Mission Possible -- Badwater

Moon Over KMC

Keith Moon has joined Don's Team while on the Big Island preparing for the Volcano Marathon. If you look closely in the background, you may see Pele donning one of the Don's Team T-Shirts.

GHOSTS

Aloha All,

"Down the aging corridors,

Through the gates of time,

Run the Ghosts of dreams we've left behind"

song and lyrics by Dan Fogelberg

There are some, the lucky few, who pursue their dreams with a passion, almost with a vengence, from a very early age. But for the masses, like you and me, it's all too easy to wake up one day... time fleeting by, with many unfulfilled dreams. You see, some of us, for one reason or another, just start living life late. For me, really starting to live life began in my mid-fifties, shortly after finding out that I had Type 2 diabetes. Ironically, this certainly gave my life a jolt in the right direction. However, finding out you have cancer is an even bigger jolt. However, living with diabetes for the past 10+ years has certainly taught me a lot about living life to the fullest and I suppose in many ways, it has prepared me to now deal with cancer. From a "living life to the fullest" standpoint, diabetes got me off the couch, got me doing things I never thought possible AND introduced me to a new breed of friends (the ultrarunning community) that I never knew existed. Wonderful, inspirational friends. At 66, with both diabetes and cancer, but with the heart of a lion and the spirit of a child, I'm spoiled. I want more ! You see, you are never too old to live life to the fullest.

Okay granted, maybe I'm losing it upstairs, but I'm convinced that there's much more in God's plan for me, before passing through the pearly gates. You see, I still have many unfulfilled dreams left to fill. Hopefully there's at least one person out there that I can help to ease their pain. Anyway, the way I see it,  the Ghosts will just have to wait a while before chasing me down the corridors.

Isn't the support on this blog amazing ! It's kinda like it's a person...like it's alive ! Every week it just grows bigger and bigger, thanks to all of you. You are all amazing ! It doesn't give a guy a chance to feel sorry for himself...even if he wanted to...and I don't want to. It's too much fun seeing what's new on the blog !

Thank you ALL !  Don

Don's Team at Mt. Hood, Oregon

Well I'll tell you what, those amazing Don's Team members are showing up everywhere. Rod Bien was at Mt. Hood to do the PCT 50 mile race when he ran into Jamie and Becky Gifford, those wonderful friends from Seattle, who were also there for the race. This photo was taken at the turn around point, on the way to Rod's first place victory win in under 7 hours. Congratulations Rod ! Jamie came in in just 8 hours. Way to go Jamie ! And a huge " fabulous job "  to Becky on completing her first 50 miler, she is now an official " Super Chick ! "

Don's Team at The Voyageur 50

Here is our good friend and long time HURT guy Carl Gammon at the start of The Voyageur 50 in Minnesota with a friend that he says " Shows the Don's Team bulldog spirit in the fight against cancer ". Carl has been one of those amazing folks that has looked gone fist to fist with that nasty cancer opponent,  and come out victorious, and he is looking forward to he and Don running together as ultra running survivors. Thanks Carl, we think you picked the perfect mascot.

Don's Team on Mt. Grey, Colorado

This is Ed Green standing on top of 14,270' summit of Mount Grey in Colorado. Don and Ed climbed this mountain together a few years ago, and Ed has an open invitation to Don to come back and do this one again, as well as the 14,267' Mt. Torrey you see in the background. Maybe we can have a Don's Team climb with the other Don's Team members in the area ? That would be a great site to see !

Don's Team at the Tour de France

Don's Team gets around!!

Even to France where Gil Loomis is chasing the Tour leaders. Is that a yellow jersey peaking out from under the Don's Team shirt? I know a lot of riders DQ'd for doping but I didn't know Gil had won a stage and become the leader!!

Cat On A Hot Tin Roof

Aloha Friends !

Yesterday was the ol' pre-surgery-consultation with my surgeon Dr. Matayoshi. Now he's a true professional and he really gives me complete confidence in him, however, all-the-while he's a character. While he's explaining all the things bad that can happen, he does it in a way that you just know everything is going to be fine. He has this mischievous smile, kinda like the cat that just ate the canary. It seems that the surgery is always followed by a period of fatigue, and for some reason a lack of appetite. We'll just see about that appetite thing! My appetite will show them a thing or two ! Some of Marian's chicken enchiladas, Cheryl's pasta salad and Dan & Jeanette's Homemade Honey Wheat Bread will do the trick ! In addition to getting to pig out, they encourage walking...even the day after surgery. I can just see myself walking around, all over the hospital, harassing the nurses and staff...smiling, with my mouth full of food. All in all, the consultation went very well. As Heather and I were leaving, I said: " You know Doc, this cancer stuff is just another of life's adventures. Only a select few get to experience what this is really like first-hand. I guess I'm one of the elite !" Dr. Matayoshi just shook his head and smiled that mischievous smile.

The only thing that he mentioned that I wasn't prepared to hear is that I'll be spending 7-10 days in the hospital. Nothing unusual, this is how it is with rectal cancer surgery. It seems that the possibility of infection is the biggest problem and I suppose they need to watch it closely. However, after 7-10 days in the hospital, I'll be like a cat on a hot tin roof !

