JUST GOIN' FOR A RUN
[Doodle Diaries is a series of true stories brought to life by illustration. These are real life anecdotes from my past. Names may or may not have been changed to protect the lives and dignity of the characters... and by characters, I mean friends and family. Enjoy!]The year had to have been 2000 or 2001. I was 18 or 19 years old, and it was a HOT, HOT summer. This particular summer day was over 100º outside. One of my best friends Rodney came over and we were going to go for a run in Garin Park, a hilly regional park that extends into the canyons of the East Bay Regional Parks system. As we were leaving my house, my mom is like -"Be careful you two, it's really hot out there."And I'm like -"LOL, you crazy mom! We're just goin' for a run. See you in a bit".
Rodney and I drive to the park, but leave our waters in the car for our return, because they were too big to carry while we ran. At this point, I don't think either of us had actually ever ran the trails at Garin Park. Probably our first mistake.We take off and it's a nice run. Probably a mile or two into the run, Rodney tells me to go ahead and that he'd catch up to me. Looking back on it now, this doesn't surprise me. Rodney was a sprinter, yes, but the cross country type? No. So I run up ahead of him. As I'm running, I'm kind of zoning out and lose track of time and distance. I realize that I don't think the trail has turned itself back around towards our starting point and I've just been running deeper and deeper into the canyon. At this point, I'm getting pretty tired, weak, and dehydrated. I remember a hiker a while back telling me that the trail will lead me up onto the top of the hills and lead me back to the starting point. So, reluctantly, I kept going in search of the trail leading me up to the top of the hills. I kept going... and going... until I reached a fence. On the other side of this fence? Houses. I now, officially had no idea where I was, let alone, what city I was in. I decided this must be a good time to run up the adjacent hill and try to find my way back. Half way up the hill I started to get extremely dizzy and had to stop and sit down. This was the first point that worry really started to set in. I kept thinking -"Shit, I'm miles and miles away from the start and our water. I'm in the middle of a canyon with no idea which way to go. And Rodney is no where to be found."This was not good. My Mom's voice played in my head..."Be careful you two! It's really hot out there."Oh my God, my mom was right! I decided the best course of action would be to just retrace my steps. I'd go slow and I'm bound to run into Rodney. About half a mile into my backtracking, I ran into something else.
However, in my dehydrated, slightly delirious, and now paranoid state of mind, I swear I saw this:
So now it's a staring contest. We stare at each other, and on this day my friends, the beast won. So now, unable to retrace my steps, and unable to climb the hill, I decided to go back the half mile to the fence and try my luck in the residential area. I hop the fence and start walking through whatever neighborhood this is. Desperate for water, and I mean desperate! I see some sprinklers that were on in someone's front yard, and I just go for it.
Not my proudest moment, but hey, you do what you gotta do. I needed to somehow get back to our starting point. As I travel through the neighborhood, I finally come to a main street. I realize I'm on Mission Blvd., the main street we took to get to Garin Park. There's just one thing. Garin Park is in Hayward. I was now in Fremont. Probably a good 5-7 miles from where I needed to be. So I start walking up Mission Blvd. I really don't know how I'm going to make it back at this point. I keep thinking about the huge hill we drove up to get into the park and can't imagine walking up that. I'm so tired and really feel like passing out. Then, I see something that might just save my life.
So I hop over to Jack n' the Crack and ask for a water cup and spend about 10 minutes at the drink dispenser re-hydrating. At this point, I'm thinking I might be able to make the 5 mile trek back to Garin Park, but it's really been hours since we started our run. The sun is going to start to go down soon. Rodney must be freaking out. That or he just went home. So I need to get back to the park ASAP. So I do what any other 18-19 year old would do at the time. I called my Mom... collect.She's there in about 5 minutes to pick me up. We're at Garin Park in another 5 minutes. Only, Rodney isn't at his car. The water jugs are right where we left them...full. He's not answering his phone. So I'm walking around the park, yelling Rodney's name. Nothing. I'm wondering if the bull got him! Maybe he's passed out somewhere. Snake bite? Mountain Lion?And then, in the distance, as the sun is starting to set... I see a figure.
Rodney!!! Dru!!! We did one of those hugs you see in movies where we're both running towards each other in slow motion. We thought we might never see each other again.
After that, we went back to Rodney's house and ate sandwiches.The End.- Dru