06

March

0

Yangki’s Mom

I’m sitting with Yangki Tshering‘s mother who is 74 but who looks as though life on a farm has worn her a bit more than her years. Yet, stooped over with a stiff back, she still works the farm. Simple yet quite content as she touches each of her prayer beads doing her Om Mani Padmi Hum’s on each, and still with a sharp sense of humor. After I took her photo I showed it to her on my phone. She replied that though she can usually eat a lot of rice, gesturing wide with her arms, after looking at her photo she will not be able to eat any rice this evening! Gotta love it.

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Category: Bhutan

06

March

0

Punakha Dzong

Tomorrow we are hosting the 5th annual Bhutan International Marathon and Half Marathon, the start line of the events are way up the river valley in remote Bhutan, and the finish line is at this Dzong. At the confluence of two rivers, this is my favorite view of the Punakha Dzong. You can see on the far right in the distance, a high and long suspension bridge that the runners get to experience during the race. Viewing one of these unique, historical Dzongs is reason alone to visit Bhutan. Each inch of the fortress is custom built, carved and painted. They are architectural art pieces placed in auspicious locations across the country. This is my 10th time in Bhutan and […]

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Category: Bhutan

06

March

0

Bhutan International Marathon and Half Marathon 2018

5th annual Bhutan international marathon and half marathon was, once again, wildly successful. With 419 total runners and 335 of those international participants, we have cemented ourselves as a top international destination marathon. I am a proud ‘mother of the marathon’ today.  

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Category: Bhutan

16

February

0

My (reluctant then jubilant!) Gardening Initiation

 I’m 56 and I’ve never really gardened. I’ve grown plants, sort of. Including an attempt at a tomato plant or two. This isn’t due to lack of interest perse, it is because there is only so much time in a day and I’ve never been lacking in finding other awesome ways to max out that time. But gardening is a grand way to commune with nature, you say. Prior to literally playing in the dirt, I’ve not had a shortage of getting down and dirty with nature! So gardening has always been on the back burner. Even though its February, ‘it’ thinks its spring here in Santa Cruz, so for the past month or so in the evenings I’ve headed […]

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Category: Adventure/Reflection

14

December

0

The Gift of Travel—Bhutan

     Its been 5 years since I first set foot in the iconic country of Bhutan. Significant events have transpired since that first life-changing day; Expedition Bhutan experienced the entire country west to east, a film was made of our journey—Crossing Bhutan, an international marathon and half marathon was created continues to thrive, two Bhutanese Expedition Bhutan team members have visited the U.S., fundraising efforts have supported women entrepreneurs in the country as well as the Bhutan Olympic Committee, and I’ve twice ridden one of the most grueling one-day cycling events on the planet. Over these past 5 years I’ve spent over a year living and volunteering in the country, making life-long friends while co-creating ever more initiatives which will help the country grow […]

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Category: Adventure

03

September

0

Tour of the Dragon, Recap—a Doozy!

In short—for several reasons which I’ll share, I only completed 120 of the brutal, 160 mile course. The good news is that I am quite pleased at having experienced lengthy, sustained muddy/rocky conditions that I have never encountered before (I LOVE ‘firsts’) and how I performed in these conditions. And that I got to experience the people and geography of my beloved Bhutan in the meticulous manner one enjoys on a bicycle. I found myself saying out loud multiple times as I pedaled, “This is a f%&*ing gorgeous country! I am so lucky to be here now.” The multitudes of cheering kids along the route were a happy bonus. Despite my slow speed due to a couple of factors, and […]

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Category: Adventure