By Julie Piatt

Today marks day 30 of my experiment using ASEA – a new and revolutionary product that harnesses the power of redox signaling molecules to optimize cellular health. My husband Rich Roll has been using this product as part of his endurance nutrition and wellness program for some time now – in fact it has become a key component in his training preparation for the Ultraman World Championships in November. He even flew to Salt Lake City to learn about the science of the product and the inner workings of the company.

For a detailed run through on the science behind ASEA, and Rich’s first hand experience with both the product, the people behind the company, and his visit to ASEA HQ in Salt Lake City a few months back, please read his blog post on the subject HERE.

Long story short – Rich believes in it, has experienced positive results in his athletic performance as a result of consistent usage and so I thought it was high time I check it out myself.

Unlike Rich, I’m not an endurance athlete. Nor am I one to cram my head with a ton of scientific details. My brain is quite full as it is. Rich loves the science. He needs it. But my style is quite different. My approach more intuitive. I like to feel things out, monitor how I feel, and make adjustments accordingly. This has been my approach to vegan nutrition, and in fact to most everything in my life.

As for some personal background, I have suffered from severe migraine intensity headaches consistently over the last 15 years. I have tried all the prescription migraine medications and have even visited a variety Neurologists in an effort to find some relief. But I have yet to find anything to fend off or cure this debilitating malady that has often leaves me bedridden for days at a time.

The migraines have been worse at certain times in my life, like during my four pregnancies. And migraines are almost ALWAYS triggered monthly around my menses. Some months are easier than others but I almost always get some version of a severe headache at a minimum every four weeks. I used to take Imitrex. But it did little beyond some mild pain management and making me feel very lousy for days. So I no longer use prescription medications. Over the last couple of years, I generally treat them with at least 8 Advil, an ice pack and a strong Coca Cola to take the edge off. It provides some mild pain management, but its hardly a cure. And I have never been able to find anything to help me eliminate them. Its been a reactive process of simply trying to minimize the damage when I feel one coming on.

These headaches affect my entire system and I can feel it connected to some activity in my sacrum. In short, my entire spinal column is rattled and my nervous system is stressed. I usually have to retreat to bed for several hours to get the pain under control.

I am an avid yogi. Meditation and yoga poses are an integral part of my daily life. But even with this practice, the headaches kept coming. Yoga did free me from being attached or associated with the pain precipitated by the migraines. Instead, I have become “an observer” to them. I also can use some powerful healing techniques including my own meditation program which I practice daily, which assists me in non-identification with the pain. I know they are energetic openings that are related to the glandular system, which is directly connected to the hormones. All this has really given me emotional freedom. But not physical freedom. They just keep coming.

Like I said, Rich has been drinking ASEA for several months now and has been noticing an increase in his training performance and recovery between workouts. After he returned from his trip to ASEA headquarters, he was very very enthusiastic. Not just about the effects of ASEA on athetic performance, but on overall cellular heath and wellness. This got my attention as he is not interested in pushing products, and had declined previous opportunities to become involved with an MLM company.

Later that week. I felt a migraine coming on. I had 8 Advil in my hand and suddenly I remembered, ASEA. So I put the Advil back and drank a 4 oz dose of ASEA. I figured I’d try it and then take the Advil in 20 minutes. Then I went to get the kids ready for school. An hour later, I suddenly noticed that my migraine was 100% GONE. That was pretty remarkable. In my experience, once I feel the onset of a migraine, it ALWAYS and INEVITABLY comes on like a tsunami. What it doesn’t do – EVER – is just disappear, Advil or no Advil. Imitrex or no Imitrex.

Wow, no headache. Amazing! Following that episode, I had a second experience where I diverted the migraine altogether by drinking ASEA.

At this point, I decided I had had enough positive experience to start drinking the ASEA daily as directed – a 4oz dose in morning and a 2oz dose at night. Today is my 30th day drinking ASEA daily and guess what? Not one headache in four weeks! That is really nothing short of a miracle for me.

I am really pleased and grateful. So, I’m going to embark on month two.
I will continue to meditate and practice yoga and eat healthy vegan as is our way of life. This keeps me strong, balanced and authentic to my creative SELF. Having ASEA as a support to this lifestyle of wellness will free me from physical suffering that I really don’t need to experience any longer. Even if in the end it helps me to avert even half of the migraine episodes, that is a huge life enhancement. I’ll be sure to report back after month two. And in the meantime, maybe I’ll read the science?

If you are interested in learning more about ASEA or to order some for yourself, click HERE.

In deep love and respect for all life,

I wish you JAI or Victory in your life!

Julie

UPDATE: Due to the fact that we mistakenly previously scheduled the workshop for Mother’s Day on May 8, we have decided to reschedule it to Sunday, May 29, 2011. Please note the correction!!

Interested in a plant-based whole food diet? Want to transforming your life through better nutrition, heightened wellness, meditation and yoga? Or maybe you just want to learn how to eat properly, lose some weight and feel great?

Then please join vegan artist, chef and healer Julie Piatt and her ultra-endurance athlete husband Rich Roll at the Jai House on Sunday May 8 May 29, 2011 for a rare afternoon wellness workshop specifically designed to help you take that transitionary leap to a more healthy lifestyle.

