Van 1, before the race
Van 1, after the race (pic from Phong)
Hey All,
Sorry for being delinquent on updates.
My big athletic event, the one that I’ve been training for for the past few months, took place this weekend. On Friday and Saturday, I ran the Nike Hood to Coast. It’s a 197 mile relay, the longest relay in the whole world. See the picture of our awesome Van 1 team above (courtesy of Kong and Phong). See a picture of me in my nerd goggles running below (courtesy of Kong):
Byron running with his beach shorts and nerd goggles
It works like this: 2 vans of six people each (a 12 person team) carry runners who run from Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood to Seaside on the Oregon Coast. Each runner runs three legs, which are around 5 miles each. We rotate through the lineup until the journey is complete. For me, I ran seven miles the first leg, 3.5 miles the second, and four miles for the third. It took us 29 hours. For those who are wondering about sleep, we got it when we could. I actually didn’t get much, but no worries–the Pod, my daughter, trained me well.
Here’s a picture of our van:
If you look closely at the van, you can see a “bigwowo.com” written by L (thanks!) on the bottom left. My weekend traffic looks like it didn’t dip as much as it usually does, so I guess it worked. Hey, maybe this could help us get submissions for the Thymos book project. Our team was called the “Black Eyed Beavs,” which is a reference to Oregon State University, where many of the team participants attended school.
On the first leg, there was a fifty something year old woman in front of me. I wanted badly to catch up to her, so I sped on, but man, she was fast. We wound up passing five other runners together, but in the end, I gassed out, and she left me in the dust. A sixty something year old guy also passed me (but was still unable to catch up to her). Because of this older woman, I posted a much better time than I ever did while training.
On the second leg, a runner in a hula skirt passed me. I also tried to catch up to her, but I couldn’t. She got caught on a stoplight, and I actually got equal with her again, but upon seeing me, she got angry at the unfairness of the stoplight and began sprinting. She left me in the dust. I didn’t see anyone else during that entire leg.
My third leg was at 4 o’clock in the morning on a tiny little road somewhere in the middle of rural nowhere. I ran the first two miles well, and then my stupid Mini-Maglite crapped out. So I was running in total darkness, trying my best to follow the road line (which I thought was the shoulder but then realized was the middle divider once a car came). The moral of the story is this: don’t get cheap when you’re buying equipment. Get the best. I should’ve bought a headlamp made specifically for running. I didn’t see anyone at all during this leg of the race, and I had no one to follow, and I probably lost a few minutes of valuable time for being a cheap-ass.
Asian stuff: When we completed the race, I saw a team of White men and Asian women wearing coolie hats and yellow T-shirts that said “Got Rice?” (There was at least one older White woman and a token Chinese guy–y’know, diversity and all cuz everyone needs a Chuck Willis.) The name of their team? “Yellow Fever.” I kid you not. I’d make fun of them, but I just googled and found out that at least one of them is a serious marathoner. I also checked the HTC website, and they smoked us in our running times. So I’m just going to “lose” gracefully to the DQ’s and RC’s.
Anyway, it was a great experience running this race. Even though I’m not a runner, I’m glad that they got me out, and I’m happy that I trained. With the kids, most of my training took place at 10 pm two or three times a week, and now I see that it was worth it. Thanks to the Black Eyed Beavs for an excellent experience.
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But here is an...
I agree with everything you said. About #1…I think...
Congratulations Jaehwan. Time to celebrate after all that training!
But seriously, “Yellow Fever” for their team name? In all seriousness, what are they trying to say? That’s just way over the line.
That’s f**ed up.
Awesome, jaehwan! You should feel proud of your accomplishment. no need to worry about other people’s pace and how they did. You just have to do what you are capable; it’s hard to compete with serious marathoners, ya know! I use to be a more serious runner and the one thing I learned about training and running is this: the hardest part about running is stepping out the door.
Yeah, what the hell is up with that team? “Yellow Fever”??? Okay, some black humor cuz it’s white guys and asian females, but dressing up in coolie hats? what were they going to do? put on a minstrel show, fer krissakes?
Thanks, Ed and Mojo! I’m so happy that we did it. I was beginning to question several times during the training, but it all worked out. It helped me get back into shape, and hopefully I’ll keep on some kind of regimen. Health is really important, but it’s one of the first parts of life that we often neglect.
I have no idea why they chose Yellow Fever. I was shocked because I saw a bunch of people in yellow T-shirts wearing coolie hats, and when I got closer, I saw it was a bunch of White guys and Asian women with “Got Rice” shirts. Talk about stepping on your own.
If anyone is interesting in asking what the hell, here was the link I found:
http://delusionsofotherpeoplesgrandeur.blogspot.com/2009/05/what-now.html
“-hood to coast in september. we have an AWESOME team and i can’t wait to see what htc is all about. our team is called ‘team yellow fever’ – can you guess why?”
I probably should’ve snapped a picture for you guys. I was just trying to end on a good note without letting the usual DQ/RC nonsense invade my space.
