By Hal Walter
The burros were fresh in the cool evening air and, as they often do, sensed a neophyte in my companion, who was also having a bit of an issue adjusting to the altitude. At one point they bolted uphill and I had to simultaneously sprint ahead while literally “climbing” the lead rope hand-over-hand to gain control.
I looked over at my friend. “You know those battle-rope workouts people do in gyms?”
He nodded silently.
“Yeah, I don’t need to do those.”
He just smiled.
Years ago I met this energetic magazine writer, Christopher McDougall, who was covering the Leadville Boom Days pack-burro race and also gathering information in Leadville for what would become a classic best-selling book.
As Christopher was researching in Leadville, the town was already on its way to becoming a high-altitude endurance sports mecca. I was no stranger to Leadville, having edited the newspaper there, not to mention running in the Boom Days pack-burro race many consecutive years (winning four times), as well as finishing the Leadville Trail 100 ultramarathon and winning the No O2 10K there at 10,000 feet altitude.
Today, Christopher is best known for his classic 2009 bestseller Born to Run, which sold more than 1 million copies and has been credited with sparking a modern revolution in running as well as the barefoot running movement. His most recent book, Natural Born Heroes, shot to the New York Times bestseller list within weeks of its release this past spring. In it, Christopher speaks to the lost heroes’ arts of compassion, strength and skill, which coincidentally are major themes of my own new book, Full Tilt Boogie.
Christopher and I stayed loosely in touch over the years. He kindly provided a nice back-cover quote for my previous book, Wild Burro Tales. Meanwhile, much of my own paying professional life has revolved around working as an editor for Dr. Phil Maffetone. Phil is a nationally known health and fitness expert best known for his work with endurance athletes.
Natural Born Heroes explores how modern humans have lost the connection to their innate endurance, strength, agility and mental toughness, and how these natural abilities are still deeply rooted in all of us. The main storyline centers on the obscure history of resistance fighters on the island of Crete. These warriors used their natural fitness to turn the tide of World War II, leading eventually to Hitler’s defeat. A key to the resistance success was the capture of a Nazi general – the only time a commanding general has been kidnapped in modern wartime.
Another major theme of Natural Born Heroes is the human ability to use stored fat as fuel to perform epic amounts of physical work and travel great distances. While researching this aspect of human endurance, Christopher found all roads, and even one burro trail, led to Phil. When he couldn’t locate the fat-burning guru, Christopher turned to me for his contact info.
Shortly after Natural Born Heroes hit the shelves, I began getting messages about Christopher’s mention of me in the book, leading into his discussions with Phil, whose ideas challenging conventional wisdom on health and nutrition ended up spanning several chapters. It turns out the philosophies Phil has been teaching for years are the same as those lived by the Cretan resistance fighters – without their natural approach to fitness and strength, the Nazis would have likely won the war.
Another thing I do on the side is direct a trail-running race called the Hardscrabble Mountain Trail Run on Bear Basin Ranch near Westcliffe. The event raises funds and awareness for the San Isabel Land Protection Trust in Westcliffe. Earlier this year I asked Christopher if he could make the race a stop on his Natural Born Heroes book tour, and he graciously accepted the invite.
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With one caveat.
Christopher needed donkey-training lessons. He had recently adopted a rescue donkey and has the goal of running with it in a half-marathon back in his home state of Pennsylvania. Of course I was delighted to give him some pointers.
Meanwhile, Phil contacted me and asked if Christopher and I could join him the day after the race on a popular fitness podcast called Endurance Planet. Then, about two days before the race, Christopher called and asked if it would beokay to bring a videographer from the New York Times to film our burro-training session, and if we could include my son Harrison in the footage.
Suddenly I seemed to be in a vortex, and I only hoped I had a hero’s endurance to survive the weekend. I was not only directing a trail run with more than 300 entrants, I was also teaching burro-handling skills to a New York Times bestselling author and joining him on a nationally broadcast podcast and on video for a piece on the New York Times website.
The irony was that my ticket to all this was decades of working with animals as a natural means to fitness. One of the things Christopher and I discussed is that modern humans have lost their natural connection with animals – and working with animals – and that there’s a natural fitness component to it. Ironically, the band of Cretan misfits that kidnapped the Nazi general had used a donkey to shuttle their prized prisoner for some of the way across the rugged and mountainous island of Crete!
The three days of activity flew by like a blur. A reception and signing for Christopher at Brookwood Gallery the night before the race. Then the race itself, where Christopher finished holding hands with a newfound friend he’d made out on the course, then posed for photos with so many runners who were thrilled to meet him. And then the following day of several hours filming with the videographer.
Afterward, Christopher admitted that he’d been dreading the race, but was glad he participated. He said he’ll be back next year.
“It struck me that I felt like everybody I talked to I’d known forever. It was amazing how quick and easy it was to feel like I was among friends. That made it really special.”
The vortex had been a wild ride gaining energy with each turn, and in it the message of compassion, strength and skill had gained some new momentum to carry forward.
Hal Walter writes and speaks out from his home in the Wet Mountains. To arrange a visit on the Full Tilt Boogie book tour, send him an email at jackassontherun@gmail.com.