PROGRAM:

Presentation by Rich Roll on how plant-based nutrition radically changed his life and empowered him to become the successful ultra-athlete he is today. He will tell his story of transformation from overweight couch potato to age-defying athletic prowess, enduring some of the most intense endurance challenges on the planet. He will show you first hand how he does it and answer all your questions about nutrition, superfoods, fitness and balancing his family life and profession against his passion for endurance sports.

Learn how to optimize your health through tasty and creative cooking and nutritional instruction led by Julie and designed to help you transition to a plant-based whole food diet and lifestyle. With her approach to food as fuel and energetic frequency for the body temple, Julie will will prepare dishes and superfood recipes from our JAI SEED Vegan Cookbook as well as new recipes — quick and easy to prepare, cost effective, delicious and nutritious.

A delicious gourmet plant-based whole food lunch;

An instructional yoga class led by Julie designed to firm the body and center the mind; and

Instruction and practice of Julie’s soon to be released JAI FREEDOM meditation program, including techniques designed to calm the soul and actualize the true self within.

The workshop is designed for everybody — athletes and the sedentary alike. You don’t have to be an ultra-triathlete like Rich to attend and benefit. You just have to want to break old patterns and transform your life.

DETAILS:

The cost is $180. All attendees must pre-pay via PayPal to rich@indielawgroup before May 4 May 23. Space is limited. However, if for some reason we receive less than 10 pre-enrollments, the event will be cancelled and your funds returned.

Upon pre-payment, you will receive an e-mail with the address, directions and additional pertinent information. We are located in the Malibu Canyon area of Los Angeles, about half-way between Malibu and Calabasas – equally accessible via PCH or the 101 Fwy.

Dress is casual, but please bring loose fitting comfortable attire for the yoga and meditation program, as well as a towel and yoga mat if you have one.

We hope to see you there!

By: Rich Roll

Following up on my blog post on richroll.com last week discussing my partnership with Franco Bikes, I put together this groovy video to take you behind the scenes a bit.

I discuss my new relationship with Franco partners Julian and Hector, check in on the bike build across the street at Wins Wheels, get a Retul fit and take you out on the road with me. It was super fun making the video. I hope you dig it.

Long story short – I love my new custom bike. Light, stiff in all the right places, springs on the climbs, responsive, spry and yet still very comfortable. Plus the baddest paint job ever. Everything I was hoping for and more. Thanks Franco.

For more information on Franco Bikes, visit their WEBSITE, FACEBOOK and TWITTER.

Or just give them a call at 818.865.8226. More likely than not, Julian or Hector will actually pick up the phone themselves. For the full background on who these guys are and why I decided to partner with them, again check out my recent post on richroll.com.

Heres a snapshot of my ride on Strava – check it out. And for those not familiar with Strava, its a fun way to log and share your rides with friends. It even tracks climbs and segments via GPS, making it easy to chart your progress over time and against others. But careful, its addictive!

And here it is again, Garmin style. Odd how the data is slightly different.

See you out on the road.

About a year and half ago, my friend Timothy Harrington started bugging me, doing his best to convince me to try this new product he was involved with called ASEA.

“Sorry buddy. Never heard of it. Not interested.” I politely replied, rejecting the offer.

“Just take a look. Studies on athletes have shown that it can significantly increase aerobic capacity in endurance athletes and decrease recovery time between workouts. I think this could really benefit you.”

Whatever. I’ve heard it many times before, and I’ll hear it again, I’m sure. Just another new product hitting the market making claims it simply can’t support. Anyone who knows me knows that I am incredibly particular about my nutrition – an intense pickiness that extends beyond my whole food plant-based diet to the supplements I choose to incorporate into my daily routine. In fact, I do my best to keep my dietary supplements down to a bare minimum – only taking into my body that which is absolutely required to ensure my system gets what it needs; what I might have overlooked due to dietary restrictions; or what I may need to enhance recovery due to heavy training. And the supplements I do use are generally organic and plant-based as opposed to chemical in composition — things like EFA Oil, plant-based protein powders, Chlorophyll, spirulina, and L-Glutamine. But that’s pretty much it, other than the plant-based recovery elixir I have been developing with Ascended Health. So I can’t say I was exactly open to trying a new product I not only had never heard of, but whose only active ingredient was also something I had never heard of – redox signaling molecules.

What is Redox Signaling?

I’m not a doctor. But I was pre-med for two years at Stanford, where I studied human biology and organic chemistry. And so to a limited degree, I know a few things. But redox signaling molecules? What the heck is that? I chalked it up to creative marketing, cryptically dressing up what clearly was nothing more than the latest snake oil with some half-baked scientific labeling mumbo-jumbo. Tim’s a nice guy, but I wasn’t buying. Thanks but no thanks.

But Tim persisted. Just try it, he urged, following up by sending me a litany of research materials and scientific studies performed by disinterested third parties on the science behind redox signaling and reactive molecules. I read them all, then did my own research. Its very complex stuff, indeed. But I’ll do my best to explain what I learned in the most simplistic of terms.

