· Date: Monday July 1, 2019
· Where: Bozeman, Montana to Billings, Montana
· Total Distance Covered: 152 miles
· Host Van Partner: Evan
Something I haven’t talked a lot about is the role of The Host Van. This is mainly because I had only a rough idea of what was involved in this role. Up until now, both Evan and I were one of the few pairs left to take part in this. Today though, we would experience just how stressful of a day this would be.
As many of you may know, all twenty-eight runners for Team Boston separate into three vans every day. Two vans are for runners and split up the miles to the next host site. Both vans will start running in different spots so that all the mileage between the next host is covered on our own two feet. These vans hold up to fifteen people. The third van is a two-passenger cargo van that we call The Host Van. Every morning, the team fills this van with our backpacks and duffle bags as well as any extra food or supplies that we have. The two people in this van do not run any miles for the day. Instead, they drive around local restaurants, markets, and businesses that are along the route. The goal is to obtain food donations for the team. Most times, The Host Van was successful. Sometimes, depending on the geography, the population density of the area, and the tactics used by those in the van, The Host Van was not successful. Either way, by the end of today, Evan and I had a much better appreciation for this.
With this additional aspect of the team put into the picture, some of you may be wondering more about how the mileage is divided each day. This is done to take into consideration those in The Host Van. Using today’s mileage, I will give an example. There are twenty-eight people on Team Boston. With the two people in The Host Van, that leaves twenty-six runners. Since everyone runs in pairs, there are thirteen pairs. Therefore, the mileage each day is divided by thirteen. So today, with a total of 152 miles to run, each runner was running twelve miles.
Now that the explanations are out of the way, we can get into what Evan and I experienced today. Here is what it’s like to obtain food donations for twenty-eight hungry runners.
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Since it was only about six in the morning when the two running vans left, Evan and I had to wait to get started on the food donations. There were no businesses that were open right now and if they were other host vans had been hard-pressed to obtain any donations from them. The team had a history of poor success even with bagel and donut shops. So, after cleaning up the church hall and kitchen we had stayed in last night, Evan and I decided to take advantage of the free time we had in the morning.
Tomorrow the team had to run fourteen miles apiece. Evan and I knew that these fourteen miles would feel a lot longer if we didn’t run at least a little bit today. So, we changed our shoes and went for a run on one of the local trails in Bozeman. We ran about a mile to a trailhead called the Story Mill Spur which led into a series of trails that were part of the Glen Lake Rotary Park. The packed dirt trails were soft on our feet and joints and were a happy change from the pavement. The air was cool and breezy as we ran past fields and tractors with mountain tops in the distance. We saw maybe three other people since it was still so early in the morning. As we got into the park, the trail snaked its way through the woods and opened around a beautiful lake. It was here that we turned around and headed back towards the host to start our day.
When we got back, we agreed how beautiful every step of the trail had been and how happy we were to have been able to run on it together. It felt amazing to push through eight consecutive miles rather than stopping after only two or three miles. This is what we had done for the past two weeks as we ran with the team. Even in the cool morning air, we broke quite a sweat because we had pushed each other. (I’ll admit, maybe Evan was pushing me a little more than I was pushing him. He’s an amazing runner!) All in all, having finished running by the time we started our days was something we were not used to doing. At home, we both loved morning runs, but here on 4K, runs were all day. To have been done running and showered by eight in the morning felt incredible. Plus, we were able to go about our days in clean, sweat-free clothing. The Host Van was the cleanest since nobody was running while they were in it. Not having to simultaneously sit in your sweaty clothes and the smells of the running van was incredible. The Host Van had its benefits!
Next, Evan and I finished sweeping the hall, picked up the garbage and brought it to the dumpster, and cleaned the kitchen. We wrote a thank you note to the Church who had hosted us and finished packing up the van. On the way out, we talked with a few people from the parish and exchanged our gratitude for each other, then we were on our way!
Once in the host van, I quickly realized that this was not a walk in the park. Granted, no day on 4K seemed to be a walk in the park so far, but today was not easy. It certainly wasn’t a day off. Evan and I soon became stressed that we would not be able to obtain enough food donations for everyone on the team. Not only are there a lot of businesses that say no, but once the food was provided, it was often much different from what was agreed upon. Ensuring that there were options available that acknowledged all the team’s food restrictions was extremely difficult. There was also a lot of pressure from the team to do well, especially when the partners in The Host Van the day previously had been so successful.
