Relentless Romero Blogs

Sometimes the most difficult thing a person can do is to ask for help. Ironically, many times when the request comes, we think we are too busy to help our family, friend or colleague who is vulnerable and asking for support. I recently found myself in a situation I could not fathom and my back was up against the wall. There was no way out, and I needed the help of every person I knew, and didn't know. My requests for help became pleas for support and aid. I was desperate. To my surprise, some people who I thought were very close to me, were actually very distant. In response to my request for help, one person told me "if this is an emergency, call 911." Another friend told me his travel schedule - I think that was an indirect way of telling me he was busy with work. A couple of other people never responded. I didn't have time to internalize the hurt or disappointment of this behavior, I had to try to solve the situation that was before me. The majorit...

Nicola Elliott-Savage @ Rio del Lago 100 Endurance Race This past weekend I got the rare opportunity to crew somebody who was running a 100 mile race. Usually, I am the runner who has other people supporting me. This weekend, the roles were reversed and I experienced something magnificent. I witnessed humanity at its finest, and this blog is about that experience. The runner was well trained for this race, had assembled a capable support crew (team), and was an experienced ultra-runner. She also had an aggressive time goal of running a sub-24 hour trail 100 mile race. She had a plan to run "easy" up until mile 75, then move quickly in runnable sections to finish with a sub-24 hour race. As the race started, she was excited, injury free and fit. She ran through the first section perfect according to her plan - 3 hours and 15 minutes. She achieved the second aid station at mile 23.5 within a couple minutes of her plan. The third aid station was right on plan and aid sta...