Let’s start at the beginning. The human body is made up of somewhere in the range of 100 trillion cells. Within each cell are mitochondria, which are responsible for the creation of energy by way of what is called the Krebs Cycle. This process entails the conversion of glucose to ATP. The byproducts of the Krebs Cycle along the Electron Transport Chain are what are known as redox signaling molecules (“RSM”). Originally, scientists perceived these byproducts as metabolic waste – oxidants and reductants that must be purged from the cell in order to remain healthy. However, current research suggests otherwise. That in fact a proper homeostatic balance of oxidants and reductants is absolutely necessary for maintaining cellular health, including virtually all of the functions of the immune system and tissue regeneration response. In the most simplistic terms, they provide a means by which cells participate in intra- and inter-cellular damage-control communications, activation of antioxidants, cellular protection and defense against toxins and free radicals, and in the healing response. The human body is constantly working to maintain cellular health by balancing these redox signaling molecules to rid the body of harmful components and to clean up the oxidative stress and free radical damage that occurs at the cellular level, while simultaneously ensuring the cell’s ability to maintain proper communication with its environment. When these reactive molecules are in the proper balance, the immune system and healing process function at their optimal level.

Virtually all disease and bodily challenges are caused by what is called oxidative stress – a increasingly salient reality of living in modern times attributable to a wide variety of factors, including sun damage, excessive exercise, electromagnetic radiation, food additives and preservatives, x-ray radiation, prescription drugs, heavy metals, stress, anxiety, air & water pollution, lack of sleep, and toxic industrialized chemicals to name a few. These factors cause our cells to produce an excess of oxidants in comparison to reductants – thus throwing off the cell’s homeostatic balance of RSMs and promoting the proliferation of harmful free radicals. But this imbalance is how the cell detects damage and is signaled to repair itself. The immune system is summoned, prompting repair, or replacement of the cell via mitosis (cell division) of a neighboring healthy cell. Without this excess of oxidants indicating oxidative stress, the cell wouldn’t know to reach out for restorative help. Too many oxidants leads to a proliferation of damaged cells. But too few oxidants impairs the cell’s ability to signal an immune response and to repair damage. Therefore, balance – homeostasis – is key.

However, chronic oxidative stress leads to a proliferation of free radicals that unless neutralized, lead to cell damage that will continue to worsen – damaging the cell walls, vessel walls, proteins, fats and even the DNA nucleus of our cells — until the cell can no longer properly function. The result advances the aging of tissues, leading to poor health and the potentiality for degenerative disease.

It is for this reason that we are constantly inundated with the health benefits of anti-oxidants. The idea is that these molecules combat the proliferation of free radicals in an effort to bring the cell back to healthy homeostasis. But herein lies the rub. First, most antioxidant supplements are molecules far too large to pass through the cell wall, averaging about 200 atoms in diameter. Therefore, most (some scientists estimate about 90%) are denied entry to the place where they are needed most – inside the cell where the free radicals are found. Second, one anti-oxidant molecule is empowered to combat one free radical molecule before becoming essentially inert. It is thus a 1:1 ratio. However, the body generally harbors about 100 sextillion free radicals a day. That’s a heck of a lot! Due to this restrictive 1:1 ratio, scientific studies show that your body can’t possibly ingest enough antioxidants to eliminate the number of free radicals your body makes every day. For example, you would have to eat 32 pounds of strawberries, 31 pounds of raspberries, AND 15 pounds of dark chocolate per day to achieve the antioxidant power that it would take to eliminate the free radicals that are created naturally in the body.

ASEA

This is where ASEA comes in – as the first and only RSM supplement. As stated above, stable RSMs are central to the body’s healing mechanisms, mediating multiple cellular defense, repair & replacement signaling pathways. ASEA purports to have determined a completely stable, balanced, bio-available and entirely non-toxic formula of RSMs native to the body that can effectively penetrate the cell wall (unlike most anti-oxidant supplements), efficiently combat free radicals, stimulate the body’s production of its own anti-oxidant defenses, and stabilize the proper homeostasis of oxidants to reductants to optimize cellular communication, repair, and replacement, thus enhancing the body’s ability to properly function, recover, and simply work as designed.

Moreover, independent studies show that ASEA when in contact with living cells increased the efficiency of some of our body’s most important native antioxidants inside living cells – such as glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase (SOD) — more than 500%. In other words, ASEA is purported to significantly stimulate the cell’s own production of the master antioxidants inside the cells without causing an inflammatory immune system response. What does this mean? It means that the body becomes empowered to neutralize approximately 70,000,000 free radicals per second — the rate at which native Glutathione Peroxidase is able to process oxidative free radicals. Quite an improvement over the results that can be achieved by a diet rich in anti-oxidants.

But let me be clear on one point that is likely on your mind. ASEA is not a vitamin, mineral, juice, or antioxidant. And yet it is not a drug either, having received the clean certificates of analysis required by the UCI, the organization that coordinates and monitors doping in cycling. There is nothing in ASEA that could possibly be classified as a banned substance. Period. Again, ASEA is entirely non-toxic and native to the body. In fact, it doesn’t force the body to do anything it wouldn’t ordinarily do. It’s not a cure to anything, and is not a replacement for proper nutrition. It merely enhances the body’s innate ability to repair itself. The company describes the product as follows:

“ASEA is the world’s first and only Redox Signaling Molecular Supplement based on over 16 years of scientific research, 23 patents and approximately $17 million in research. ASEA is a proprietary blend of naturally occurring reactive molecules in a salt-water solution derived from a patented redox balanced process. This unique patented electro-chemical process rearranges the salt-water solution constituent components into a beneficial mixture that is critical to proper balanced cellular chemistry in the body…enabling the immune system to function at its optimal level. The ASEA salt-water solution is the same solution found in every cell in the human body.”

