great volunteers; the whole vibe was just a very positive one and I loved being part of these events. When I discovered he was a race director for a whole 4 day Born to Run Ultramarathon Extravaganza in Los Olivos, CA I just had to go. It was inspired by the book of the same name and I was hoping to bring the book and get it signed by some of the men featured in this incredible story. I researched the event and joined the Born to Run Facebook page and read up about all the fun activities around the running part of the weekend. There were bands on Friday and Saturday night, a Dirtbag prom, a beer mile, Tarahumara creations for sale as well as pottery, Luna Sandals and food. Everything you could ever want all in one place.
I signed Jesse and I up and we started making plans. I was going to do the 30 mile and he was going to do the 10 mile. The event is held on an 8,000 working cattle ranch and you camp there in the valley. There are no showers and a few porta potties but you need to bring your own toilet paper. Thankfully all of this information and more is available in a wonderful email you get detailing all the events and times. Also included is a list of mandatory items, your waiver, $10 and a cowboy hat are the top 3 items. Since there are a lot of rattlesnakes in the area I did not want to sleep in a tent on the ground so Jesse and I rented a Dodge Caravan that had been converted to have sink, a bed and also a rooftop tent! It worked perfect and was rather comfortable to sleep in. We also had a big cooler, chairs, utensils and a small table.
We left Palatka, FL on Thursday and flew to LA. I love flying west since you go back in time. We made it to LA and were first in line for the taxi. We only had a little time to go pick up our camper van before they closed and LA on a Thursday at 4pm is not a place you want to be in a hurry. Luckily the place was only 2.5 miles from the airport so we made it in time and got the keys to our van along with a tour of where everything was. We decided to stay in a hotel that night since we wanted one last shower before we headed to the ranch and to sleep indoors. Jesse is a hell of smart planner and the hotel was one mile from the van place, had a Denny’s in the parking lot and was only two turns away from I-405 which we had to take to get to Los Olivos. Plus the hotel was so pretty, just an old Travelodge but it had been beautifully landscaped and it was nice and quiet. We had an early dinner, showered and went to sleep early.
Friday was the day to head to the ranch. We sat in LA traffic for a while but we made it to Highway 1 and looked out over the Pacific Ocean (well Jesse did at least, I was looking at all the wonderful mountains). Our first stop was our old town of Lompoc so we could get snacks, beer and other essentials for our time on the ranch. We even stopped at the grocery store Jesse used to work at and they were happy to see him. Hell, they wanted to know if he was coming back to work! We grabbed some lunch from there and went to the ranch. It had a big cattle fence that you had open and make sure to lock behind you. We arrived and I opened the gate for Jesse to drive in (and the four other cars that showed up at the same time). We slowly rambled up the dirt road to the check in table where we got our shirt, bib and wristband and paid our $10 and handed in our waiver. We kept going down the road and as you came up over the hill you saw the whole main camp down below, tents, cars, vans, campers, trailers, and the main stage with all the flags around it. I was so excited to be there I could barely keep from squealing with joy. We found a spot and unfolded our roof top tent. It ended up being a bit tricky but we figured it out. After our space was sent up I wanted to walk around camp and see what was around. I ended up buying some Luna sandals and a Born to Run mug. They had amulets for every distance so against my superstitiousness I bought a 30 mile one. Now I had to complete the race or I would have to give it back. Jesse bought a 10 mile one and put it right on. He has less hang ups than I do.
We got ourselves a burrito from the wonderful Julie and sat to eat. I loved the people watching. There was also a beer mile we got to watch which was fun. Friday night had a fabulous band called Brass Mash. They were mostly brass instruments and they would mash up popular songs. It was a lot of fun. I was just going to sit and watch but a big burly bearded man hoisted me out of my chair and plopped me on the dance floor. Jess and I had a fun time dancing and went to bed not too late. Saturday was going to be a big day.
