Simply My Best: Switching gears

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.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Switching gears

Thank you everyone for being so patient as we got the nuts and bolts of this new event figured out. It is starting to feel like we have our act together! We now have the date set, a brochure that is good enough for this year, a webpage/blog that is working and much easier to navigate, etc. We also have a lot of RSVPs, more than I would have ever thought possible by now. That's good because the RSVP's are extremely important. If you haven't RSVP'd yet, please do so as soon as possible.

In addition to all of that, we have a growing list of people who want to help out and even some surprise donations. So many people have been asking if we will have Gatorade that I just decided to go directly to Nuun, a company that makes a cool electrolyte replacer that would be perfect for this event. I am hoping to hear back from them soon and will keep you posted. Our first volunteer meeting will take place soon and fundraising kicks into high gear on Monday.

Part of the reason for making changes in the blog was to help people who want to track the progress of this event. The blog itself is now closer to the top of the page. Also, there is a new section at the bottom of the page where we will be listing our sponsors as we get written commitments from them. The only reason no one is listed now is because we didn't have the form ready when the surprise donations started happening. So sponsors should start appearing on the list very soon.

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.