{"id":1473,"date":"2016-02-02T17:21:48","date_gmt":"2016-02-03T00:21:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/darkgoldenrod-hedgehog-874350.hostingersite.com\/?p=1473"},"modified":"2016-02-03T07:57:12","modified_gmt":"2016-02-03T14:57:12","slug":"mourning-loss-and-rejoicing-in-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.professorontherun.com\/?p=1473","title":{"rendered":"Mourning Loss and Rejoicing in Community"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Heavy hearts this afternoon. A member of my local trail-running community, Stephen Jones<\/a>, lost his life in an avalanche. I had never met him in person but we had messaged online a few times as he generously provided information on some remote trails I was hoping to run and that he was familiar with. By all accounts, this was normal for him. Generous, giving, gregarious, a friend to all. Of the many expert wilderness runners and back country skiers in our group, he was possibly the most experienced. He had run 200 mile mountain races (yes, 200…100 just wasn’t enough) ran crazy long solo unsupported adventure runs in the High Uintahs and elsewhere, and was intimately familiar with much of the Wasatch – both dry and in the snow. It is sobering to be reminded of our mortality, especially when faced with the death of someone who seemed so very invincible. On a bright note, it was encouraging to see so many in the <\/span><\/span>Wasatch Mountain Wranglers<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span> immediately post their contact info and offer to drop everything and join search and rescue to find him – possibly risking their own lives in the process.
\n<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
This is something I have\u00a0 been mulling over for a while – the surprising generosity and friendliness I have encountered in the trail and ultramarathon running community. My initial guess of what type of community a group of very serious athletes would be that it is insular, competitive and perhaps ego-driven, skeptical of newcomers. I have been proven wrong time and time again. My new friends have weathered my constant asking for advice, at times with gentle ribbing (and throwing snowballs at me from summits as I struggle to make it to the top…you know who you are!), but always with smiles. I\u00a0 think there is something about the ultra-marathon sport that makes people this way. You cannot run ultras alone. You are forced to recognize your dependence on others as you need aid stations, crew members, pacers, etc… The extreme nature of the sport forces <\/em>you to admit you can’t go it alone. I think this instills a deep sense of humility – at least in the ultra runners I have met. It seems like a community where novice and elite athlete alike come together and rejoice in their common love of the outdoors, wilderness, and trails. Many of my new friends are people I have interacted with only via our club’s facebook page, but when we finally meet in person they have always been friendly. I’m glad to have found such a warm and welcoming community.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
So, as we mourn the loss of a comrade, I hope we can take a moment to count our blessings, give a little extra love to those we love, and rejoice in the little community we have built for ourselves. Blessed we are.<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
KSL report<\/a>
\n\n\n