I went trail running with my ultraendurance friend and Badwater Ultramarathon veteran Kim Budzik this morning–spiritually of course since she’s in Texas, and I’m in SoCal. For some reason, I thought about Kim descending from my steep and steady trail run as I loped past and amongst the black butterflies with orange-tipped wings, green grass from a recent and LONG overdue rain, and the small groups of people hiking and riding. I ran more relaxed today because I was able to come up right behind people without them even hearing me…soft feet, soft breath, relaxed unforced gait, and as my old ultrarunning mentor Eddie Lujan used to recommend to me years ago before he passed away…just slow down and enjoy your running. My left Achilles got a little tight at one point, but I relaxed and stayed the course, stretched out at the end, and am good to GO.

So thanks Kim. Thanks for your spirit for running and your smile over the years at Badwater. Here’s for Kim and the many friends over the decades I’ve met through endurance. See you on the trail…RJ