The purported benefits of ASEA extend to athletic performance. ASEA studies on athletes demonstrate:

* An increase in athletic endurance, as measured by time to ventilatory threshold and time to VO2max , by more than 10% on average;
* A 10% increase in the athlete’s ability to sustain maximum threshold
* A reduction in heart rate in some cases, evidencing an increase in aerobic capacity;
* A reduction in soreness, inflammation and recovery time; and
* An increase in lactate flushing by 5-10%.

Granted, these are studies conducted by ASEA. So it’s not surprising that the findings were positive. Additional double-blind studies on ASEA’s effects on athletic performance are currently in motion under the authority of highly reputable third party laboratories, so I anxiously await those results.

Fine. All well and good on paper. At least enough to convince me to give it a try. So about a year ago – a short while before ASEA was even officially introduced to the marketplace — I relented and Tim sent me a crate of the stuff. At first taste, I have to say I was not impressed. The stuff tastes like pool water. But I agreed to give it an honest go, my expectations limited at best. 4 ounces twice a day. Bear in mind that my first-hand findings are hardly scientific – purely anecdotal in fact. Not a variable-free double-blind study by any stretch. But I have to say that I did find that my training kicked into high gear. I was recovering rapidly between workouts, despite a very heavy load averaging around 20-25 hours per week, particularly in the lead up to EPIC5. I did not get sick, injured or overly fatigued. I just got stronger. My power on the bike continued to escalate, and I did not experience the weariness I had suffered this same month of training the year prior. To double check, I went through my training logs from the previous season and evaluated where I stood in comparison. To be certain, I understand that there are other factors at play – having only been competing in endurance sports for a few years, it is to be expected that I would continue to improve, particularly as I learned more about how to perfect my nutrition. But the gains exceeded what I anticipated, and this was reflected in my periodic lactate tests, which give me an accurate window into my true physical condition.

And so I continued to use the product. I trained for EPIC5 on ASEA. And have been using it consistently ever since. I realize there will be naysayers and doubters out there. I don’t blame you. I was definitely one of them. But I do believe that I am realizing tangible performance gains as a result of consistent use, most noticeably in my ability to recover between workouts.

Despite my inner conviction of the benefits of the product, I remained reluctant to speak publicly about my experience until I could better understand the science behind ASEA. So I reached out to the company’s higher-ups, and recently flew out to their corporate HQ in Salt Lake City to learn more. Despite the gains I knew I had reaped by using the product, I still had many doubts. But I spent several hours meeting with Dr. Gary Samuelson, the scientific mind behind ASEA. A PhD in Atomic/Medical Physics from the University of Utah with a specialization in the emerging field of redox signaling science, Gary patiently walked me through the biochemistry and the research conducted in the field, with respect to ASEA and the field of research in general. I was impressed, leaving my meeting with Dr. Samuelson even more satisfied that my anecdotal findings are indeed on par with the scientific underpinnings of the product. If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Samuelson’s perspective on redox signaling, you can read his book, The Science of Healing Revealed—New Insights into Redox Signaling.

But there was one more thing I needed to address. The fact that ASEA is structured as a multi-level marketing company – a network marketing business model often associated with sham products, shady business practices, disingenuous sales tactics and improbable promises of wealth to naive sales associates. If there was anything I did not want to be involved with, it was a shady business; and MLM’s don’t exactly have the best reputation. My guard was up. However I spent several hours with the management team, including CEO Verdis Norton and left with a few key insights. First, ASEA is essentially a family run business. Verdis’ team includes his two sons Jon and Tyler, as well as his daughter Nancy – all people I have come to respect and hold in high regard, not just for their business acumen, but as human beings. Second, it is an enterprise in which ethics and morals are not just given lip service, but are the very foundation of their corporate culture. I honestly believe their primary goal is to help people by improving health and empowering the individual. To be certain, ASEA is a business for profit. But I know that there is a much higher purpose at play that motivates the Nortons far beyond the promise of a dollar.

Over the last year, I have been approached by many nutrition and supplement companies seeking my endorsement. Each and every time I have said no. Usually because the products just simply don’t live up to their purported benefits. I can’t in good conscience promote a message of optimal wellness and endorse a product that contains chemicals, preservatives, GMOS’s or synthetic sugars, even if it is technically “vegan” or tied to some evidence of short-term performance benefit. And quite frankly, I didn’t want to feel obligated to promote something – I’d rather choose the foods and nutrition that suit me, and freely share my objective perspective with whoever is interested without the tether of obligation. But with ASEA I believe I have found a product I can stand behind 100%. For these reasons, I feel I can wholeheartedly and proudly endorse this product – my first formal endorsement of a nutritional product as an athlete.

Again, I urge all of you to do your own research and draw your own conclusions. I’m not asking anyone to take my word for it. But if you are inclined, here are a few links you might find interesting:

* ASEA Independent Quality Assurance Declaration
* ASEA Endurance Trial
* Reactive Molecule Verification
* ASEA Safety Report
* Bicycle.net — Product Review
* Road Bike Action Magazine — Product Review

And if you are satisfied with your findings and wish to give ASEA a try, here’s how. Just click HERE and follow the easy steps to order.

