2017 was certainly a year to remember. As the year draws to a close and a new year appears on the horizon, I've been reflecting on the highs and lows of the last 365 days. The year began with tremendous optimism and excitement over the prospects of my first trip to Western States and what would become my attempt at the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning. My training was balanced and thorough, my coach was fantastic, and I began the journey physically, mentally, and spiritually whole. I don't think I could have been in a better place.
And yet, despite these efforts, things didn't come together. Not entirely, anyway. I started all 4 races but only finished 2 of them. This could be seen as a great disappointment - and I am, in a sense, disappointed - but if we gauge success by transformation and self-improvement, then it's hard to imagine any endeavor achieving so great a personal success as my attempt at the Grand Slam. Between the friendships that were formed and strengthened over the miles, hours, and days spent on rugged trails in isolated places to the immense joy I experienced in the beauty of creation, I cannot harbor any sense of regret at the attempt.
Who knows what 2018 will bring? The new year brings a clean slate with multitudes of stories yet to be written. There are mountains to be climbed, sunrises to be experienced, songs to be sung, and the joys of God's creation to be celebrated. For my part, it is gong to continue to be the joy I feel as a part of the running community and the friendships therein that inspire me. It's the exhilaration of movement, of being alive in the moment, of moving beyond what I or anyone else believed possible - pushing through dark places and persisting with the knowledge that life, like ultrarunning, is never easy.
But from what I have seen so far, the journey is definitely worth it.
