i had found my Prayer Wheel; and it was my own flying feet...
- an injured coach ilg, in the final 800 meters of the Old Oraibi 8k footrace
The START LINE was a scratch of blue cornmeal across the weather-smoothed dirt in the America's most continuously inhabited village Old Oraibi.
Race Director Juwan Nuvayokva, the Hopi Harrier himself (#10 above photo), was giving final pre-race instructions. Wave of chi radiated from this six-time State Cross Country Champion who was born in this very village sprung from the rock themselves.
i took my place on the Start Line. Around me were 105 runners, 99 of them were Hopi, Navajo, or Zuni. only 6 of us were panaah (white man). i wanted, deeply as a Hopi drumbeat, to be the first panaah across the line.
during my warm up sprints, i was captivated by the long, graceful legs of a Hopi female runner from Ganado...having lived a life among world's fittest beings, i sensed immediately; 'she was SomeOne.' Moments later, on the Start Line, Juwan introduced a few of the VIP Racers...including the long-legged elegant warrioress now standing of my right shoulder, Alvina Begay...
2-time top 10 finisher at the U.S. Half Marathon championships, including a 1:12:57 PR earlier this year. Alvina placed 10th Overall in the 2007 New York City Marathon, finishing in 2:42:46.
Running, you see, is in Hopi blood as much as 'red' is in mine.
It was great honor to share Sacred Sweat with these unbelievably beautiful Beings in this most ancient place of this h(om)eland of ours; Turtle Island.
Juwan shouted "Go!" and we took off at a fast, albeit controlled, pace throughout the dusty adobe and rock walls of Oraibi where not much has changed since the 1100's. i settled into around 10th place and made sure Alvina was nearby. i'd use her as a pacing tool for the first few kilometer descent off the mesa. once we hit the sagebrush mesa flats below, i'd try to keep her within sight for as long as possible. i figured if ANYONE would know how to pace a race like this, she would. Besides, her nifty-fleet body was a joy to be inspired by as my sufferfest meter started climbing as high as the Hopi sky.
Kilometer 1; Soft dirt descent. Still in around 10th place, i was having the time of my life; enjoying my transformation from cyclist last summer, to runner this one. The sight and sense of me, panaah, in this flying flock of gathered Hopi's running with their long, quiet strides and sandstone solid heads, was thrilling. i felt fit, fast, and capable of a podium in my Age Group...and i desperately wanted to represent the panaah with bravery.
my deeply penetrating sacred joy would soon come to a very, very abrupt transition.
it occurred approaching Kilometer 2, still on this soft dirt descent from the village and the mesa upon which it has sat for eons. i was running side-by-side with Alvina on the two-track descent. a group of 8 Hopis were already ahead, lengthening the distance between them and us. behind me, a thundering herd of 100 Hopis hammering the descent.
that's when i made a tactical blunder and would pay dearly for it...
DO NOT MISS THE WHOLE EPIC STORY and Technical and Dharma Teachings i used to finish this race with a severely pulled hamstrings and...find out how i did!
WITH BEAUTIFUL PHOTOS TAKEN JUST FOR YOU...
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