Yo dawggsssssssssssssssssssss, It's ya boy Pampers again, misspelling and using incorrect there/their/they're's one last time. Yea it's sad to say that it is almost over, but you know the guys have loved every minute of it and are looking forward to the Pacific on their horizon.
They started May 23rd where they left off, in Occotillo's fire department. The alarm went off at 5am and they all awoke. Instead of getting up immediately they hung out in their beds for a little bit. Ken, Andy, and Rick spent the night on cots and they wanted our good friend and teammate Marty Nicholson to know this. See Marty is an individual who likes to live his own lifestyle and he doesn't care much about societal norms or laws for that matter(storage closet)! It's something that you realize when meeting him and you learn to really love and respect. He is spending his summer in Oneonta taking some summer courses and training for the upcoming XC season after spending the spring OWNING the outdoor 10K!(good job dawg!). He also chooses to spend his nights sleeping on his beloved army cot and he's very proud of it. The guys are making you proud Marty!
After laying in bed for a little, the door opened and light made its way into the room. A newspaper delivery man locked his keys inside his car and went to the fire station to get help. The guys woke up some of the fireman and they were able to help the delivery man out. While this was occurring, our guys ate some breakfast and packed up the joggers. Because of the delivery man waking everybody up, the guys were able to say goodbye and thank the firemen, so it all worked out well.
The guys figured that since they've dealt with wind the past few days and nights, it should have died down by now. But to their dismay, the first 3 miles were filled with a gnarly head wind. However after those initial 3 miles the wind changed direction and hit them at their side, which wasn't as daunting to run in, but certainly was a nuisance. Matt told me that Rick has really acclimated well to the Nation Run lifestyle and routine. He said if an outsider were to try and pick who was a visitor based on "rook" appearance or actions, they would not be able to. I would accredit this blending to the guys really strong friendship. They know each other so well that hanging out with them, even out in a Californian desert during wind and sand storms isn't that hard for him. Matt also told me that it was really cool to see Rick's reactions to certain things. Since Matt was in the same situation as Rick when he started this journey; all the new scenery and the feeling of really being "out-there" was hard to overcome. Eventually, however you get used to being on an endless stretch of asphalt surrounded by mountains or deserts or canyons or farms or whatever with your own two feet carrying you all the way, and it becomes all in a days work for a Nation Runner. Now Matt gets to see how Rick reacts to really being "out-there" and living the lives they've lived for the past 100+ days, and it was a cool perspective to take. Matt said, "he can remember being in Rick's shoes."
While on the road, every couple of miles their were these giant barrels labeled, "agua", which is Spanish for water. Inside, humanitarian groups had placed 4 gallons of water for passer byes or illegal immigrants who may have crossed the border and are in need of water. This really took them back and they were astonsihed by the generosity of these groups. It's just another proving point of American citizens, who may be complete strangers, that will help others in need. This put the guys in even more of a positive mood and motivated them to finish the day up. Despite the fact that they should be climbing in elevation on this leg of their journey, today was mostly down hill and that could only mean that tomorrow may include some monster hills. So the guys are not entirely looking forward to that.
They finished up at a camp ground called, Disnaga Wash. Matt told me they spent most of their time after they finished talking about special moments on the trip and how its all winding down. They also passed time making up songs and playing a game where they try to name the most characters from 1990's television shows such as Full House, Step By Step, and Family Matters. While doing this they had to battle the wind again! It kept knocking over their tents and they were forced to secure them with heavy rocks. While the wind may be annoying and very hard to run in at times it also makes the days much cooler, and Matt said he'd take a windy day over a very hot day, any-day of the week.
As I finish up this blog, the guys want you to know that Dan will be joining them shortly. He is flying in tonight and has to some how get a ride all the way to their camp which has no real address and will probably cost him alot of money. They greatly appreciate his sacrifice to join the ranks of the Nation Run team. They also want to say thank you to JoJo Simon, whose number they received from Dave "Dirtier than a Dog" Mink. JoJo tried to get Dan a ride tonight but was unsuccessful and the guys wanted to say thank you very much for the effort and it was greatly appreciated.
And now on my last Blog of NationRun's career, I would like to say:
Thank you to the guys for giving me the opportunity to write these blogs for you, even though I'm pretty bad at them. Also I want to thank them for all they have done for me in the past, inspiring me to run fast, teaching me about spinach!!!!, hanging out with me and letting me be part of their group even though i was just a youngling freshman and they were seniors, being ballin!!!!, and there's so much more i could write but ill save it. I just want to let you guys know that you have shaped and inspired my life so much within the 2 years i've known you it's unbelievable. And even now your inspiring so many people from across the country to follow what you believe in and take on tasks that seem impossible to a normal person. You guys are real inspirations to everyone and your awesome, Thank You!
Finish it up guys the Pacific is only a couple days away.
Real, Raw, Stoop Life
Sincerely,
Nicholas "Pampers" Pampena
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