Standing Right Beside Ben

So if any of you do half as much Facebook stalking as I do, you will likely know that my favorite movie is Gattaca. Yeah, I can hear you laughing and, trust me, I wish my favorite movie was some epic tale, profound artistic work or culture influencing saga, but it's not. In any case, there is a scene where Vincent, the main character, is watching a space launch not as an astronaut but as a janitor from the space agency. "I was never more certain of how far away I was from my goal than when I was standing right beside it."

Last weekend I had the opportunity to go to St. George, Utah to watch my friend and fellow Mountain Endurance athlete, Ben, compete in the inaugural St. George Ironman, and let me tell you it was well worth the 24 hours of driving. On what is being touted as potentially the most difficult Ironman course, Ben finished 2nd overall in a remarkable 8:52.



I understood what it was Vincent was saying. The simultaneous physical proximity and theoretical distance between where you and are where you want to be is often difficult to assimilate. Fortunately I had twelve hours to think about this on the way home while Elliot did this:

I realized that the distance one must travel is what makes this lifestyle an adventure and fundamentally fulfilling. There are no guarantees in chasing a dream, but the possibilities drive me nonetheless.

Other than the race, weekend highlights included seeing the sun again (we seem to have lost ours in Missoula), meeting Ben's friends and family (including the Cobbs who opened their home to us several times and another Mountain Endurance pro and all around good guy, Jesse), and a solid 75 mile ride on and around the race course, directed by Elliot, for the sole purpose of cheering. However, the best part of the weekend was eating at what must be the only Chik-fil-A outside of Dixie.