Day 14 - Week 2 complete - Rest day #1

West Yellowstone, WY

Today was our first real rest day, although many of us still got up before dawn so we could make it to Yellowstone when it was still pretty empty. We also got to see a decent amount of wildlife since it was early in the morning; we’ve seen plenty of bison throughout the past couple of days, and today we also saw a couple of bear cubs, a wolf, elk, and antelope.

As we made our way through Yellowstone throughout the day, we continued to meet some really cool people. There was a very kind older man who was clearly some sort of professor in the area and was very willing to share his knowledge, having spent about 25 years tracking and studying the wolves in the area. I learned a ton from his expertise; he also knew where to find wolves and let us look through his viewfinder to see a beautiful black wolf off in the distance.

We also met a survivor who recognized the Ulman Foundation, as well as an older couple biking across the country, along with multiple other people affected by cancer or interested in our cause. It has been incredible to get stopped by people asking us what we’re doing, leading to some deep conversations with strangers sharing stories about loved ones affected by cancer. I have added many names to my list of people for whom I am running based on such conversations. Cancer clearly doesn’t discriminate, so it has been very eye-opening to be able to meet such a variety of people and have an immediate connection based on common experiences.