I set an alarm since I did not want to sleep too late but I found out at about 0430 that that was not going to be an issue. Luis started racing through camp on his motorbike and honked the horn. There was also a man in his full mariachi gear singing his heart out on stage. I started to get up and get dressed while Jesse still dozed in tent. Then at 0500 the shotgun was shot and more yelling from Luis to GET UP! That finally got Jesse out of bed. We had a granola bar and some water and headed to main camp for the briefing. There is a young man there who has run a few of Luis races and he is pretty incredible, being 11 and being able to run 35+ miles is kinda awesome. He got to do the honors of the usual pre start oath. “Raise your right hand. If I get hurt, lost or die, it is my own DAMN FAULT! Amen”. We happily repeated after him and after a shotgun blast we were off. The course was made up of a pink loop and a yellow loop. And since Luis is not big on exact distances they were both longer than the 10 miles they should have been.
My first pink loop went well, it started cool and even though there were hills I did OK. Our hill training consisted of running up and down stairs at Ravine Gardens and the bridge in Florida since the whole damn state is flat; frankly so is Iowa which is where we were before Florida. I was woefully under trained for this but I was damn determined to finish all three loops. It started to get warm after the first loop so I quickly refilled my bladder, ate some Doritos and another granola bar, and headed back out. For me the yellow loop was much harder, it went along the ridge in the mountain and it was full sun. Also the down hills really beat on my already sore toes. I made it through and headed back to the van to cool off and get some food in me. I snacked at the aid stations and drank some of the Fluid nutrition they had so I could get some calories and electrolytes. It was so dry that even the sweat on my shirt evaporated in no time at all. I had some more Doritos and Jesse dunked my buff in ice water to help cool me off. He also put on some more sunscreen and let me put my feet up for a bit. I knew the last pink loop was going to be hard. I do not do well in the heat and it was getting close to 100 degrees. I headed off determined to finish. My prize was that I got to wear my amulet proudly and I was going to have Luis, Barefoot Ted and Manuel Luna sign my Born to Run book.
That last loop was slow and painful. The heat was incredible and I was quite nauseous; drinking the warm water in my bladder was not helping either. For a while there I was all alone and not quite sure I was going to make it. I knew there was one last aid station before the last climb back to camp. When I saw them I could have cried I was so happy. They let me sit in the shade and dunked my hat and buff in ice water. They also handed me a few cups of Fluid nutrition since I was not sure I could eat anything. I felt rejuvenated and finished strong.
I was so proud of myself and Jesse was there to see me finish. I cleaned myself up since I was covered in dust and dirt. After changing and putting my amulet on I went and grabbed my book to have it signed. I found Barefoot Ted first and he signed it for me and gave me a swig of some Tarahumara made tequila. He was such a ball of energy and was flying around the camp on what looked like a motorized unicycle. I then found Luis and he gladly signed it for me as well. The final signature was from Manuel Luna, a true Tarahumara that was featured in Born to Run. He has only been to the US twice and is the inspiration for the Luna sandals.
After hobbling around we went to the Dirtbag prom. I was not feeling too great, I didn’t feel like eating and I could not get warm even though I had leggings, long sleeves and a sweatshirt on. We ended up going to bed early while the band played on. We slept solidly until the sun came up the next morning. It was another beautiful day and I felt much better. Unfortunately we had to pack up and head back to LA since our flight back to Florida was the next day. We packed up the van, waved goodbye to Luis and main camp and headed back to Lompoc. We needed to get rid of some trash and recycling and we were hungry. A big breakfast at American Host was just what we needed, plus Jesse finally got some real coffee. We had a lazy breakfast, got rid of trash and started our drive back to LA. There was some epic traffic and it took four hours to get back to the place where we dropped off the camper van. After a stop at the hotel to take everything out of the van we drove the mile to drop it off. We walked back to the hotel and finally took a nice hot shower. An early dinner at Denny’s and we went to bed. Monday was a very long travel day and we eventually got back to Florida by midnight. Flying east is less fun since you have to go forward in time.
This event was everything I had hoped it would be. It was a huge challenge for me and one of the hardest physical things I have ever done. My feet were blistered, my big toe was black and I was sore but so very happy. I cannot wait for the Born to Run Ultramarathon Extravaganza 2018! I think I will try for the 60 mile or decrease my time for the 30 mile. All I am sure of is that it will be awesome.
Thanks for a great time Luis!
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