One of the first things that comes to me – as a way to describe the experience – is that at camp, we “live deliberately.” I know that quoting Thoreau is cliché, but maybe there’s something about staying in a cabin by a lake that initially makes me think of Walden (even though Thoreau’s “cabin” was about a mile from where he grew up).

And, living deliberately is what we do at camp.

Because we are in such a remote place, we have spotty cell phone coverage, limited wi-fi, and no cable tv in our cabins. We are not totally cut off from the outside world, but for 6 days, we are pretty much unconcerned with what’s going on outside Rainbow Resort.

We immerse ourselves in the actual experiences.

Our first run of the week was an easy 4-mile jaunt through the woods on a grassy trail. It had rained the night before, and there were still a few puddles in some low spots. Our first inclination when we encounter a mud puddle is to try to avoid it. I remember thinking as I plowed through the mud puddles – you don’t really experience the puddle unless your feet get a little wet. And, as I felt the water seep through the toe of my shoe, I actually felt a little more energized.

Later, that night, we were treated to “Dick Beardsley In Concert.” Although Dick probably won’t be taking his concert “on the road,” he writes and sings songs from his heart; and courageously, he shared some deeply personal experiences with us as we sat and listened … totally immersed in his music.

Our second run was a “quality workout” with Coach Bill. Although not an “active” Marine, Bill will tell you that there’s no such thing as an ex-Marine. And, his workouts remind us of his point. Warming up with lunges, squats, pushups, and hovers (to name a few things), we then head out to a flat stretch of road where we warm up again with stride outs before running a timed mile. But that’s not all. After the timed mile, we jog down the road about a mile and a half to “learn how” to and practice hill repeats. Talk about “sucking marrow from the bone” – Thoreau would definitely approve of Coach Bill’s workouts.

Thank goodness for the principle of hard-easy workouts. Our next run was a recovery run – it was back on the serene trails for an easy fun run. You might think that with a group of runners – who “paid” to come to a running camp – that it would be a little difficult to run easy and take walk breaks and chat with their new running partners. But there’s something about being surrounded by people who, like ourselves, not only love to talk about running but also love to experience it. And, I think that even some of the hardcore runners were able to “experience” their runs more deeply in our easy group trail runs than they had before they came to camp.

Since we had a half marathon coming up on Saturday, we didn’t schedule a Friday run. However, in a rare historic event, Joe Henderson led a group of campers on a truly special early morning run.

Friday was especially fun as we had Kathrine Switzer, pioneer and champion of women’s running, spending the day with us. Kathrine was the “legend” this year at the “Running with the Legends” Dick Beardsley Half Marathon.

Race day dawned, and the constant rain from the day before gave way to blue skies and cool temperatures. Campers and coaches all piled into cars and drove 45 minutes to Detroit Lakes for the Dick Beardsley Half Marathon and 5K. We had runners in both events – with one camper running his first half marathon and one running his first race ever! Uplifted by a week of positive energy, camaraderie, and good health, we all “experienced” a gorgeous run around the lake. As each runner finished, we gathered at the sideline to cheer on every single runner who crossed the finish line.

As it came time for camp to end, we started feeling the pull of reality. Six days in the Minnesota woods is a perfect amount of time to spend at a running camp, but it was time now to go home to jobs, families, friends, and running in our own town. Amid hugs and farewells, we know we’ll see each other again this time next year.

One of our former campers aptly said of Dick’s camp…”We came to camp to become better runners; we left camp better people.”

It started out a little over a week ago when my friend Christie proposed that we go for a long trail run to support Randy who is running his first 50-miler in July. She posted it on Facebook, and about 8 of us got together for a run in the nearby Boise foothills. Our only “live” meeting for some of us was a couple of months ago when we all ran the Weiser 50K. Prior to that, most of us didn’t even know each other. This was the first time this particular group had ever run together…and what a great run it was. The speedier ones ran ahead and waited at various spots while the rest of us caught up to them. This was not a race – it was a group trail run – so no one was truly concerned about time.

