THE EARLY BIRD

(Reposted from an article I wrote on HUNKR.com)

I'VE NEVER NEEDED AN ALARM ON RACE DAY.  I always set it, but sleep is evasive the night before.   The bigger the event the more alarms and the less likely I'll sleep deeply or need them.  Nothing is bigger for me than HUNKR.

 There is nothing I want more than to have HUNKR go off without a hitch.  Months go into the preparation, and the daily percentage of time devoted to HUNKR goes up as until the final day of 100%.

Yesterday was an awesome day for HUNKR - 50% more racers - 22% of whom were women (that's huge), a who's who of Southern California bicycle racing, and a dude on an elliptical bike.

We had to fall back on a few contingencies... the main one being our parking lot turned to mud by a late night squall.  We had planned for them and things worked out well.  I'm very proud of our production team.  We all worked so hard.

Our volunteers were amazing.  Some drove down from LA just to help out.  They were all so proactive and caught up in the energy of the day.  When promoters say they couldn't do it without volunteers that's true, because volunteers bring their time AND their energy AND their experience.  They aren't punching a clock, they are there to serve.  It's humbling.

As I pulled up the corral flags,
the wind was blowing and the sun was setting.
It was just me.
Alone at the starting line. 
Reflecting on how this concept began. 
Grateful for those who caught and supported the original concept.
It felt like we have some momentum now.
I drove home,
and slept
and slept
and slept