Thanks Beth!

My favorite memory of Beth is from a team traning we did last season, and I wish I had a picture to go along with the story. It was the infamous Pogonip run, a mentally tough 13-miler that goes into the woods behind UCSC. Many of you know and love it, but for those that don't the most outstanding thing about it is that you go uphill most of the way out and downhill most of the return. Most folks find its bark is bigger than its bite. Anyway I was standing at the finish as folks were coming in, and I remember seeing someone who ran like Beth a bit down the road. Whomever it was looked uncomfortable. As they approached I could see it WAS Beth, and she was uncomfortable. In fact she was covered with mud head to toe, but apart from looking tired and dirty and uncomfortable, she didn't seem unhappy. I expected her to immediately tell me the story, but the first words out of her mouth were a report on how some participants were doing. When I asked how SHE was doing, she said she had fallen somewhere on the course, and from how she looked I guessed it had been pretty bad. But that had been up on the hill somewhere, miles away, and here she was at the finish with a muddy smile and her only concern was for her participants. That day told me a lot about Beth. She's a survivor in every sense of the word, and her toughness is well-masked by her sweet personality. Thanks for sponsoring us Beth, I'll remember you on our next tough climb and tell myself "just keep going."
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