Later that week, my friend Donna who is training for the WIFKER (Wild Idaho Fifty Kilometer Endurance Run) asked me if I wanted to drive up past Crouch, Idaho, and run part of the WIFKER trail. Sure, I said, so we recruited Sparkle, and the 3 of us headed out about 430 pm and drove 2 hours to do a 9.5 mile run. We were lucky enough to see a rubber boa on the trail within the first 5 minutes and got its picture. We later learned that this a seldom seen snake – and the sighting was something very cool.

My next run for the week took a hardy group of 6 of us up to the Boise National Forest NE of Idaho City…about a hour an a half from Boise. What a spectacular run it was. We climbed 2 summits up to the Fire Tower lookouts – for a total of 4000+ feet of climbing in about 18 miles. The views were unbelievable (as you can see from the photos).

And, finally, as is tradition of the 4th of July, the Boise Y Striders get together for a trail run up to Stack Rock above Bogus Basin. About 20 of us hit the trails above Boise and trekked 8 miles to see Stack Rock.

So what’s the big deal, you wonder. They’re just trail runs. Yes, the scenery was some of the best Idaho has to offer close to Boise. But it was the people who made the runs special. It wasn’t about who was the fastest, or who can run a 3-hour marathon or a 6-hour marathon. We are all just folks who love running on trails, and in every instance that is what brought us together.

Sure we had some fast runners, but no one cared who ran or walked, and people who might not ordinarily run together were running on the trails side by side…stopping to take pictures and marveling at the sights.

Although I love solitary running, last week was one of the best weeks of running I’ve ever had in a long time.

To all my trail running friends – Thanks.

Last week as I was running along the Crestline trail in the Boise foothills, I came upon a most unusual sight (for me at least) – thousands of sheep! They were on the trail, down in the valley, on the hillsides. They were everywhere!

When I run the foothills alone, I generally take my cell phone with me (just in case I fall down a steep hillside), so I was thrilled that I could get some photos of this spectacular sight. I saw a man and his dog coming up the trail, and he told me that this is an annual occurrence – “the trailing of the sheep” – from the lower elevations of southern Idaho all the way to Ketchum.

I did a little research on this and I found that since the early part of the century, sheep migrate north each spring from the lower elevations of the Snake River plain of Southern Idaho, traveling in bands of around 1,500 sheep, through the Wood River Valley to summer high mountain pastures. This traditional route takes them up Highway 75 through newly populated, residential areas and the towns of Bellevue, Hailey and Ketchum. Some continue their journey over Galena summit into the Sawtooth Mountains. In the fall, the animals retrace this trail south to desert fields. Every fall in Ketchum and Hailey, they hold a huge Trailing of the Sheep Festival as the sheep make their way back to the south. This year, the festival is October 9-11.

I felt so fortunate to see something that most people have never seen nor will ever see. I was definitely in the right place at the right time. Running can take you to amazing places – I love running the trails and hills around Boise, and I love seeing the deer, fox, coyotes…and now sheep!

Here I am – back on this topic again. I talked to my friend Michael yesterday who ran the Napa Valley Marathon on Sunday. Tired, thrilled, and worn out, Michael was still jazzed about his adventure from Calistoga to Napa Valley.

In our post-race recap, he told me how Bonnie had run with him for a large portion of the race and supported him in his rough patches. (We all have rough patches in our races.) He also told me how Bill took the finish line race photos – a role Michael is accustomed to playing. And, he talked of all the folks who were out there cheering him: Joe, Jan, Dick, Jill, Mary, and more.

Bottom line: It is running that has brought us all together. If it were not for Dick’s running camp, I would not know Michael, Jan, Bill, Joe, Mary, Anita, Kathy, or even Dick. If it were not for my running group in Chicago, I would not know Lori, Joan, Roz, Trina, Sherri, or Jim. If it were not for Boise RunWalk, I would not know Mike, Steve, Matt J, Ann, Sparkle, Matt B, Bob, Amber, or Jay. And there are so many others – I can’t even begin to name them all.

