05-29-2001

Dear Badwater People,

     The Memorial weekend clinic was very successful and was attended by 36 people of whom 15 will be starters at the 07-25-2001 Badwater Ultra. All of these people and 12 vehicles had to be shuffled around so no one would be lost in the effort. Denise and I had our Dodge Raider and pulled an open-topped trailer which is always really convenient for crewing a half-dozen or more otherwise non-supported runners. Our accountant, Leslie Chapman, is getting back to running and has become inspired by the event and the desert. She added valuable assistance during the weekend. I am not expecting any discounts either. Many of the family members, pacers, and crewmembers were able to get in a lot of exercise along the way.

     Most of us met at Stovepipe Wells Village in the late afternoon on Friday 05-25-2001. The swimming pool is very inviting with the outside air temperature reaching around 115 degrees F. We were able to gather in a separate area in the dining room for dinner at 1830. After a nice meal we went into the reserved auditorium for pre-event planning. Denise and I made some brief announcements. The main rules have to do with safety and not impairing access of the tourists to the National Park as well as to the areas of the BLM, DWP (Department of Water and Power), USFS, etc. NPS, County of Inyo, and Caltrans roads are involved in getting from the start to the finish. All of these agencies have to be satisfied during the training sessions and the Race itself. Then we had questions and answers before Denise, the blister queen, gave some foot-taping demonstrations.

     We left SPW before 0700 and traveled to Badwater 41 miles away. There was a lot of picture taking with video cameras, regular cameras and especially digital cameras. The runners headed out at 0817. The crews leap fogged ahead at 2-mile intervals in order to be ready for the runners. After the last of the so-called 15-minute-per mile people went by I would pull out and do the same all over again. The second day started at SPW at 0803 and progressed 18 miles westward to Towne's Pass and back. There were no takers for the third day’s climb up Telescope Peak. A few stayed to do workouts on their own. I had to get back to do autopsies on some decomposed bodies but they were not from the clinic.  I do have a couple of interesting coroner’s cases to report on later, which originated in the Panamint Range during the last year.

     Jim Bravo was a very enthusiastic member in attendance and he kept saying how much he benefited from the experience. He is a building inspector and was able to forget his work – there were very few buildings to remind him of his job. The second day he was listed as MIA (Missing in Action). We had forgotten he was only going to be with us the first day. He was there in spirit and informed us later "rumors of his death have been greatly exaggerated."

     Connie Corson arrived a day late and joined us for the climb up and down between SPW and Towne's Pass. She is a psychiatrist and said she would assist runners with mental disorders at the various psyching booths along the way. We enjoyed hearing her tales of many endurance events all over the world over the last two decades.

     Barbara Elia has dedicated her life to running and athletics. She returns this year after a very successful run in 2000. Lee Peterson has also returned to crew her. She has to fight off potential crewmembers, as she is such a delight to be around. I am told she averages 20 miles a day in training or racing. She did the 41 miles the first day and chose to go on to Panamint Springs Resort the second day to complete 72 miles and half the distance of the Race itself.

     Shannon Farar-Griefer is also known as Miss Slim-Fast. She runs for charity to help children with cancer and disabilities. She has become enthralled with the desert. We have to keep reminding her of her family obligations but she is clever in working out arrangements in order to train out here. Phil and Kari Marchant from Bishop are also the same way so it always seems to work out in the long run. It will be quite a fashion show out here with Shannon and Anne Langstaff on the course. 

     Jim Hamilton arrived a day early and did workouts on his own schedule with Norm Haines and Merry Berry.

     Andy Humphries and his wife Sally came all the way from the UK to do the clinic and will return again for the Race. He was still suffering from an eight-hour jet lag and the London fog when he flamed out the first day and did very well the second day. It is always nice to hear the British accent.

     The star performer of the weekend was Anne Langstaff, elite runner and exotic dancer. She was a surprise attendee and was accompanied by her future mother-in-law, Joyce Schreiber (the ‘writer”). During the Race itself she will be assisted by her fiancé as well as by her ex-husband. Remember Rodney King's expression, "Can't we all get along?" She will be attracting the attention of the media come July. She completed the course each day with running and no walking – quite remarkable. She is very anxious to perform in the Race and is definitely “race ready.”

     I call Larry Mann "Tarzan" as that is whom I thought I was seeing on the Angeles Crest course last fall when we were crewing Shannon F-G. As it turns out he is a zookeeper.  He seems uncomfortable with very little clothing and doesn’t mind his picture taken while peeing along the roadside. It was the glint of long purple hair that caught our attention and it must be what interests Felicia Hesler, his girl friend who had some trouble reeling him in during the first day.

