Simply My Best: RSVPs coming in, very helpful

SIMPLY MY BEST

UPDATE: This was the website where we figured out what SMB would be. Then we created a new site for SMB 2014. Then, in March, 2014, we launched a REAL website for the event and our nonprofit called Pilot Butte Summit Seekers. Check it out...

WWW.PILOTBUTTESUMMITSEEKERS.ORG

Kind of cool to watch it change from something we literally made up as we went along to something that was built on the efforts of so many and actually planned to some degree. It will be fun to watch the new website take shape over the coming months.

Btw, if you haven't heard, SMB 2014 is May 10th!

Note: Many functions on this old site have been removed or disabled, but the blog remains as a record of the SMB journey.

Monday, March 18, 2013

RSVPs coming in, very helpful

As of tonight we have 11 RSVPs that have come in over this blog. Carol has a lot more verbal commitments, but she thinks those will soon come in via the blog as well. So we can focus for now on the 11. As a group they are aiming for a combined 51 round trips to the top. The range is from one to 12, with two or three being most common. This is definitely the type off info we need for planning and it is already helping, So far so good on the date as very few Saturdays were reported as potential problems. We are just so amazed by how fast this is taking off. Btw, we also have our first RSVP
from a runner. One big goal of this event is a broad diversity of participants. As I posted earlier, we are even seriously considering having dogs participate. We are also hoping for people with various illnesses and handicaps, along with other categories we haven't yet even imagined. Because of some of the constraints that just happen when you build an event through word-of-mouth, we won't be formally reaching out to different groups. It is more of a "Field of Dreams" approach. If we build it, they will come. Soon we will be spreading the word on the Base Trail and the track. So stay tuned. It will be interesting to see where we are at by the end of the week.

I'll try to keep most of my posts this week focused on the RSVPs because they are so important right now. But I will tease you by saying that we already have a lot of really good news to report on other fronts including the possibility of at least a couple high dollar sponsors. This thing is already starting to have a life of its own. In my experience, whenever that happens, you need to get ready for all of your hopes and expectations to be exceeded in a big way. I think we are going to have an amazing day on the Butte and, when we do, it will be for more reasons than you can possibly count.

Happy trails, Bill

THE INSIDE SCOOP

This is not your typical event. It is informal and casual by nature. We hope to never be out there aggressively spreading the word because we think the event will always have a certain magic if we let it grow at a natural pace. Plus, as we have already found, Pilot Butte itself is the perfect place to spread the word. Not only are there a lot of hikers who already know each other, we have really been surprised by how many regular hikers there are that we don't know. It is no accident that the parking area gets over 15,000 cars per month. People love Pilot Butte.

If you haven't yet noticed, this event is really set up to take what you already do and then make that an outstanding experience one day out of the year. It is almost more a celebration than anything else. So you just show up and hike, something you'd probably do anyway. There is no entry fee, no official start time, or anything like that. There have to be a few formalities, but we are doing our best to make them as painless and fun as possible. We are also focusing a lot on the social aspect of the event. We want the normal encouragement that people always experience on the Butte to become infectious and reach new heights. In other words, while this is a day in which it could be easier than most to hike a personal best on the Butte, the overall focus is still on having fun. Then, as a side benefit, we end up solving one of the problems that people are most concerned about on the Butte. So there is actually a kind of reward in place if you decide to go for a personal best that day. But you don't even need to do that. Hiking your normal distance, or even less, still helps us raise the funds we need. Your being there is what is most important.

As much as possible, SMB is what you need it to be. We purposely left the term "personal best" a little vague and we are glad we did. Some people have already indicated that they go by a different standard than what we had in mind. That's great and we are trying very hard to work them into the event.

In designing this event, we are kind of taking our lead from Pilot Butte's Century Club, now a 13 year old tradition on the Butte. It demonstrates the power that a simple idea can have. This event will be a big success if we can keep it simple for both the hikers and the organizers. So we invite you to come out and "hike your butt off on the Butte." You can RSVP by clicking here.