I have met runners through running groups, camps, on Facebook, on Twitter, and other running forums. We are all connected by that one thing that we all love to do: Run. We all know when the other ones are running a race, and we all wait to hear the post-race report. Was it hilly? Was it hot? Was it raining? But the main thing we all want to know is “Did you have fun?” And, strange as it may sound, even after what seemed like a awful day as it was happening – the pain, the struggle, the heat, the wind, the cold – when it’s over, we miraculously feel terrific. The magic of crossing that finish line is the (almost) instant cure for all ailments and weather conditions. And, the answer to “Did you have fun?” is almost always, “It was awesome!”

I am so proud of Michael – he had a wonderfully tough day – as we all do in so many of our races. He did the “under 5 thing” and by my account, he won his race. And, in a note he wrote to me – in reference to his running friends, he says, “You people are the best people I know…”

Way to go, Michael – you’re the best, too!

I continue to pair the words “Running” and “Friendship.” That’s probably because it’s through running that I have found my best friends.

Last weekend, six friends from Chicago – Lori, Roz, Trina, Sherri, Lisa, and Jim – came out to Boise to run, ski, snowshoe, and generally have fun with me and Mark. We pulled out inflatable beds, blankets, quilts, and rented roll-away beds. I wanted to be sure that they experienced as much of the Boise outdoors as possible, so we scheduled events for many different venues. Several of them said the weekend was more like bootcamp rather than a vacation, but they all loved every minute of it.

• Friday: Mark and Lori started out with a 5:15 am spin class at the gym after which we all took off on a run/walk/hike on the foothill trails.
• Saturday: We mixed old friends with new friends as we joined the group at Boise RunWalk for a run up Shaw Mountain Road. After our morning run/walk, we headed up to Bogus Basin Ski Resort where we skiied and snowshoed.
• Sunday: It was up again at 530 am to head to Tamarack Ski Resort where the Saturday snowshoers took cross-country ski lessons and added to the hilarity of the day.
• Monday: Since we had already done a run in the foothills, we hit the Boise Greenbelt and took a run along the beautiful Boise River before they all headed to the airport to go back home.

Trail running, skiing, snowshoeing, bruised tailbones, runaway skis, tear-inducing laughter, massages, and Idaho potatoes – it was truly a weekend to remember and cherish. Roz dubbed it “Episode 1″ of a new hilarious reality tv show. I guess that means we’ll have follow-up episodes…

There were a few members of the “gang” who couldn’t make this trip, but in keeping with the tv show theme, we’ll continue to add cast members with each new episode.

I am truly lucky to have such terrific friends – friends crazy enough to leave the frozen Midwest to come to Idaho for … a winter vacation. Don’t people usually go someplace warm for a winter vacation?

Early last week, I took Mark (and Fremont) to the upper trailhead of Hulls Gulch in the foothills above Boise. They had never been there, and I wanted them to experience the trails during the winter (I plan to take them back when the snow melts for a totally different experience).

Still quite a bit of snow on the trails, I had to be careful not to slide down the ravine. (I did, however, slip down once and flew head first into a snow-covered bush, but no harm done.)  I did manage to get in a beautiful 5-mile run while Mark and Fremont hiked the clearer sections of the trail.

Every time I run in Hulls Gulch, I experience such a sense of serenity. Usually the only one on the path at that time, I am surrounded by the vastness of nature and feel a true connection with the natural world. A couple of times, I have seen coyotes crossing the trail or running up the side of the mountain. It is quite a moving experience.

Normally, I run without my glasses, but on this particular day, I had my glasses on, and I was able to read a couple of the poems that are posted on the trail. I especially liked “Coyote” by William Stafford:

My left hindfoot
Steps

in the track of my right
forefoot

and my hind-right
foot

steps
in the track of my
fore-left
foot

and so on, for miles—

Me paying no attention, while
my nose rides along letting
the full report, the
whole blast of the countryside
come along toward me
on rollers of scent, and—
I come home with a chicken or
a rabbit and sit up
singing all night with my friends.
It’s baroque, my life, and
I tell it on the mountain.
I wouldn’t trade it for yours.

