Shawn Doss

The Fundamentals

By 29029 Everesting

April 24^th, 2020

My Family

Both of my parents are from India. My Dad came over to do his Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. I was born in Berkeley, California, ironically just around the corner from where I currently live in the South Bay area. When I was six months old, my Dad got a job in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. A small city in the Prairies. It's the wheat farming capital of the world, and extremely flat. The joke was that you could watch your dog run away for two weeks. It was a great place to grow up. During my high school years, my Dad got a job at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. And I've lived in the US ever since.

My parents are at the top of their respective fields. My Dad is a leading cancer researcher and has done incredible work on finding a cure for cancer. In fact, he's literally written the book on the possibility. Growing up, I thought that all he did was work. Now I know that he was simply practicing the fundamentals. Whenever he had downtime, he'd be reading. He'd wake up early and stay up late. He was always so consistent in everything he did. I remember he had a notepad and paper by his bed. He told me it was because he'd wake up in the middle of the night with ideas. At the time, I couldn't understand why he'd want to interrupt his sleep!

When she came from India, my mom was a stay-at-home mom. Eventually, she chose to pursue a career in preschool teaching. At every place that she has worked, she was always the most respected and valued employee. She's extremely diligent and helped instill the importance of work ethic in me, right from the beginning. As I've gotten older, I understand that the fundamentals are what helps you to become the best. There is no secret to life. There is no magic bullet to success. It's a matter of working hard and taking care of the little things each day.

I attribute a lot of my positive attitude and work ethic to my parents. As is the case for a lot of people, you don't appreciate your parents until you have kids of your own. I now realize how much they've done for me.

The Best Version of Myself

I saw a video online showcasing 29029, and something spoke to me. I thought, why wouldn't I try this? To me, it seemed like an amazing community. I got a sense of teamwork and camaraderie, and that's what appealed to me.

Before signing up, I knew I could dominate a Barry's Bootcamp class! But this? This was a whole different ballgame. I'd never done anything like it before. The thought of running a marathon felt crazy to me, but 29029 felt achievable. The fact there is a training plan and coaching support provided was crucial. I didn't have the experience, so that was a game-changer. I went from being someone with zero interest in endurance sports to being all-in. I knew that if I followed the plan and did the work that I would be successful.

I finally signed up and kept telling my wife Jackie how excited I was. After a few days, she turned to me and said, "I'll do it with you." To have her alongside me during the training, and the event was incredible.

The whole experience was life-changing. The lessons learned on the mountain about who I am as a person, and what I can accomplish are so memorable. The best version of myself was magnified and brought to light by facing this challenge.

The Moments

There are special moments that I'll never forget from Utah. I remember a gentleman by the name of Kevin, who was a volunteer at the summit aid station. He was an athlete himself and had recently completed the Badwater Ultra Marathon. He was a master when it came to knowing exactly what you needed at each visit. He said to me, "Hey, I've done this before, trust me. I see you, and I see what you need." He'd hand me some pickle juice or a can of coke and recommend extra sugar for the trip down the gondola. He was a god-send.

I also recall on my third ascent, I heard Rich Roll and coach Chris Hauth ahead. I wanted to stay with their group as the stories they were telling were fascinating. Yet, I felt a tremendous pain building above my knee. It was bad enough for me to wonder if I was going to be able to continue. It was a devastating thought, given the preparation I had put in to get to that point. It got so bad that I had to yell to Chris for help. He watched me walk for a few minutes and recommended I take smaller steps. From then on, I focused on better technique, using my poles and not overloading my stride. After 10 minutes, the pain subsided and never returned.

I think back to Coach Brent Pease and his calming presence, he was a savior. He helped to keep Jackie mentally strong. Without those interactions. Without the aid-station dancers. Without seeing Jesse Itzler at the top of the mountain throughout the day, our experience would have been very different. These moments are what make 29029 so unique.

Night Hike

I had not practiced a night hike before Utah, so it was a new experience for me. We'd done eight or nine ascents by the time we had to put on our headlamps. By that time, I felt like the mountain was a good friend that I could rely on. I could sense the little things and knew the sections of the mountain to look forward to.

During the daylight hours, you could simply look ahead and see landmarks and points of reference to know where you were on the mountain. But during the night, everything is reduced to what was immediately in front of you. It almost felt like you were in a little bubble. It became even more important to focus on the process and the fundamentals. One step at a time. It was eerily quiet at times, and that allowed me to concentrate on how I felt, and dig in even further.

I remember we were approaching 2 am and I started to get really drowsy. The novelty of the pitch-black had worn off, and I was starting to get into a real funk. For a period I struggled, a lot. I wondered if I'd be able to make it. It was definitely a low moment for me. I was grateful to have Jackie with me at that time. I was able to lean on her for support, even when I didn't want to show any weakness. It helped me to get out of the funk and keep moving forward. It was nice to have her company, and following that climb, we decided to rest and recuperate and come back the next day to finish what we started.

Endurance athlete

I'd never done anything endurance-related until 29029. I played sports growing up. Baseball, basketball, and tennis. And as a Canadian kid, I dreamed of hoisting the Stanley Cup aloft one day, but that was never going to happen for me. I've always been active but didn't have any health goals until later in life. After college, I started to enjoy high-intensity workouts, without any real purpose. I remember that I hated doing legs at the gym, and I hated running! And I couldn't stand long, monotonous activities. To think that I now consider myself an endurance athlete is pretty crazy.

29029 set me on this path, and I definitely have the itch for more. I want to continue to test my limits. Following 29029, I signed up for my first Ultra Marathon. The race was scheduled for March 15.

In the Bay Area, we were one of the first regions in the country to go under stay-at-home orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So the Thursday before the race, the event I had spent months preparing for, was canceled. I was in complete shock. Jackie immediately reminded me that the training and journey to get the race is the most important part, and that I should be proud of the work I'd put in. I agreed but knew that there was no way I was going to let Saturday, March 15, pass without testing my limits. I needed to lay it all on the line.

I called coach Chris Hauth and asked him what I should do. He helped me map out a course in Palo Alto. He plotted a 16-mile loop that I would run twice to match the distance I would have faced in my race. I woke up at 5 am, followed my morning routine, and got to the mountain ready to start. Eight hours later, I finished. Proud and exhausted with a lot of lessons learned along the way. I ran solo and experienced some of the worst conditions I've ever seen. It rained for 6 of the 8 hours. I ran out of food, I didn't have a change of clothes. I made so many mistakes! But that experience taught me so much about myself. And the preparation required to take on these types of challenges. I wanted to test my physical and mental limits, and I got more than I had bargained for.

Needless to say, I'm on the path to see what I can take on next.

The Red Bib

During 29029, you work so hard to get to the final ascent. You really have to earn The Red Bib. And once it's on your shoulders, the last lap feels like a celebration. It was the easiest lap for me mentally, but physically it was tough. By the time you're on your 13th ascent of Snowbasin, you're ready to be done.

I do recall spending time on that lap, really reminiscing about the whole experience. The good, the bad, and the ugly! It felt like a time-lapse of our entire weekend flashing in front of me. It was a real yin and yang for Jackie and I. She was faster on the uphills, and I could make up ground on the section that flattened out. We could troubleshoot together. We'd share snacks at the aid stations. She was able to pick me up when I was down and vice versa. I crossed the finish line, and I immediately knew that we had experienced something life-changing together.

We are excited to do it all again next year in Idaho. Until then, we'll take care of the fundamentals every day and continue to strive to be the most successful people we can be. See you on the mountain!