It's A Wild Life

Coping with Mother Nature is part of the deal when you’re out there on the trails. After all, it’s her environment that we’re so blessed to indulge in. Thus we’re forced to take things as they come; the good and the bad. Such is the mantra of an ultramarathoner!

You never know what could present itself on race day, so you train no matter the circumstance. If it’s pouring outside (my least favorite scenario), you get out there and deal with it. If it’s 100 degrees, clear skies and no breeze, you deal with it. Injuries, you deal with them too. And while there is some sacrifice in dealing with tough situations, the reward from that one perfect run makes up for the hard times. That’s why I keep going back for more punishment.

Every so often though, a situation is presented to you and you’re forced to deal with it instinctively. Much of how you react comes from experience, yet there’s always new situations being presented to teach you, and to mold your character. I’ve had a few such experiences as of late.

The first happened several weeks ago when I was out for my long run. It happened to be the 4th of July weekend so I had multiple obligations to attend to. As such, my long run had to be done during the night. Perfect! I needed a night run to test my lighting systems and to practice running in the dark anyways. So I began my journey at about midnight:fifteen, apparently being the only person in the area as I saw no other cars around. The trail is one that I’m very familiar with and could run in my sleep (pun intended). The first hour or so went by without issue. The legs were strong and I’d covered nearly 5 miles - which is quick for me - on this section. I was feeling great physically and my mind was sharp and focused. Little did I know, things were about to get a little chaotic.

At about the 75 minute mark, I heard a howl off in the distance. Coyote! Honestly, I felt like I was witnessing something beautiful and really connecting with nature. It was serene to be quite honest. This emotional high continued for about the next fifteen seconds when I was suddenly - and quite rudely - interrupted. The interruption came in the form of a coyote barking, just 200 yards or so away from me. The emotion flushed out of me instantly and I was scared to death. I didn’t even stop, just turned around mid-stride and literally sprinted, all while singing loudly and waving my lights around! I probably looked and sounded like a crazy person! Later come to find out I made the right choice as coyote barking is a warning sign, usually when they’re protecting something like infants, or a fresh kill. Not being able to see them and knowing there was no one else within several miles of my vicinity made my decision pretty easy. It’s something I didn’t even think about, just acted upon.

The only other incident that frightened me a little bit was when I tweaked my ankle a couple weeks ago. Obviously doing that is scary enough, but then to have mother nature compound the situation sucks even more. I probably never would have seen it had my ankle been ok, but coming down the mountain I was going quite slowly. As I approach a rocky section I see movement out of the corner of my eye, and almost immediately heard that distinct sound – a rattlesnake. Turns out I about stepped on him, but was aware of his presence due to my pace. Makes me wonder how many times I’ve ran right by one and never seen it! I love snakes though, so that more startled me than anything.

I’ve had some tough lessons out there, not only this year, but in past experiences as well. The one thing I take away from all of it is that Mother Nature makes the rules! Regardless of how fit or experienced you are, you can quickly become humbled.