Our gathering was a time for people to share their success stories with the group and acknowledge those who helped them reach their goals.

• Amber shared with us her accomplishments and how she got through the rough patches and crossed the finish line of her marathon with the help of her new friend Chele.
• Joyce shared with us how she reached her goals in events she’d never done before.
• Paul shared funny stories of  going the “extra mile” and expressed gratitude to his running partners and coaches.
• Machelle shared her personal story of weight loss and getting on the path to health and wellness.
• Sue shared with us her personal story of how Donna, her running partner, literally saved her life.

This is just a sampling of the stories we shared. Everyone has a story. Every race has a story. And, people (especially runners and walkers) love to get together to tell their stories.

Six months ago, I knew only a handful of people in Boise. I had lunch with Steve, the “head” of a local running/walking group and offered to help coach. He didn’t know me at all, but he decided to take a chance on me and allowed me to join his other coaches in a successful program known for its dedicated, knowledgeable coaches.

Runners are welcoming folks. At our end-of-the-season gathering, I looked around at all my new friends – just since I had joined the group 6 months ago – and I was filled with gratitude.

I’m looking forward to getting back on the path with them very soon…and hearing more of their stories.

Over the past 13 years, running has brought me so many great friends – I can’t even begin to name them all. Some of us have moved to different places, but the friendships that we forged have withstood the distance. One thing is certain: We meet as strangers, but we become friends as we run and walk together.

I treasure my running partners – there is a mutual sharing of who we really are as we’re out there on the road together.  No cell phones. No emails to check. No distractions. No pretenses. No judgment. Just time spent with a friend on the road. What could be better?

So, what is it that bonds people together as they run or walk long miles?  Is it common interests? Common goals? Common challenges? Common pain?

If you have made good friends through your running or walking, I’m sure you understand this concept. I’d love to hear your thoughts and/or stories.

Being a volunteer is also great way to watch a race. You get to see the dedication and determination of all the athletes – from the beginning to the end. Although all athletes appreciate the volunteers, it’s often those athletes at the back of the pack who need and appreciate the volunteers more than ever.

In my experience as a volunteer/supporter, I feel like the athletes give me more than I give to them. They inspire and motivate me, and I continue to be awed by their accomplishments.

My friends at Boise RunWalk had an aid station around mile 20 – generally a pretty tough point in the marathon. And, I can say with certainty that their cheerful encouragement helped many athletes push through this rough patch. Cheers to the mile 20 Boise RunWalk volunteers! You are the best!

My parents were philosophers. Not philosophers in the traditional sense of the word but probably in the same way that many of your parents were also. But we didn’t appreciate their wisdom until we got older when we realized that their simple teachings formed our values.

One of the things that my mama used to say was, “Everywhere you go, people are as nice to you as you are to them.” I’ve followed that value my whole life, and I hope that I’ve passed it on to my own kids. I have found this principle to be true everywhere I’ve ever been.Years ago when I first moved from Louisiana to Chicago, many people “warned” me that the “northerners” were not as friendly as the “southerners.” Had I listened to them and expected that to be true, that is exactly what I would have found. But instilled in me were my mama’s words, and to the contrary of what I had been warned, I found midwesterners to be warm, friendly, and open. When I moved to Idaho, I heard similar comments. Again, the people of Idaho couldn’t have been more welcoming.

That value has had special significance this week as I’ve been traveling in Mumbai, India. Once again, I find everyone here to be good, kind, friendly, hardworking people.

You’ve heard the expression, “It’s a small world.” Actually, the world is vast. But with the advancements in technology, we can fly halfway around the world in one day. We can talk in real time between continents through our computers with email, instant messaging, and skype. People all over the world are getting closer to each other – not just in terms of in distance, but in relationships.

I’ve included some photos of some of the new friends we have made here in Mumbai: Douglas, Jitu, Rashmi, and Bharat. And, I’m sure we’ll make more before we leave.