The Summer of Volunteering

I'll admit I contribute a little
to the Tahoe wildlife.

I spent a lot of time in my bikini this Summer. Mostly chilling on the lake, absorbing rays on the river, or acting like wildlife. Yeah. Cuz I do that. If I wasn't chilling in the water or by the water I was volunteering my time at races. In July I got a chance to see what the Downieville Classic Mountain Bike Race was all about. Taking place in in Downieville, CA, this race is known for its party atmosphere and hardcore downhill racing. Mountain Bikers from all over the world come to California to ride this race - and although the format of the racing has changed a bit from year's past this race still seems as popular as ever.

And if you've ever experienced a small mountain town atmosphere you'll understand the lure and magic of Downieville. An unforgettable experience - especially for my kids who got to experience freedom on a whole new level. My oldest even volunteered for the race helping out in the bike shop, spraying water on the riders at the top of the mountain, and doing odd jobs.

I was an official pacer for Maggie at the
Fat Dog 120 miler. So proud of Mags for
completing this beautiful, but brutal course!

He finally discovered how fun volunteering can be. Seems this summer has been all about volunteering and helping in the Cavender household.

For me, especially, I've been volunteering my time all over the place. In addition to crewing/pacing my friend Maggie for The Fat Dog 120 miler in Canada this year, I ended up volunteering at one of the aid stations while waiting for her to arrive. Seriously. It's impossible for me to sit still.

I make a wicked quesadilla.

And I plan on continuing this trend well into the summer's end by crewing/pacing my friend, Monica, at Pine to Palm 100 in a few weeks. Yup. I'll be revisiting that course and am looking forward to seeing it from a different perspective - maybe not so much from my "pain cave" perspective this time.

And next weekend I'm heading up to Tahoe again to volunteer at the Spooner Aid Station (mile 120) for the inaugural Tahoe 200 miler - a race I considered signing up for but was WAY out of my budget. I'll be spending a few days up there with my friend Maggie and some other awesome volunteers. We plan on making this station a fun one for the runners - I plan on contributing to the ambience with my Zaps Threads disco ball and other party lights and am looking forward to seeing some familiar runners come through and meeting others I've only connected with on facebook (You know who you are *wink.* I promise to have cold beer waiting for you so hollar for me!)

So my schedule is still in busy mode for the next month or so, but once things calm down I will sit down and plan my next adventure - hoping to somehow work the Caballo Blanco Ultra Marathon down in the Copper Canyons of Mexico into my race schedule for next year...

Corre Libre, amigos!