Epic Xman Stories and Thoughts

Friday August 26-Sunday August 28 On the drive down Friday morning, I really was blessed by the open and honest conversations with Joe and his good friend Justin about life and about Daniel . . . ...they also shared about a dream project to make a difference in their community--more on that later!  Starting on Friday afternoon aug 26,  we ran the “Hood to Coast”relay race with 10 guys. I wore Daniel’s VC grey running shorts he had given me, and I asked the guys if I could run the very first leg, from the lodge at Mt. Hood, and dedicate it to the honor of Daniel. I started the race at 1:40pm (wave start) and It was a 5 mile downhilll dropping 2,000 feet. Gorgeous views and perfect weather. I ran the first mile very fast downhill, but then slowed a bit as the muscle pain started setting in from the steep downhill running. I thought of Daniel, and his love of the mountains and nature…and remembered he had actually visited mt hood as a young child about 15 or 16 years ago… At 8pm, my secon

  April 29, 2023. Daniel's Day  Badwater   Salton Sea Ultramarathon      The idea actually began in December (2022) when Joe Nakamura and his daughter Mady who is a high school cross-country runner joined me and a couple Valley Christian HS guys from Daniel’s cross-country team to do a memorial run replicating a run Daniel had planned in 2019 that we did that was a very special event. During the 2019 x-country season, Daniel had started doing a few longer runs with me, but could not do anything "really" long b/c he needed to reserve for the xc races...so he asked me to help him plan a "post-season" long run some where epic...in the 18 mile distance range, so xc guys could get pushed passed their normal distance, but not die... that turned out to be an amazing memorable event! Picture of 2019 JT run with Daniel, VCS XC Friends, me, and Mady.   Picture of 2022 Joshua Tree memorial run--with Peter K, Elijah M., Xander K., and Mady N.        During that trip to Josh