Essentially, Evan and I walked into as many stores and restaurants as we could that were along the running route for the day. We would speak to managers about who we were and what the 4K for Cancer was. We briefly explained how Ulman utilizes the funds raised and then would explain that the team relied heavily on food donations throughout the trip. Usually, we could tell right away who was willing to donate and who was not. At first, we had luck at a café, and it was an amazing success to start the day. We were given two large boxes of premade sandwiches for the team. But then, our luck ran out and we quickly racked up about ten refusals in a row. It seemed that chain stores had to request approval from corporate managers before donating goods. Even with a tax-deductible ID form, few businesses were willing to donate on the spot. We had a lot of people explain that if we had given them advance notice, even a few more hours, then they would have been able to donate. Some businesses needed days or even weeks advance notice. It was demoralizing. Eventually, we were able to secure food donations from Jersey Mike’s subs, Starbucks, and a few other local shops in addition to these two chains. Now, the entire team had food available that complied with the diet restrictions as well. Evan and I were so happy and relieved to have been able to call it a successful day.
Evan and I agreed that if we had to get dinner for everyone, we would have seriously doubted our ability to do so. Thankfully, we didn’t have to worry about this since Tyler B.’s family was making dinner for the entire team.
As we progressed along the route today collecting food from various organizations, our goal was to meet up with the other run vans so that they could have lunch. However, we were running slightly behind schedule and were only able to meet up with the first run van. The second van would end up beating us to our host site. When we finally did meet up with everyone though, they all looked exhausted. The sunburnt, sweaty faces greeted us with smiles and appreciation. I think everyone is always apprehensive to find out what The Host Van managed to grab each day, so Evan and I were a bit nervous. But overall, we thought that we did a good job and the team ate the food we brought them. After we saw everyone in van one, Evan and I wondered if that’s what we looked like when we were in the running vans. We just couldn’t believe how exhausted everyone seemed to look!
But our day was not over when everyone else was done running their miles. Once we met up with the second running van in the host parking lot, we unloaded the vans together so that everyone could have their stuff. While the running vans showered and got settled for the night, Evan and I went back into the town of Billings to try to get more food donations. It was always good to have extra since you never knew what the next Host Van would be able to obtain for everyone.
After little success with grocery stores for essentials like peanut butter, bread, and granola bars, Evan and I grew frustrated. We ended up buying a supply of food from a grocery store and telling the team we had it donated. We were convinced others had done the same as well. Sometimes, it was almost impossible to get all the necessary food donations. If Ulman had better coordinated this, we could have had food waiting for us in advance. We thought that if a part of our preparations for the summer had been each team member securing food donations for two days of the trip, it would work more effectively. Then, the partners on The Host Van would only have to go pick up donations and pick up any other supplies we needed. Organizations that were donating would then have the advance notice that had been recommended repeatedly. Plus, this would increase the number of people that knew we would be running through their town. Perhaps there would be more community dinners, donations, and awareness throughout the trip if it was approached this way. Some hosts, such as tonight, were at local high schools. The principal or a janitor would let us in and that would be it. No community dinner, hardly acknowledgment of what we were doing, and certainly no one outside of our group was aware of our presence. However, if we had arranged something with the community, the entire trip would be more impactful for everyone involved. Plus, reliable food donations would improve the overall morale, health, and functionality of the team. Unfortunately, this was not the case and food donations were always a sore topic of discussion throughout the trip.
Dinner tonight was nice since it was provided by Tyler Berge’s family. Evan and I showed up slightly later than everyone else since we were still trying to obtain food donations. But, when we arrived, they greeted us like family and made us up a plate. We passed around a thank you card for everyone to sign which we gave to the Berge’s. While everyone ate, we all talked with each other and traded stories from the day. It was a relaxing time and I always enjoyed eating dinner with everyone. There were only a few times where the whole team was together and not split apart into separate vans for running or separate rooms for sleeping. Not to mention, we had amazing weather for an outdoor picnic.
Overall, the day was stressful while Evan and I were obtaining food donations. But at the same time, it was fulfilling and restful. If you told me before 4K, that I would be stuck alone in a van with one other person for twelve plus hours out of the day, I would have been nervous. There would have been awkward conversations and long periods of silence. However, with Evan that was not the case. The conversations that Evan and I had were some of the best that I had with people on the trip so far and I think today made us a lot closer than we had been in comparison to days before. I was looking forward to this aspect of The Host Van for the next time that I was assigned this role. The environment, the friendships, and the support that the 4K for Cancer builds for the team is crazy. It’s something that I hoped for before leaving San Francisco, but also something I never fully expected.
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