Waypoint Narrative #11

Waypoint Narratives: Five questions, one objective - share stories of people who have experienced the impact of the outdoors.

Lucky #11 on the Waypoint Narrative series is Neal! My first interaction with Neal is actually pretty comical: I was driving with a few running friends to support Luke (who is on blog #7 - go check it out) at World’s End 100K. While on the highway, this dude on a motorcycle passed me and as he passed by, he gave me what I THOUGHT was the middle finger. I was so confused because it was totally out of nowhere! Later that day at the race, Neal was volunteering and chatting with Luke’s crew and mentioned something about his motorcycle and travels to the race that morning. Somehow, that made me realize that the dude on the motorcycle was actually Neal! After confirming it was indeed him, I came to find out that he wasn’t mad at all - he actually liked all my race magnets on my car and was giving me the “rock on!” sign. So, rock on, Neal! Thanks for sharing some of your stories with us!

Do you have a trail name, and how did you acquire it?

I have no trail name to my knowledge. Just, Neal, as far as I know.

What is the most prominent thing the trail/the outdoors has taught you about yourself?

More specifically looking at lessons from trail running I would confidently say the biggest lesson I've learned is that whatever you think your body/mind is capable of is just the tip of what you can actually accomplish. When I started my running journey I thought I would never be able to consistently run a mile comfortably, then I accomplished that. Then a 5k, then a 10k, 25k, 50k; and wouldn't you know it I've done all of those now and can't wait for more.

What are the key waypoints of your life that ultimately lead you to the trail in the first place?

I think a general love of the outdoors, exploring, and pushing my limits brought me here. I grew up playing all day in the woods and running around outside, racing up and down rocky creek beds, and building 'survival' shelters in the forests around my house. I picked up mountain bike racing in college and fell in love with the trails, finding smooth lines on technical trails and pushing myself further with each run. That eventually brought me to trail running where I find the same enjoyment.

Share about one of the most memorable problem-solving moments you’ve had on the trail.

I love to run at night. The world is quiet and smaller. When trail running in the dark your world shrinks to the beam of headlamp in front of you and there's something very calming about that for me. One night I decided to run Astronomy trail in Michaux SF for the first time on a roughly 6 mile loop in middle of winter. I headed out and for some reason decided it was a reasonable choice to leave my phone (GPS and maps) in the car.

I ran happily along the trail through a hardwood forest enjoying the small world right in front of me, right up until there was no trail left. It dead ended and I decided it must just be overgrown so I ventured on looking around for where it would pick back up again but it never did. After a while I realized I'd made the wrong choice and decided to turn back only to realize I couldn't figure out what path I'd taken to get where I was. It was below freezing, about 10PM, I had no navigational tools, and had never been on this particular ridge in the SF; I started to panic. After a few minutes I came to my senses and reminded myself a calm mind was what I needed and sat down on a log to relax and think. I decided I had been coming down hill roughly centered on the ridge when the trail disappeared and that I then veered off left. Even though I wasn't familiar with the area I knew that if I put the uphill on my right and downhill on my left I would be heading in the general direction that the trail used to be so I did that, maintained that orientation, and kept walking. Eventually I found a trail, took it heading down, and it dropped me out right where I intended to end up.

It was a brutally clear reminder to me that planning is essential and that panic is never helpful.

Who and/or what inspires you to keep moving forward?

So many people inspire me in so many ways. I'd say my largest driver through hard challenges though are my children. Teaching them through real examples that you can accomplish way more than you initially think is possible gives me the strength to continue when my brain says, "Hey, this discomfort can go away if you just stop now.” I want them to know that as they face challenges in their own lives and they wonder if they can possibly overcome an obstacle, the answer is almost always, "If you want it bad enough.”