Anyway, I think there is something to be said about the teamwork that takes place during events like this. You definitely learn a lot about yourself and others.
“On the second leg, a runner in a hula skirt passed me. I also tried to catch up to her, but I couldn’t. She got caught on a stoplight, and I actually got equal with her again, but upon seeing me, she got angry at the unfairness of the stoplight and began sprinting. She left me in the dust. I didn’t see anyone else during that entire leg.”
That’s hilarious… and yeah… that yellow fever… makes me kinda sick…
Congrats on finishing the race! You look in great form in that one picture.
And that Yellow Fever team is creepy as hell. White boy Asianphiles with Oriental women wearing frigging coolie hats.
I bet those cretins think they are being oh so clever.
That’s White Hipster racism in “Liberal” Oregon in a nutshell.
After the race, you should have gotten Kong and the crew to jack their Whitebread asses up.
Wow ~ awesome Jaehwan!
In the first two pictures your team looks so sincere and happy, and the face looks so radiant in the running picture lol, !
p.s
F*uck those yellow fever people.
They might have gotten faster times, but they’re still losers in my book. Totally trash,~ not even worth letting them ruin your marathon moment Jaehwan!
Hey congrats, B! That marathon experience sounded fun, in a test-of-your-character, baptism-by-fire sort of way.
As for Yellow Fever: can those guys and gals be anymore F-ing cliche? And we wonder why Asian men get angry. If you’re going to be racist chic, then at least know how to pull it off without looking like pathetic losers.
yeah, anyway B, welcome back
Hey whats wrong with yellow fever?
Its just like jungle fever, but not as racist because hey, its Oriental girls and White men, you know, its so loving and interracial!!
I love yellow fever, especially the token Oriental chinesey guys that come along with it, thats why I’ve stayed in touch with my Chucky Willis, you know, because i believe in diversity! I’m no racist!! One of my friends is Chuck Willis,~and he’s one of those Asians!
What, can’t you take a joke? yellow fever is just sarcasm, you know, like when my white friend calls himself “slave master”and calls Oprah Winfrey “Nappy head”~ its all in good fun! not racist at all!
In fact if you says its racist to love yellow fever, actually your the one whose racist cause only a racist person would zoom in on race in a funny joke! Theres white fever and black fever too!! every group has it, so its not racist !~ theres nothing wrong with calling a team yellow fever! C’mon, just lighten up!
Of course I dont really know how it feels to be the victim of Asian fetish or yellow fever, cause I’m not one of those Asians, but I still know what I’m talking about!! C’mon people! We have Obama as our president now!! We live in a post racial world!! everyone stop talking about race!! it doesnt even matter anymore, so stop being racist!!
Thanks Zach, Larry, Alpha, Anna!
I told everyone it was a one shot deal, but actually, I am thinking of doing it again. Crazy.
Congrats Jaehwan on the whole process from training to finishing to setting new time goals for the future; sounded very rewarding in so many ways. If I may make an observation…athletic events like these can be quite personal and cathartic because it’s not so much about competition with others as it is about competing with yourself…finding the will within to push harder and persevere. And in those long legs of the actual race especially when no other racers are around, you have many opportunities that comes along naturally as part of the process to reflect and meditate on ‘things’.
Regarding the yellow fever idiocy, I think next year your team should come up with something clever to counter that type of bullshit. But who knows if that team will show up again. The thing is that they show up in their costumes and white racist infused banter and race, and no one bats an eye or says anything…and it just becomes something accepted. It really is fucked up.
BTW, this totally unrelated and a shot in the dark. But does anyone have a link to a certain webpage that’s sort of a sarcastic guide for a racist or homophobe to deflect any converstaion about racism or to deflect being ousted as one? The page is all yellow and the text is in black sorta like the ‘books for dummies’. I found that link some months ago but can’t remember from where.
Hey mT,
the website youre looking for is deriling for dummies
http://www.derailingfordummies.com/
youre welcome!
I’m pretty sure a female lesbian person of colour wrote it~just some extra trivia lol
Dear Jaehwan,
Ouch. I’m really sorry that our van offended you. I guess our attempt at humor blew up in our faces. I really had no intention of making any kind of political/racial statement or making anyone feel bad. i guess my friends and i just have pretty bad senses of humor. I offer my sincerest apologies. I have received some pretty mean and angry comments as a result of your link to my blog, and I suppose that it’s karma for making you feel so upset. Still, I assure you that I am not self hating or that my friends and I had a secret race agenda; we are guilty of very poor taste.
Again, I am very sorry.
It looks like you had fun in HTC too. Great job on the race!
Cindy
Thanks, mT. You are totally right–it’s a competition against yourself. Kind of like some games of golf, where you’re competing against the course rather than other people.
By the way, I’m a bit worried about getting disqualified. The rule was that you’re supposed to finish within an hour of your estimated run time, and we beat it by two hours. The reason I underestimated was that I wasn’t used to running with other people. You run faster when there’s someone running ahead of you.
