Tevis Cup, Hawaiian Ironman, and Molokai Hoe

Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric."– Bertrand Russell

The month of October is filled with so many sporting events that are difficult to keep track.  After the Cool Ride and Tie, we have the following: The Tevis Cup, The Hawaiian Iron man, and the Molokai Hoe (women’s Outrigger canoe race).  These races begin a long time ago, and at first were considered to be unpopular. Bertrand Russell makes a good point, as these events were considered eccentric but are quite popular today even though they are extreme. 

The Tevis Cup is a 100 mile horse race that begins at Robbie Park and finishes at Auburn.  This race began in the 50s as a result of an idea by Wendell Robie himself.  He was an excellent horseman and exceptional businessman.  What a way to bring publicity to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.   He certainly knew what he was doing.  Let us face it, to ride a horse 100 miles in mountainous terrain during the day and night and to complete this event in one day is spectacular.  People were concerned that the animal would be harmed during the event. Robbie countered that argument by giving expert opinion from his vet from the University of California at Davis. It Has Nothing To Do With Age has more information about this event.  Go to Forest Hill and take a look for yourself on Saturday.

The Hawaiian Iron man also takes place on Saturday, but on the big island in Hawaii.  Once again, all it takes is an idea or vision to start.  A small group of Navy officers came up with this idea to determine toughness.  A 2.2 mile ocean swim, followed by 110 mile bike ride, and then a 26.1 mile marathon run completes this event.  This happening has skyrocketed in popularity.  There is television coverage, and it is more of a spectator sport than the Tevis.  Lew Hollander is likely to be a record holder this year.  Check the finisher list and look for his name. More information about Lew can be found in It Has Nothing To Do with Age.

The women’s Molokai to Oahu Outrigger canoe race takes place on this weekend as well.  Of course, there was the men’s race first.  The men were discouraged from putting on this race because they were told it was too dangerous and this was in the 1950s.  One can imagine the difficulty the women faced when they wanted to put on a race of their own.   It was not until the late 70s that officially their race began. Doc Shay was in the very first canoe of women to complete this rough ordeal.  These women completed this race before it became official.  Read about Doc Shay and Sammie Stanbro and their canoeing exploits in It Has Nothing To Do With Age.

By the book and come to The Auburn Running Company on Saturday the 15^th.  I plan on giving a short presentation and book signing.  Watch for the time.

Cool Ride and Tie,Tevis, Outrigger Canoe Race and Ironman

Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor."– Truman Capote

Truman is right on.  We know when we have experienced failure, and how that feels.  It is great to compare failure with success. And we all have our own definitions of success and failure.  Make sure that you rethink your definitions.  Since we control the definition do not make the mistake of shortchanging yourself.  Failure to one is not failure to another.  By the same token, success varies based on the perception of the beholder.

Secretariat, Randall, and I are going to mark trails for the Coolest Ride and Tie. The day of the event is just around the corner, and I hope to see you there.

Today is the third installment of Fran’s review of   It Has Nothing To Do with Age.  The book is available at Barnes & Noble, as well as Amazon.  Hope you like it.

Meet Gypsy his horse. The turning point of his life happened in 2009 with a serious accident. Things would radically change for him but never his spirit. Thrown from his horse, seriously injured and learning through the many tests taken that he had Stenosis which is a narrowing of his spinal cord, Frank has to learn to deal with life in a different way. Wearing a brace all the time and hoping for a miracle it is no wonder that he managed to rid himself of it, go to rehab and rejuvenate himself. There are many more stories of older people overcoming the odds, like Jack Sholl. Read the many stories in Chapters 14-16. The last two were my favorite: Paddler of the World and the Ultimate Caregiver.

Let’s sum up the journey: You can learn a lot from reading this book, those he meets along the way and the reasons behind writing this book. At 71 years of age he is out there running, riding, exercising, going to rehab and meeting great and inspired human beings. I have to agree with our young at heart author that genetics does not control what you can do and age means nothing. Parental models, guiding your children to want to play sports, compete and get out there is paramount. Walking, exercising and creating a framework for your child to want to develop and live a healthy life are so important. I agree that where you live and your environment often plays a part in how well you live. Playing with your kids, encouraging them to participate in sports and teams, understanding that competition is healthy and doing their best win or lose if really what it is all about. Competition is healthy, good and does influence you. Live longer, get out and find a sport of something that you can do and meet people, get off that couch and start today. You just might feel better, younger and those aches and pains might disappear.

