Ep. 214 Luke Nelson

Luke Nelson is an endurance athlete, father, husband, P.A., ski patroller, and forever seeking deep and powerful experience. Blair and Mark spoke with him the day after the 2023 Grandeur Peak edition of Running Up For Air (RUFA). The conversation started on the topic of changing immediate athletic goals on the fly according to how you feel — and being OK with it rather than being bound to an expectation or particular outcome. He shared some stories of his stint with the U.S. National Ski Mountaineering team, racing in two World Cups in Europe, and a 71 mile-per-hour descent to qualify ... "I have to straight-line this mogul field and I'll either blow up and can say I tried, or I'll make it and be going to Europe". Commenting on the numerous ultras he has run, Luke speaks beautifully of all of the people who helped him do the hardest things, and that, "those people make running not solitary ..." Blair describes them as, "the physical people I get to be with in the mountains as well as those who are no longer here physically, but I still get to share those experiences with ... it's really powerful ..." and both share stories of being visited by ravens in the mountains; protectors, prophets, messengers, intermediaries between the spirit and material worlds who, when seen, may make one wonder "who that was". We speak about endurance efforts as spiritual practice, Luke's journey at Hard Rock and the growth that occurred during the almost-decade of trying to get in via the lottery and finally being accepted on his 10th try ... which would have been far different otherwise. "I was so grateful for the experience that there was never a moment during the day when I considered stopping or even wanting to stop." Ever searching, one of Luke's goals for the year involves a return to rock climbing, which he hasn't done since falling almost two decades ago, an accident that fractured his skull and put him in the ICU for a few weeks. We discuss the emotional journey and recovery needed to confront the fear that has solidified during the years away from that activity. We close the conversation on the topic of sponsorship and Low/No Impact outdoor events, the varying degrees of environmentalism that derive from the culture of particular sports, sorting trash from recyclables, washing dishes during the events to reduce garbage, and always trying to reduce our impact on the natural resource that provides us so much opportunity.