Oh well. Hopefully they’ll be lenient this time. I’d love to do it again.
Cindy,
Thanks for your kind words about the race. You guys had a great run.
Can I just ask questions? And this is not meant to be mean, accusing, angry, or anything like that. But what were you thinking with those costumes, with that team name, etc.? Especially given the racial makeup of your team, it would seem to me to be in poor taste right away. It’s like White men showing up in blackface and calling themselves Aunt Jemima. Or White women showing up and calling themselves “Nappy Headed Hos.”
I’m just curious. Asian people have very little power in deciding the images that the mainstream perpetuates. What was the thought process? Who proposed it–was it a White man or an Asian woman? Was there any discussion about how people might be offended by it?
I just look forward to the day when we can all come to the table as equals, rather than having the mainstream think of us in inferior terms, and the coolie hats along with the commodification just seemed to be a step backward.
Again, I’m not trying to be accusatory, just trying to understand. Thanks again (and in advance) for your comments.
Jaehwan,
I’m more than happy to answer your questions. I’m Chinese ( don’t know if you could tell from my blog), as is my friend who captained the team. The originating members were the Asian women. Believe me, our caucasian friends were just along for the ride. Who knows, they might have been mortified. I guess that I’ve always joked with my friends (asian) using those terms (yellow, etc) because it disarmed the word, so to speak. Like, it’s my phrase and I use yellow with a sense of pride. Now that may be totally effed up…
I’ve always been really proud to be who I am and any use of those charged words were done with a total sense of irony. I guess I didn’t really think that the mainstream looks down on us; i mean, look at all the Asian powerhouses out there. If anything, I have been in danger of developing a big head about being Asian. (did you see that a Chinese woman just totally dominated the World Track and Field marathon in Berlin last week?) But, as your friends/readers have pointed out, my attempt at irony went over like a lead balloon and now I am being called out as a self hating cretin! yikes. I’ve never taken myself too seriously, but perhaps I will try to inject a little more gravity in my approach to life. or atleast take into account that there are other people out there who do take things far more seriously than I.
Thank you for presenting your viewpoint in a cordial and rational manner. I appreciate it!
Are you thinking of doing a marathon? I thought htc was more difficult than the marathon I ran. If you are considering it, you should go for it! Making it though a marathon is more about mental toughness than physical training, and if you can do htc, you’ve got it.
Good luck with your endeavors!
Cindy
@ Cindy,
I appreciate your coming here to post. I’m not against laughter or self deprecating humor, I understood the humor behind “yellow fever” and all, but to hear the report from jaehwan about the coolie hats made me wince.
I think sometimes that kind of humor is best left with your friends in private. Asian Americans have a crappy presentation by the mainstream media as it is, and showing up in public with coolie hats and all doesn’t seem to help. It’s akin to minstrel stuff and my trepidation is that is that I’m sure a lot of non-Asian folks at the race didn’t get the joke. I fear that instead, it gives license for non-Asian people to think it’s okay to parade around in coolie hats and portray Asians in such a caricatured manner. And they’ll be doing it WITHOUT the humor/irony and the intent you folks had; it’ll be pure racist mockery.
I’m with jaehwan here, my post is not to make you feel bad, or to be mean to you. Rather it’s designed to awakwen a part of your consciousness about how Asian Americans and Asians are viewed by mainstream America and beyond. I guess you got a sense of that by the comments left on your blog. That you came here to post and admitted that you exhibited bad judgement and taste shows that you at least understand where some of us are coming from. And that is the basis for the start of a true dialog and communication.
Thanks, Cindy.
Thanks for your explanation, and thanks for listening. I echo Mojo.
I’m not sure about the marathon; I’m thinking about it. Running was never my thing. As you might be able to see from the other content on this blog, I’ve mostly been into martial sports, but since I’m getting older, I should probably think about getting into something a bit easier on the joints. If I do run it, I’ll at least be able to say that I completed a marathon, right?
Actually, for the HTC, I tried to train using the walk-run method, which is recommended for marathons. Unfortunately, it didn’t prepare me for a straight 7 mile run, which put considerable pain in my shoulders when I ran my first leg during the actual race. I guess we’ll see.
Good luck to you too.
You said nothing and pretended to not notice the “Yellow Fever”, cuz you is a black eyed BEAVER. You reinforce the stereotype well. No surprise.
jaewan limerick
jay wan saw sum yellow fever
i suspect he low achiever
he turnt round real quick
to hide his lil dik
now I know he’s just a beaver
OVCP,
Are you still here? I thought you’d find better things to do.
Educate yourself. You may not live here, but google is available in every state. Good luck.
Yay! Congrats!
Watch out, this could be addicting – many of my friends who try one end up doing it annually, something about seeing it they can do better next time…
Thanks, MN. I think you’re right. I’m actually thinking of doing it again.
To may concern:
like the thing’s you guy’s are doing but on a business note can anyone give direction to me on if the company nike are hireing singer for there commical and who need to speak to for this type of job if can please sent me there email to my email.
Thankyou