Your life is not defined by your age. I know that. If these determined athletes our author tells us about can do it SO CAN YOU! I walk every day, I try and run several times a week, I am in great shape and this book is a brain and energy booster for anyone who wants to live longer and realize: AGE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT! YOU DO!

Great book for seniors, even younger people to motivate them to get started before it is too late.
Fran Lewis: Reviewer

Na Wahine O Ke Kai Outrigger Canoe Race

All that is necessary to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this: Act as if it were impossible to fail."– Dorothea Brande

Sammie is an outrigger canoe paddler and  she gives back to her community. As I commented in last week’s blog, it took a tragedy for Sammie to find a new beginning as well as a new direction in her life. But that’s only part of her story, as a physical handicap resulting from a “successful” surgery as a teenager propelled her to master other sports. If it wasn’t for that surgery, she would likely have been one of my ride and tie partners.

This athletic woman has been to and experienced the seven seas at a very young age. While other individuals in the 60s were more likely to be smoking dope or marching against the war in Vietnam, this woman was on a racing yacht in the Tasmanian Sea. Read about her adventure in her log but this is only one part of her story.

Sammie is proud of her involvement with the Pure Light Project. She has met many wonderful adaptive individuals and paddled with them in extreme ocean conditions. She learns from them and they learn from her. It is not too much to ask her about giving back. Her life is blessed and she brightens the lives of those around her as well. She has a small coffee plantation on her property and is extremely involved in its harvest. Reading about her will inspire and give you a glimpse into possibilities not yet acknowledged. The expression” the sky is the limit” fits with her. You will enjoy her story in “It Has Nothing To Do With Age.” Good luck Sammie in this year’s Na Wahine O Ke Kai crossing.

Molokai Hoe,Project Pure Light and Na Wahine O Ke Kai

Vitality shows not only in the ability to persist, but in the ability to start over."– F. Scott Fitzgerald

Secretariat and I just completed a short tapering run. I am still nursing my hand injury from a fall last week while he is preparing to leave for his vacation. After our run we usually sit on my deck in the cool morning hour.  Today, he drank a beer and I had my smoothie. Today’s conversation dealt with, in part ,the Guinness Book of World Records and the difficulty of the early settlers coming across the Sierra Nevada’s. Does anyone know when “no hands bridge “was built? Secretariat told me of the many railroad bridges that crossed the American River with “no hands “being the only one still standing.

After our discussion we came in the house to look at the two new book trailer videos that he produced. We have a long version and a short version of the trailer. We both agree and like the short version better. On the blog, both versions show up. So just because you seen one version doesn’t mean you’ve seen the other one. Tonight Linda and I, Secretariat and others are going to go to Marco’s, in Coloma, to show our trailer along with others since its movie night. Join us at 8:00 PM.

Sammie Stanbro, one of the magnificent seven that I interviewed in my book, sent me an August 5, 2011 newspaper article from the sports section of West Hawaii Today written by Kevin  Jakahi. On that front page, titled Keauhou’s Winning Link is the picture of six women .  The article is about Sammy and her crew which is seeking its fourth straight title at the Hawaii Canoe Racing Association state Regatta. Incidentally, these women are in their 60s.

Sammie began paddling about 10 years ago after her husband Phil died from prostate cancer in 2000. She first met Phil in Australia and went on a trip to Japan with him. He proposed to her while visiting Hiroshima. They married in 1969 and had two sons, Joshua and Orion.  They lived in Northern California and Oregon before settling in Hawaii. Phil’s grandfather had a place in Kona so the family became rooted in that section of the big island.   Phil worked for the US Bureau of land management. In 1994 they bought land directly above the Kailua Village and built and designed an old custom Hawaiian style dream house overlooking the ocean.

Sammie has traveled around the world and padded races in New Zealand, Australia, Greece, and Sri Lanka to name a few. She also is involved with the Project Pure Light, an organization started in 2002 to allow adaptive paddlers an opportunity to challenge themselves in the canoe. “We’ve had two blind people, a couple of amputees, and others are paraplegics and we’ve done the Queen Liliuokalani (long-distance races) and the 41 mile Molokai Hoe,” said Sammie. The Molokai Hoe is referred to as the Super Bowl of paddling and began in 1952 for the men. The women’s race started officially in 1979 it is called Na Wahine O Ke Kai. These races begin in Molokai and finish in Oahu.  Sammie has paddled with both the men with the Pure Light team and with the women in this special Outrigger paddling event.

Do I have your interest?