     Vilma Mejia returned this year as she has a score to settle with the course. She made it to SPW in 2000 and obviously wants to complete the distance this year. She and her husband, Oscar, are Peruvian. We enjoy talking about their country and the Inca Trail each year.

     Rick Miller is the next closest resident besides the Jones' to be a starter. He and Barb are from Ridgecrest. They became familiar with the Race last year by crewing Michael Styllas. Mark McKinney joined us the first day and paced Rick to SPW. Many other OTHTC (Over-The-Hill-Track-Club) members will be seen out there in the future. Rick has been the ordinance business and has offered to help us clean up the nuclear waste (mostly the depleted uranium and by products strontium, and plutonium) out there. The German tourists often think that is what we are doing anyway as they have heard of Yucca Mountain which isn't to far away.

     Greg Minter had a fully equipped and very efficient crew: Nancy Shura, Larry Durbin, Steve Matsuta, and Diana Rush. Greg will be appreciated for his talents at digital graphics when it comes to documenting the event in a pixel format.  I want him to enhance some of my photos.

     The real hero of this event is Rick Nawrocki. He crewed Scott Weber two years ago and completed the Race last year. In the meantime, he had a recurrence of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Only three months ago, after full-body radiation and extensive chemotherapy, he under went an auto (his own) stem cell transplant at UCLA. He has had an amazing recovery and is still experiencing muscle and skin irritation as he is about 70% recovered from the treatment and is cured of the disease. He has dumb-founded his oncologists as well as all the rest of us.

     Dan O'Donnell was not accepted into this year's race because of his lack of experience. He took on the challenge by coming all the way from New York to do the clinic and this will have a great bearing on his getting in next year. He will also add more distance and races to his portfolio.

     Matt Palocsay was here last year crewing Robert Thurber and he has become very familiar with the course. Andy Cohen seemed to have a good time doing the crewing as well as helping Larry Mann who seemed to get too far ahead of my cluster of runners.  This was a great relief to Felicia who took many notes.

       Ernie (female) Rambo is a pupil of Lisa Smith's who has been encouraged to do Badwater after having done the Marathon des Sables. She brought several others from the Las Vegas Track Club, namely Steffan Schneider (the “cutter") and Tim Jensen (sounds like) and they will be able to recruit local support for runners in the future. They indicate that they want to do the race as well.

     Paul Stone drove in from Las Vegas and met us at the start at Badwater. It was convenient to have his car as we could shuttle conveniently to the front and to the rear to check on the elite and the stragglers. Paul learned a lot at last year’s clinic and had a successful run in 2000. It is impressive that many return to the clinics each year and add real class to the weekends. You can get some great spiritual advice from Paul and his wife Abby, who will be at the Race.

     Everyone became acquainted with obtaining water and ice on the course from the stores at Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells Village. This is valuable information and is critical for a successful performance. There are no RV hookups at Furnace Creek but there are some at SPW. There are also some supplies at Panamint Springs Resort where there are a few RV hookups.

     It got as hot as 117 degrees F. during the weekend. The road tar also got hot enough to bond with the tires on the Raider. Don’t be surprised if you hear a thumping sound as you pull out onto the highway.

     For safety reasons, please get completely off the pavement when cars pass! The NPS Ranger had to warn several runners and said he could issue citations if it became necessary. Please be polite and appreciative with law enforcement officers! Putting out an orange cone when parking is a nice warning and was used by Greg Minter’s crew. Be prepared for bugs and scorpions. I almost stepped on a scorpion in the room. A runner one year had to drop out because of a scorpion sting. Rick and Barb Miller had a sidewinder at the path of their RV at 2200 one evening. Watch where you step! 

     Remember, there are no day-care centers or hitching posts out there but there is now an ATM booth at Furnace Creek. At SPW there is an Internet Access Terminal for retrieving AOL and Hotmail emails and for surfing the Internet at a rate of $1.00 per minute.

     The Fourth of July clinic is on Friday 06-29-2001 and the format will be the same. I will have the auditorium rented Friday and Saturday from 1500 to 2100. It is a good place to congregate for information. I will bring a TV monitor with a VHS tape player for showing “Running On The Sun.” Denise will be available for foot taping sessions. I would like to get a guest speaker.

See you soon.

Sincerely,

Ben and Denise Jones

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