I look forward to your thoughts. I will continue to share my thoughts and I hope you will too.

ULTRAMAN 2009

By: Julie Piatt

Crewing for my Ultraman husband Rich Roll’s 2009 double ironman race on the Big Island of Hawaii was one of the most epic experiences of my life. It forever shaped me as an individual and it shaped us both as life partners and all of us as a family. It was big moment for us, akin to the birth of all of our children and our wedding day.

I am deeply grateful that I was able to experience this race as his team member and wife along with our two sons, Tyler and Trapper. I have managed many tasks in my lifetime that require the ability to function at a high level under stress. I have worked along side Rich in various creative endeavors. We even shot a movie together when I was 4 cm dilated expecting our now six-year-old daughter Mathis. How much harder could crewing for Ultraman be? I figured we would work it out all right. My spiritual awareness that consciousness is taking care of all things pretty much puts me in the flow of life. But, in the aftermath, I must honestly concede that I had no concept of what I was in for and what would be required of my crewmembers and me over this three-day race around the Big Island. Fasten your seatbelts…

WHAT IS ULTRAMAN?

I’ve heard of Ironman. But what is Ultraman? Well, it’s a 3 day double-ironman distance triathlon that circumnavigates the entire Big Island of Hawaii. Day 1 is a 6.2 mile swim from Kailua Pier to Keahou, followed by a 90 mile bike up to Volcano National Park. Day 2 is a 170 mile bike around the southeastern side of the Island, up through Hilo and Waimea and finishing in Hawi on the northwest corner of the Island. Day 3 culminates with a 52.4 mile run from Hawi along the searing hot lava Field back to Kailua-Kona.

THE BACKSTORY

It was November 1st and we were celebrating our six year old daughter Mathis’ birthday one and a half months early so Rich could be at her party before departing for Hawaii. Mathis was born on December 17th, and we always celebrate early to avoid the excess of having a birthday one week before Christmas. It was truly a touched day, complete with a “Ganesh” cake that I created for her at her request. I have always made the birthday cakes for the children. They know that every year, they get a piece of art, as cake especially for them in the design of their choice. She had set the stage for the beginning of the journey by calling in Ganesh, the part boy part elephant Indian deity; the remover of obstacles and Lord of new beginnings. We had children representing all the colors of the rainbow. It was truly a sweet moment when all the children gathered around as the boys and I sang some of Mathis’ favorite songs from my soon to be released CD, called “SEED.” It was a day of unity.

Rich’s flight out of LA to Kona was on November 2nd. I drove Rich to the airport so he could catch his flight out that would deliver him three weeks early to train on the Big Island in preparation for Ultraman 2009. He would be staying with Jason Lester for a couple weeks. Jason is an amazing ultra endurance athlete who won an ESPY earlier this year for “Best Male Athlete With a Disability” – Jason has only one functional arm and is an inspiration to many. Rich and Jason had become fast friends after Ultraman last year.

I kissed Rich goodbye curbside. We both cried tears of joy for the depth of our experience over the past three years especially. The trials we had experienced were deeply profound and now we were emerging, reborn from the ashes — a little wounded and tired, but renewed nonetheless and feeling extremely grateful for it all. This race was going to be a pivotal moment in our journey not only for Rich, but as a family and we both knew it.

Miraculously, Abby, an amazing cellist, who played on two tracks of SEED, agreed to move in with me and help me with the kids while Rich was away. It worked out perfectly as she was in between living spaces. This was a huge support and we all got along really well.

The weeks passed by and Jason Lester and Rich were posting awesome YouTube videos on nutrition and plant based diets. Jason miraculously was able to put weight on his paralyzed arm for the first time ever. He was riding out of the saddle! The plant-based nutrition was definitely supporting him. The training was going really well and Rich loved the Big Island although he was missing us a lot. With three weeks left before the race, he still had no crew. And for the uninitiated, with a race like Ultraman your crew is everything. Each competitor requires a crew and a van to ride alongside the athlete to provide nutrition, encouragement, and mechanical and logistical support. In short, you simply cannot compete effectively without an experienced crew to support you over the 3-day race. I kept telling him to let go and have faith that someone would show up for him, but he was really starting to stress. In hindsight, I now, offer to Rich, “Okay, I had no idea, you should have been totally freaking out. Sorry about that.”

Rich had been very clear that he did not want me on his crew. He had said that it gets very intense and he didn’t want anything to adversely affect our relationship. Two and one half weeks out with no crew, he had a change of heart. He called me and said, “ Babe, I really need you. “ “ Yeah, I’m there, I replied.” I seriously wasn’t worried at all. I was excited to be with him over the three days and be a part of his experience, which had consumed much of our lives over the past two years.

I am not athletic in any way. I would never run a mile or swim laps or bike anywhere. I don’t “work out”. But I do practice yoga and that is what connects me and gives me that ability to embody life force. A side effect is that I am in great physical shape. When Rich jumps out to train, I am most often at home with the kids cooking. We test out our new recipes while he is out on an all day ride. When he gets home, he gets a recovery blend from the Vita-Mix and then later, we all eat dinner together. Crewing for him would mean that I would get a view of his process that I had never seen.

I had to figure out what to do with the girls. They are very bonded to me and I needed someone to cover them for me so I could be completely available for Rich. This needed to be someone who they loved. Otherwise, they would be begging me to come home. Something I didn’t want to be feeling during the race. I wanted to be there for Rich 500%.

