Greetings from Verbier, Switzerland

Marshall, his daughter Ali (17), and I departed the States on July 2 and spent a few days in Chamonix, France. One evening Marshall and Ali were able to go up gondola that goes out of Chamonix up to the Aiguille du Midi and make the short hike over to the refuge/refugio/hut (which are very nice, including a served dinner and breakfast) where climbers launch their summit attempts for Mount Blanc. They enjoyed a nice dinner and some conversation with climbers from around the world. The next morning dawned clear – the first clear day we had since arriving – but the recent snow (rain down below in town) made avalanche conditions too severe to make a summit attempt safe. They still wanted to make the most of the beautiful day, so they hiked over to the Italy side of the massive, which took them about 3 hours, then rode the gondola back over to the France side, and then the main gondola back down into Chamonix. So, Ali got some mountaineering experience in the Alps! Later in the evening, after their return, Marshall presented her with a gold ice ax necklace as a souvenir of the experience – something that she’ll hopefully treasure forever. On July 8 we came over to Chamonix for Marshall to start coaching at the Olympian training camp for Betsy Magee prior to the Verbier Ultra Run. Various runners, doctors, coaches and a personal trainer – from France, Kenya, Morocco, and the U.S. – were involved with the camp, which was a huge success. Ali has had a very interesting time making friends with the young runners from around the world as well as local Swiss and French folks. She even learned out to write her name in Arabic! Today was race day – a beautiful, if a bit hot, day in the Swiss Alps. Marshall ran the 20K and “hosted” (ran with) a runner who was a rep from Garamond, a Frenchman who had never run such a race before. They were able to finish the difficult course in about 2.5 hours, which was a good experience for both of them. Ali worked at an aid station with the personal trainer, a woman from the U.S. who has been wonderful with Ali, so I think Ali had a good first experience working at an ultra. Certainly she couldn’t beat the view! Jackton, the coach from Kenya (many of you donated shoes for his runners), won the 20K race in just over 1.5 hours. Vincent Delebar, from Chamonix – who had been Marshall’s guide for his successful climb of Mount Blanc last year, and had taken Marshall on several long sections of the Tour de Mount Blanc – won the 60K race in about 5.5 hours. The final runners for the long race just finished, about 9 hours after the 8 a.m. start. Tomorrow we are off to Zermatt, at the foot of the Matterhorn, for a few days. What a blessed life we lead. We are grateful, as always.

Thank you again for checking in, and… keep an eye out for our 2007 fundraising letter for the Religious Teachers Filippini. This year, the Sisters are using Marshall attempt at a record 20th crossing of Death Valley (yes, that’s right, he has already crossed the Valley 19 times, and will be going for 20 crossing starting on July 24th at the Badwater Ultramarathon) as a vehicle for their fundraising. To those of you who may have already donated, related to the Stray Dogs third place finish at the Gobi March, thank you! For the rest of you, watch for more in your (snail) mail, e-mail, and here on Marshall’s blog. As always 100 percent of your donation goes directly to the women and kids!