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The Napa Valley Marathon

An Inside Look at the Napa Valley Marathon

March 2, 2008

Based on a conversation with Tara Cech, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche’s running trainer and adviser.

There is a primal sense of beauty and romance in the Napa Valley in the spring, with its lush, green rolling hills and wonderful weather. The weather on the day of the race was   perfect - a bit cool at the start (50 degrees) and warming up as the morning went on.   There was a gentle wind, and a soft, fresh spring air.

The course was also a good one for runners, starting with gently rolling hills, and ending in a gradual downhill slope, which was slightly more relaxing for the runners. The path of the race went by many well-kept local vineyards of varying sizes. The Sakyong commented in his call to the Boulder wine tasting party that it was “Narnia like!”   

The Sakyong was well prepared for the race, and was in excellent condition. Rinpoche  and his team were highly motivated and joyful to be running the race, and they all felt  a spirit of generosity, inspiration and purpose in running to support the Surmang Shedra.

Although the race went well for the first few miles, Rinpoche began to have problems with cramping in his legs, and later on, blisters on the soles of his feet. He worked with his trainer to adjust his form, his shoes and socks, etc, but the blisters continued throughout the race. At some point, he had to decide whether to continue or stop running the race. He decided that he needed to follow through with the marathon for the sake of the Surmang shedra. Tara reported that he remained patient and cheerful, and never complained during the race.

One of the Sakyong’s goals was to set his own record and finish in less than three hours.  Because of the physical problems that occurred, he merely jogged the rest of the race,  letting go of the original intention to break his record time.  He urged Eric Cech (one his core team) to go ahead.  Eric finished in his own record time of 2 hours and 58 minutes.

At the end of the race, the Sakyong and his team were greeted by exuberant, joyful, and  cheering sangha members,  demonstrating their love, devotion and support. The Sakyong spent a great deal of time mingling with his supporters, posing for photos with them, and talking about the event.

   photo copyright Sean Raggett

             Winter training with Eric Cech and Jon Pratt     

SUPPORT FOR THE SAKYONG

Tara feels that the support system is like a mandala of concentric circles. The Sakyong is the lead runner¸ and the intention of the Team Shambhala is to support him in his efforts. They provide the container for him as they run together. The team ensures that he gets water or juice, and tend to any needs that come up.  They will have also trained with him for the preceding months leading up to the marathon. The core team provides direct support as they run, two members flanking him and one just behind. (this always changes depending on the circumstances of the race...)

The next circle out is the local support for the Sakyong and his team, the members of the local sangha where the marathon takes place. There is the overall support from the local center for the event itself. There are strategically placed stations along the way with great blue and white umbrellas with a GES logo, with dedicated sangha members offering the runners water, and Gatorade. They would be cheering the runners on, calling out “Ki Ki !  So So!” 

Behind the scenes, are the fund raisers from the Konchok Foundation, supporting the Sakyong in his goal to raise money for the work of the foundation.

Beyond this are the many people in the sangha who send in their donations to fulfill the Sakyong’s aspirations in running the marathon.

TEAM SHAMBHALA

These are the people behind the Sakyong, supporting him in his marathon goal.

Core team:

Tara Cech:  The Sakyong’s personal trainer. She ran with him on his first marathon in Toronto (2003), and is a former All-American track athlete. It was after the Toronto Marathon that the Sakyong  told Tara that he had decided to devote his marathons to  promote awareness of various needs in the world, and to encourage the generosity to alleviate them.

Eric Cech:  a former professional cyclist and tri-athlete. He has accompanied the Sakyong in almost all of his marathons.

Jon Pratt: a former professional Iron Man athlete.  He has run with the Sakyong on many of his marathons.

Nick Trautz:  a world-class cross-country skier, and the Sakyong’s former personal assistant. He ran with the Sakyong in the Toronto, Big Sur, Edmonton, and Boston marathons.

Other supporters:

These other team members have all accompanied the Sakyong in at least one of his training runs and various marathons:

Dylan Smith:  was a former personal assistant to the Sakyong who ran the Edmonton Marathon with the team.

Sean Raggett:  a current personal assistant to the Sakyong, mountain biker, and who ran his first marathon at Napa Valley.

Greg Wolk: a personal assistant to the Sakyong, who gave support through training runs.

Barry Gruessner: a sangha member from Burlington Vermont who has run numerous events with The Sakyong including Edmonton, Boston, Burlington, and Chicago.

Christoph Schoenherr: He is the (Director) at Dechen Chöling and assisted Jon, Eric, and Tara at The Runnning with the Mind of Meditation Retreat and ran Chicago with HH in 2007.

Ben Medrano:  a Kusung who also gave support to the Sakyong during training runs and ran his first marathon in Miami he also gave support during recent travels.

Mark Whaley is a Dorje Kasung who has newly entered the team.  He is a gifted young athlete coming into his full ability. He ran with the Sakyong in both Chicago Marathons.  He is currently a student at CU in Boulder.

$60,000 Raised from Napa Valley Marathon

As of mid-March, the donations from the Napa Marathon are still coming in, with at least $60,000 in donations and pledges to date. These have come from all over the United States, Canada, and Europe.  We hope to meet our goal of $75,000 for the marathon from additional wine tasting parties, the art auction, and beyond.

Thank all you who have so generously given to this noble cause. We heartily encourage  those who haven’t given yet to please do so.  Your donations can be counted as “marathon donations” during the next few weeks.