Two months earlier, In mid September, I had attended a spiritual meeting with Chief Golden Eagle of the Lakota Star Nations in Phoenix Arizona. During the meeting, we received codes or what is called the living light language of the 13th Dimensional beings that are believed to be Whales. I met a girl there named Nicole. She is a Mother of two children ages 4 and 12. Nicole works with foster children as well as autistic and challenged kids. She really made a big impression on me and we had spoken on the phone a few times since the workshop. Nicole had mentioned to me that she really wanted to go to the Big Island and would love to find a way to come to Ultraman to support us.

On November 13th, I called her and she said she was fully in for whatever we needed. I shared with her that we still had no crew. I would drive and one of our sons would help out but we had no one else. She reminded me of a man I had met at the end of the spiritual conference, Alan Blackburn. She told me that she thought he was our guy. He had worked with Chief Golden Eagle and lived with him for over a year. He also was on a search and rescue fire squad and he was a steel worker. Alan had also wanted to go to the Big Island and he volunteered to get himself there and be in full service for whatever we needed.

There was no talk from Nicole or Alan of how many hours they would work or where they would sleep — only a complete offering of full service. Throughout the entire race and before and afterward, they never wavered. They worked tirelessly doing whatever needed to be done. And they were completely grateful to be there with us all. They were a complete blessing to us.

THE NUMBER 13

The spiritual significance of the number 13 is rebirth, transformation and renewal. It is the number that the Mayan Calendar is based on. The 13 dimensional living light codes are given from the whale beings.

The number 13 played a significant role in the entire race. Our crew came forward on the 13th of November, 13 days before our departure. The entire crew would be people that had been given the 13 Dimensional living light code transmissions from Chief Golden Eagle. Even Mike Field, the paddler who was not at the meeting and did not receive the codes from the Chief, is a whale rider who lives on the Big Island. Yes, he actually rides whales. He paddles into the ocean and grabs their tales and hangs on…so, if I had to bet, I would wager that he has them.

The number 13 signifies the return to the ONE. It is manifestation into form. It is the 12 dimensions folding in on each other becoming a thirteenth which is the ONE.

At the farmers market the Saturday before we left, I ran into Compton Rom Bada, the founder of Ascended Health. Ascended Health is the cutting edge nutrition company that is sponsoring Rich and Jason Lester. I shared with Compton the significance of the number 13. He told me, no coincidence, but the endurance drink he had mixed for Rich had exactly 13 herbs in it.

Later we all learned that Chief Golden Eagle, Compton and I all have a deep connection with a multidimensional being named Grandma Chandra. She has provided healing and support for us all. She works closely with the whales.

THE JOURNEY

We all got on the same flight from LA. Driving to the airport, I was overcome with emotion and gratitude for this journey and the support of virtually complete strangers that had stepped up for us. We traveled like a large tribe, everyone taking care of the children and laughing and having a great time.

When we arrived on the island, my adrenals were fried. I had exhaustion beyond exhaustion. Jaya, our two year old had screamed the entire flight. She wanted to be naked and not wear her seatbelt. She wasn’t having any of it. I felt Rich’s energy and he was beyond anxiety. He could barely hug me. His energy felt like an explosive volcano. I knew that on one level none of this made sense. We had no idea what we were doing. Alan and I went to a quick tire changing clinic the night before we left. But I knew I would be of no help in that arena. Our flight arrived after the crew meeting where you are briefed on virtually everything and anything. None of us knew what we were doing. Rich would have to fill in the blanks as much as possible.

We got the kids and Nicole to the hotel and quickly changed. I drank some blue green algae –and it restored me so at least I could focus. I told the boys that Rich may snap at me, and that there was so much on the line with this race. They should not even pay attention. We all agreed that over the next three days, no one could take anything personally.

When we all sat down for our briefing, Rich was a perfect gentleman and motivating coach. He told us that we in effect would be racing Ultraman and that without us he could not finish the race. We were now a team, JAI ULTRA. He had prepared all the information for us and we went through it a piece at a time, trying to absorb as much as possible. As I watched him in that meeting, I saw him in a different light; I recognized for the first time, that he was a “pro”. He was in his dharma doing what God had always intended for him. I was completely in awe, and I now realized where he had come in the past two years. He had touched down into his soul and he was operating in his higher SELF. He made us all want to do the very best for him not only because he is the love of my life and the Father of my children, but because he is an amazing athlete. We would give it our all.

That night before I dropped him at his room, we took a short drive up the first incline of the race. The shoulder is very narrow and there is only one spot to stop .If you miss it, he has no water for another 2 miles. He knew he would need water badly after the swim. We would have to get it to him in this stretch. He showed me the spot I took a mental picture.

We turned around, headed back down the hill to his condo. On the drive back, I acknowledged that none of us knew what we were doing and that this had to be extremely stressful for him. But I did point out that while we may not be what he had envisioned as his crew, that we were the ones that God had sent and so we were all here in service to him and the greater whole. We were all here NOW. I kissed him good night.

DAY ONE

I woke at 3:00 am and went into meditation. I set the field and cleared the channels opening our energetic field to receive the maximum capacity of the divine expression available to us all. I saw Rich fully connected to his God source and in his own boundary. This race was between him and God. Tyler, Nicole and Alan joined me in a circle as we kneeled, we asked for guidance and support for the highest divine outcome.

