· Date: Wednesday June 19, 2019
· Where: Burney, California to Sparks, Nevada
· Total Distance Covered: 167 miles
· Running Partner: Ally
This morning we had the most incredible sendoff yet, besides our first morning in San Francisco. Parishioners from the congregation woke up before five in the morning to prepare a breakfast spread for us. There were bags of bagels, boxes of oatmeal, and bowls of fruit. They even had a coffee bar and made coffees and teas to order. This was my first hot tea in days, and I couldn’t be happier. I felt like I was in a café. Better yet, they insisted we take all the leftovers with us. They wanted to be sure we had enough breakfast for the next few days. This church had hosted various 4K for Cancer teams multiple times in the past and knew we would be short on food over the next few days. Nevada was going to be extremely isolated. These people were truly the most appreciative people we had encountered so far.
In the morning, the people who put on our breakfast joined our dedication circle and told their stories as well. We ran for them since one of them was a survivor and the others had close family members who had passed from cancer as well. They were touched and we kept in communication with them throughout the trip. As we had promised the women and her family, we had met yesterday at Lassen Volcanic National Park, we also ran for them. After the dedication circle was completed, I sent the pictures of those of us who had decided to run for her.
After sending the pictures, the woman replied “Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I am anxious to follow your journey. Be safe and go with God!”
This was something that we all tried to do throughout the summer. If we talked with someone who was appreciative of what we were doing and shared their story, we would dedicate our miles to them the next day. To extend our appreciation for sharing their story, and to show how their story matters, we would send them a picture of their names on our legs. We generally received countless responses sharing their gratitude and kept in communication with these people throughout the journey. It gave the entire meaning of the trip more purpose.
During the entire summer, a representative is with each 4K for Cancer team twice. The first time is during the first few days to ensure that everything is running smoothly. The second time is about halfway through to make sure that things were continuing to run smoothly and as they were in the beginning. For the remainder of the run, our twenty-eight-person team was completely on our own. Three directors, or team captains, would relay information back and forth to Ulman each day though. So even though we were on our own, we still were in communication with the foundation sending and receiving updates.
Today was the last day that Jen Antonelli, the first representative from Ulman, would be with us. The past few days I had not been in the same van with her and today was the first time we were able to talk. She was a 4K alum from one of the bike teams a few years ago and found she liked it so much that she decided to work for Ulman. A few of us talked in the front part of the van about our inspirations for joining 4K, our aspirations for the future, music, podcasts, and so much more. It was a great conversation.
Once we started running, I remember the conversation with Ally being about similar things.
The scenery was amazing. Our first leg was on a long straight road. At first, there was a field to the left that led into a lake. On the right, there were mountains. Eventually, as we ran into more isolated areas, this led to a drier climate and the desert. Here, we came across more winding hills and areas of flat road. But soon, this too became a massively long uphill that was one of our last miles for the day.
It was here where we crossed the California and Nevada state line and celebrated our first state crossing as a team. But that didn’t mean we were finished. We still had only put our feet in two of the eighteen states we would run through this summer. The road continued into the desert and what seemed like no man’s land. The only sign of civilization besides the road was the occasional cattle gate. When I was looking back on my pictures at the end of the day, I was reminded just how different each day of our trip looked so far. In California alone, we had already come across so many different environments and ways of life. I couldn’t wait to see what differences the remaining states had to show us.
Sharing these experiences with Ally was awesome though. We tackled hills together and kept each other consistent on the flat roads. There was less traffic than usual, but out in the desert, we found the cars were going much faster. With no one around, we had to be super vigilant to get over to the side of the road and make sure the cars saw us.
It’s awesome that we all had different partners every day. The changes in stride length everyday initially had me nervous for injury but, realizing how to run different paces while keeping my stride was important. I feel like so far, every time that I’ve run with someone, we’ve had conversations that we wouldn’t have had otherwise. It really helps to get to know everyone on the team. I know that I’ve said this before, but it was amazing to see everyone’s different lifestyles and athletic aspirations come forward for one cause. Cancer is awful, but over and over it really brings everyone together. At this point, I realized the 4K for Cancer was proving to be even more therapeutic than I thought it would.
As we got back to the host, we realized we had little amounts of food. Given the isolated route we had taken, there was little opportunity for the pair in the host van to obtain food donations. In Reno, Nevada, which was near the small town of Sparks, businesses were not very willing to donate large quantities of food. This would be one of the first nights that we went out to buy food for ourselves. Regrettably, when I get hungry, I get hangry. This night became a constant reference point throughout the team for the rest of the summer. We joked about it whenever there was not enough food or someone got moody.
Even after the summer had ended, when Annalyse and I met up in New York City with Tyler S., one of the first things he said was “We have to find food before Ryan gets hangry.”
After dinner, everyone was laughing and joking. We no longer had the tense feeling around each other that you get when you’re around new people. A few of us stayed up late and talked because tomorrow was our first rest day. We couldn’t be happier to have a rest period and we were all looking forward to it.
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