A book I've been reading on colorectal cancer mentioned 2 different types of surgery. One was as expected, via entering from the rear. The other, which seemed more likely in my case, is where the surgery is done from the front. Dr. Matayoshi confirmed my notion...the front it will be. Now I don't know how many of you are like me, but I've been picturing one fairly sizeable incision. According to the cat that ate the canary, there will be several small incisions and from what I gathered, the surgery will be performed using these high-tech instruments. Look ma, no hands ! Weird huh? Well, that's what it sounds like to me. Modern medicine is truly amazing ! Don't you wish you could take my place? Uh, don't answer that. Oh well, what's a guy to do? My options are few. Let's just get on with it and make the best of it. The date of the surgery still stands as August 20.

Enjoy each day and get your cancer screenings...NOW !!   

Thank you for being a friend.  Don

Susan, George, and Aka (the furry one) of Fleet Feet Sports in Kailua are on Don's Team

Huffer, Murph and Silver Buckle ET

Aloha All,

Last week's Badwater and Hardrock excitement and showing of support made it difficult to focus on anything else. However, two other very special things happened recently, that I must mention. Although these two things will likely mean much more to ultrarunners and athletes than non-athletes, they also are a testament to the beauty of the human spirit. Hopefully you will enjoy both stories. They, and the people behind them are very special to me.

Several weeks ago, Cheryl held a pre-Western States 100 dinner at her house in honor of Hawaii's two (and only) Western States 100 participants in this year's Western States race, Marian Yasuda and Ernest Tay. This has become, over the years, a very difficult race to get into and we were all very proud and excited for Marian and Ernest. Both are very experienced ultrarunners, with HURT 100 Mile finishes, and both with solid chances to break the coveted 24 hour mark at Western States. Ernest even adopted the nickname "Silver Buckle ET",in anticipation of his sub-24 silver buckle finish. The fact that this would be Ernest's first trip to the mainland AND his first time to ever see snow, made it even more special. This get-together was the perfect way to send these two wonderful friends off with our love and support. They both trained very hard and were ready.

With the exception of one person receiving a little too much attention for the fact of currently fighting cancer, the party went along very nicely...well, until the normally quiet, mild-mannered Silver Buckle ET  was given his chance to talk. Now, I'll be the first to admit that although the Silver Buckle Man and I have only known each other for somewhat over two years, we are definitely great friends. However, I was the LAST person that would have expected the mild-mannered ET to stand up and say: "I dedicate my Western States 100 race to Don Fallis". Whew ! That's big, folks ! Silver Buckle ET is a true friend ! Unfortunately, as it turned out, the Western States 100 was cancelled do to smoke and fires in the area, however both Marian and Ernest will be back next year, ready to show the Western States course a thing or two. Thank you Ernest for that beautiful gesture of support.

Now, don't put the kneenex away, at least not yet. A short time back, Jeff Huff went to San Diego to run the San Diego 100. Jeff is a very driven ultrarunner and has achieved some wonderful successes, including, but not limited to, a sub-24 hour Western States 100 on his first try: several HURT 100 finishes and at least two Plain 100 finishes...all big by ultrarunning standards. Well, Jeff brought in a big gun for his pacer at San Diego, the famous Bob Murphy, we affectionally call (among other things) Murph. From this, we knew Huffer was serious at shooting for a sub-24. Murph is as good as it gets, as a pacer and as an accomplished ultrarunner. He's the only person to finish the HURT, Hardrock and Plain 100's, all in the same year !

Cutting to the chase, Huffer pulled it off ! He finished in sub-24 with a lil' time to spare. However, as the story goes, it wasn't all wine and roses. Now, you know how stories sometimes get blown out of context. However, knowing Murph like I do, I'm sure this is not the case here...ha, ha. Murph says to me, something like: "...Jeff is around mile 95, whining like a little girl...wanting to quit...and I'm trying to get him moving again...so I say: hey, quit your whining Jeff...Don's back in Hawaii fighting cancer and you are out here whining with only 5 more miles to go..." Anyway, something worked. Huffer raced to the finish line !

It had been several weeks, and I had forgotten about Jeff's San Diego race, so when he handed me a large envelope and said  "please open this in the privacy of your home", I didn't think much about it. But, being a good lil' boy I followed his instructions to a T. Heather and her Mom were there as I pulled out his hand written note and read it out loud. Before I could finish, the three of us were bawling. Obviously the note was very emotional for all of us and as I started pulling out the contents of the envelope, the tears got better. Huffer had enclosed his San Diego 100 shirt, signed by both he and Murph, with his sub-24 finish time, all written on the shirt. He also included his official race number and to top it off, his finisher's belt buckle. Unless you are an ultrarunner, this may not mean much, but if you are an ultrarunner, this is VERY BIG ! You just don't give away your belt buckle !

Thanks to Huffer, Murph and Silver Buckle ET. And, thanks to all of you. Tomorrow I have a consultation with my cancer surgeon. Sure, I'm nervous, but I'm not afraid. After all, I have all of you out there supporting me.

Aloha !

Don

Hardrock's Team is on Don's Team

Don had a big surprise today. Miss Cheryl brought a package that Paul Hopwood had sent for Don and inside was a Don's Team T-Shirt with the " 2008 Hardrockers " good wish messages and signatures. Here he is, after another box of kleenex,  modeling that very special shirt.