We met at Rich’s condo at 5 am to load the truck. We needed to load his bike, racing wheels, spare wheels, helmet, racing clothes, nutrition, food, tools, goggles, helmet, wetsuit, equipment bins for the 2nd and 3rd day, large cooler, creams, gels, and more creams and salves and the list goes on and on…needless to say the truck was packed.

We arrived at the Pier at 5:20 to a sea of bustling people. We found Rich’s paddler, Mike Field. He was stringing a line with a weighted lure that Rich could follow in the water, allowing him to avoid having to lift his head to gain his bearings and thus save energy. Meeting Mike made me feel a little better — he was a complete pro and it was clear he had it all covered, at least in the water…That meant the first 3 hours or so Rich’s crew would nail it. After that, we were the crew and God help us all.

All the competitors gathered at the waters edge. It was still dark, but I could see Rich warming up his arms. His Father has told me he has done that since he was six years old…I snuck down behind a wall and got some shots of him. Then we all counted them down, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1. THEY WERE OFF!

We followed them down the pier, I could see Rich’s trademark arm in the air as it comes out of the water and around. Finally, we couldn’t see him any longer. We had roughly 2 and one half hours to get ice and get him set up at the swim finish. We grabbed breakfast, met the race director Sheryl and had a nice chat. We then set out to grab ice for the cooler.

We found our way down to the swim finish and proceeded to set up Rich’s bike and gear for his transition. I checked the layout photo on my I phone for reference to make sure we had it exactly as he likes it.

Then we heard the announcer over the loud speaker say some of the sweetest words I’ll ever hear, “ Rich Roll is in the lead, way out ahead of anybody else! He is on pace to beat his time from last year” The energy was electric. Tyler went down to the water to get some video footage. I staged myself just in front of the banner for a stellar photo op. One of the crewmembers told me that he would need his shoes right when he exited the water. This is the first I had heard of this and Rich didn’t tell me to do this. But Allen sprinted to the car and returned with his sandals. I walked down to the water’s edge and I could see Rich’s trademark arm with flipper fingers coming in to the finish. When he emerged out of the water there were cheers and he momentarily tried to get his shoes on, only to abort and run up and onto his towel to get his wetsuit off and change. He was frustrated that I hadn’t unzipped his jersey and he snapped at me. He made a momentary stop in the loo and then he was on his way up the hill where Tyler was waiting with his bike. The transition was quick and successful, not more than 2 minutes. Maybe 1 ½ minutes -great job!

We ran to the car and quickly made our way up the big incline to the single stopping point just before the crest to make our water hand off. I was nervous as I headed up because if I missed it and had to proceed up and make a legal u turn, I may miss him. He was clear that he would desperately need water at this exact point. Simultaneously, Tyler our 14 year old was triple checking the map. At the top of the hill do we go right or left? When I felt we were almost at the top, I pulled onto the shoulder and Allen was out of the car.

Alan Blackburn had worked as an assistant to Chief Golden Eagle of the Lakota Star Nations. He is a guy that is all about service, lucky us. Allen was ready to run his butt off. He would get down low in sprinting position and start running, making the handoff like a relay baton. I ended up naming him “Running Elk” because he literally sprinted every handoff. Later in the race, Rich was teasing him as Alan would sprint ahead so fast that Rich couldn’t get to him for the handoff. “Dude, slow down, I can’t reach you”.

We made the crucial water handoff and we were off. We were cheering and screaming — totally psyched for this amazing lead. Now we just had to be there for Rich along the way. The trick is that we had to be getting him water and nutrition at regular intervals but not be on him so much that we were interfering with his groove. We leap-frogged him driving up ahead and pulling over just at the crest of a hill, doing a handoff, and then waiting ten minutes before pulling back onto the highway to reach him again.

We were doing a great job and he looked strong. We decided to pull over and get gas and some crew food. We took maybe 10 minutes and when we pulled onto the highway, we got behind some slow island traffic. When we finally caught up with Rich again, he was upset. He yelled, “Where have you been, I need you!!!” Okay, we pulled up ahead on the crest and Alan was out of the car. “Sorry Chief!” Alan offered. We won’t leave you again.

Contrary to my perception before the race, there is no time to do anything when you are crewing. We had done all the preparation for nutrition for Rich but had no crew food. Tyler had brought along a “Them Crooked Vultures” CD, The new Dave Grohl, John Bonham, and Queens of the Stone Age band. We never listened to one note. All your attention and energy is with your rider and you are constantly checking and cross checking. The phone was ringing off the hook. We just let it go to voice mail. “What’s next?” Should we pull over here now? Should we go ahead?” It’s a group decision back and forth. We were literally on the edge of our seats the entire day. The adrenaline was flowing and where were the other riders? We hadn’t seen another crew van or official vehicle the entire race.

About ¾ of the way into the race, my cell rang with an 808 number. I decided to answer it. It was one of the race techs. “ Hey where are you guys?” “ I have no idea” I replied. “Ty, get the map, where are we?” We were in a dead zone so the iPhone wasn’t getting tracking information. “Are you past Puaho?” “Past where?” It was comical. All we knew is we were on our man. Finally we figured out about where we were. The tech offered, “Rich is way out ahead. I’ll check back and figure out where and who the next racer is behind Rich and call back.”

