We all at some time have wondered what it would be like to walk in the shoes of a celebrity whether Hollywood star, Basketball star, Football star or my case an Xterra Pro. Recently, I had the awesome privilege of briefly witnessing the race life of Xterra Pro Athlete Dan Hugo during the 2008 Xterra Southeast Championship in Pelham, AL. Here’s my full account:
Dan Hugo, Justin Poland, Ruth Bird, Iris Poland
It was Friday, June 6, 2008 at the local Cahaba Cycles that I watched the work of an Xterra Pro Athlete unfold before my eyes. He had just finished assembling his Specialized Epic from the flight case that arrived with him after his 2nd place finish at the Xterra West Championships in Temecula, CA. I watched as he was explaining to the mechanic what needed to be tuned and ready for his effort on Sunday. Meanwhile, I couldn’t help but notice the young ladies accent that walked in with him. Instantly, I thought, this guy is a pro rider, there’s no way he’s an age grouper. So, I moved a little closer to the conversation that she was having with one of the salesman and I overheard the name Dan Hugo. There was buzz among the US Xterra community that this guy was new on the scene and was challenging Xterra legend Conrad Stoltz and I was going to witness his form first hand.
So, I started chatting with Ruth, who looked like a modest Abercrombie model, discovering that she was Dan’s girlfriend, manager, masseuse, cook and well….the list goes on. I also discovered that they were from South Africa, hence the accent, and that Dan was in the States to complete the US Xterra race circuit. Dan was here for redemption because this was the course that he broke his wrist last year ending his race season.
They were staying with random people that they were placed with through this underground “home stays” program that exist among Xterra circuit to make traveling more reasonable for the athletes. These free spirits didn’t seem bothered by that, this was life for them. I was amazed. They flew here from Cali not knowing who they were staying with. Then, they get in a car with a person that they’ve never met or trusted, at least that’s how I perceived it.
Anyways, I felt like I was in the presence of royalty. I know that’s ridiculous but hello, Pro Athlete from South Africa, how many times does this happen in an Americans lifetime, in Alabama. One thing led to another and Ruth had “sweet” talked me into running through the course with her on Sunday to video Dan, part of a “Sweet Love Creative” (the name of Ruth’s art expressions) production. Goosh, this was really happening! Saturday was filled with personal chores and now we were down to race day.
Iris (my wife) and I showed early because I was raving on and on about this couple that I had met from South Africa and in her words, she was ”not going to let me run through the woods with some random girl.” LOL! So Ruth and Iris met and it was decided that Iris would bring Ruth around the mountain bike course while I was responsible for getting footage of the Blood Rock section and the final part of the run course.
So, the race starts and we’re running around catching footage of Dan where we were able. Iris and Ruth were running in and out of the woods sometimes missing Dan by seconds because he was blazing. Meanwhile, I was waiting at Blood Rock to witness who would lead on the bike. When Dan reached the Blood Rock section he was leading Stoltz by about 30 seconds. Dan was leading the World Champion. This was just an exhilarating experience for me watching these guys throw-down. It was now time to witness the last part of the run.
We drive to the last section of the run course and setup for the final stretch of the race. We hear feet driving the ground and I look up to notice that those legs were too long for Dan’s stride. It was Stoltz. I was disappointed but kept my eyes peeled for the yellow Jeep logo and maybe 30 seconds later we hear more feet pounding the ground and I notice the Jeep logo on Dan’s shorts. “Come on Dan, he’s right there, go get him”, I said. Dan crossed the line in 2nd behind Stoltz. Ruth and Dan went for a swim in the lake to cool (use that term loosely) down in the 85 degree water and that was a work day for Dan in the books.
The race was over and now it was back to life for the free spirits. We went to Ruth and Dan’s “home stay” and loaded all their belongings into my truck to move to Craig Evan’s motor home for an early departure to Richmond, Virginia for the Xterra East Championships. After a brief stop by the Xterra after party at the Margarita Grill, it was time to part ways. So, we drove Ruth and Dan to their stay for the night and unloaded all their gear and said our goodbyes. This was the end to my vicarious Pro Athlete experience but the beginning of a great friendship.
The reason I felt the need to share this whole story is because of this preconception I had, thinking a pro athlete’s life was simply training, relaxing and racing. The traveling and logistics that I witnessed is enough to drive the average person to exhaustion and yet these athletes still toe the line to earn a check. My respect for them has grown exponentially.
My friend Dan will be toeing the line beside mentor and Xterra legend Conrad Stoltz, Sunday, October 5, 2008, in an attempt to prove that the US title belongs to him. Then, he will travel 16 days later to Maui for respect among Xterra’s best in the Xterra World Championships. Stay tuned to dghugo.com to watch the development of a World Champion.
