Running - Running The Country

The stars and the Escalante, Utah, sun aligned on October 10, 2015 when Erika, and her nearly 11-month old baby, Elianna, and I participated in our first three-generation 10-mile race.

With the sun on our backs and majestic views from start to finish, I was giddy with joy to join with Erika, Elianna, and the other runners in the Escalante Canyons Marathons & 10 Miler.

In the weeks prior to the event, Mary, a race organizer, and I exchanged emails regarding the race. Mary said we could run with Elianna. She and her husband, Drew, also opened up their home and hearts during our stay in Escalante. After the race, Drew awarded Elianna with a medal as the youngest runner. Thank you, Mary and Drew!

Escalante holds a special place in my heart because in the winter prior to getting married, Kris and I worked together as wilderness counselors for troubled teens on the Hole in The Rock road just outside of Escalante.

How could I help but fall in love with such a woman!

So returning to Escalante some 27 years later with our daughter and granddaughter connected me to the past and future in a marvelous way.

How grateful I am that Kris and I are still alive and kicking, and still able to enjoy our kids and grandkids.

Here’s to many more races and to many more years to come!

In our 26 years of marriage, Kris and I have shared our lives with four dogs: Joe and Gypsy from Japan, Angel from Utah, and Jenna from Texas. After Joe passed away, we thought it a good idea to get a new companion for Gypsy. We saw an ad in the local newspaper and decided to take a look at a young dog named Angel.

Kris said beforehand, “We’ll just look; we don’t have to take her if she’s not right for our family.”

“You know if we go look at this dog,” I said, “we’re going to end up taking her home.”

And so we did.

Angel shared our home and our hearts for some seventeen years. She ran a trail or two in the Uintah Mountains of Utah before moving with us to Alaska. She ran thousands of miles with me on the trails of Sitka. She loved pulling me forward in the local races. Her name appeared next to mine in the race results printed on the Sentinel sports page. She used to run from our home to Medvejie, sit in the front seat of my open cockpit, double kayak while I fished for king salmon, and then she’d run back home. She summited Mt. Verstovia, Bear Mountain, and Mt. Edgecumbe. A few years ago, she outran a bear at Thimbleberry Lake. And although she was too old to run last year, she joined our family as David and I ran from Huntington Beach, California, to Ocean City, New Jersey. Since April 1st, 2014, she has put up with Jenna, the spunky pup we picked up in Dalhart, Texas.