By this time, Rich was yelling something at us. “What’s my CAP?” That is what is sounded like. We asked the tech on the phone, “What’s a cap?” Later I learned he was saying, “What’s my GAP!” That’s just how novice we were…it also is hilarious because you have to get that communication when you do the handoff. There are no radios, so you try to yell something as he whizzes by and then interpret what he said. And it’s never clear.

We got a call saying that Mike LaRoux was 2 miles behind Rich. Alexandre Rubiero was not far behind him. Rubiero, the pro sponsored Brazilian athlete was the then 3-time Ultraman champion who is a super fast cyclist. Alan let Rich know the gap on the next handoff. He was not happy; actually that is not a clear description. He was screaming, “F”””k !, F”””K!” He was sure that if the top guys were just a couple miles back, he would get passed. We weren’t exactly sure how many miles were left to the finish line. The winds were fierce and sometimes it looked as if Rich was standing still. Every moment seemed like an eternity and we watched, wished, hoped, cheered and pushed for Rich to win the day. This was something that was not a possibility in the arena of stats and logic. Rich Roll wins the day? No way. No how. But our man was still in the lead.

All of a sudden we saw a rider turn the corner. Our hearts sank as we watched him easily ride up on Rich and pass. Alan told us not to lose our hearts and to stay up and pushing. “Drive up to the crest, I’ll hand him a bottle!” He jumped out to do a handoff. Tyler and I sat speechless as Alan handed off to Rich. Then the unthinkable happened. The other rider stopped and shook hands with Alan. Then they started having a conversation. Tyler and I started freaking out. What was he doing? Alan ran back to the car laughing hysterically. “That guy is not in the race!” We all screamed and laughed so hard. It seemed like a cosmic joke. Of course now, we saw there were no numbers on the riders jersey. We got back in our lead mode and pushed Rich forward.

One mare time I saw a rider come into view from the rearview mirror. I shouted, “Alan, there’s a rider coming up!” “ Relax,” Alan replied, “ that’s my friend Rob, and I know him!” It was the same guy that had fallen back. Again, we fell over laughing and resumed cheering for our man.

When the left hand turn for the finish came into view. Tyler, our 14-year-old son, jumped out to wave Rich in. We were absolutely floored. To see him make that turn and head down into the finish line was truly an epic moment. When Rich crossed the finish line winning the swim, the bike and the entire first day, he broke down in tears. Tyler was the first into his arms, then Alan. I threw the car into park and ran out to kiss him.

Nine minutes, 55 seconds later, Ribiero came in followed by the desert runner man, Mike LaRoux. Ribiero congratulated Rich and they hugged. I got some great shots of them together. It was truly a dream realized for Rich. As it turned out, all the information about where the other riders were was not correct. We must have been farther along than we thought. Rich owned that day.

Rich went to get his legs massaged which is rare for him, as he normally doesn’t like it. He asked me to lie on the ground so I could see his face through the cradle. We held hands as Tyler sat near us and recapped the day. Many many tears of gratitude were shed. It was truly one of the high moments of Rich’s life and of my life.

DAY 2

I woke at 3am to start setting the energetic field for Rich. I opened a field to bring in energetic and healing support from the inner planes.

We stayed at the Volcano House, which has a lot of charm-sort of, much like the movie “ The Shining” without the scary feelings. The whole place is damp and you never get dry. I was freezing the entire time we were there. I can’t imagine having to get on a bike in the pitch black and pouring rain and head down a steep descent. But that is what the riders would do at 6:30 am on day 2.

We met at Jason Lester’s room at 5 am for a Vita-Mix. We decided to skip the breakfast. We had bought an expensive dinner in the restaurant the night before that contained minimal nutrition. So we tried to get Rich and the crew “juiced” up with good nutrients.

We later found out that both Rich and Jason were vomiting throughout the entire swim. Rich doesn’t like to eat in the morning. So it’s always a challenge to get him the nutrition he needs when training and racing. Usually he can handle a lean Vita-Mix. But on day one he ate some cereal and toast.

We teased Rich that he was being a whale. Mike the paddler, said he was hearing this guttural sounds coming from Rich. He wondered was Rich trying to tell him something. Then he saw Rich roll over on his back and spew vomit into the air. Just another detail that didn’t make the news…the true inside story…

We pulled into the starting area and unloaded Rich and his bike. I made eye contact with Sheryl the race director. Each crew captain had to check in at the start and finish of each day. She gave me the thumbs up and I kissed Rich good luck.

The cars had to proceed before the bikers and wait at the bottom of the descent. The plan was that Rich would remove his jacket at the bottom and we would need to grab it. You get penalized for leaving anything on the road. We saw the other crew vans gathered in a parking lot. We pulled in and grabbed a spot on the side of the Highway. Tyler, Alan and I had our cameras out and all of a sudden the first pack whipped around the bend going about 40 mph. I didn’t see Rich. Then Alan said, “That was him, he was in the center”, “No, it wasn’t him” I replied, “ Yeah it was”, said Alan. At that moment, we realized that we had no choice but to assume that it was, If we lost him, we would jeopardize his race, and standing here arguing about it wasn’t saving us any time. In hindsight, we could have waited a spot for the next pack. But we jumped in the van and we were off. We had to catch the first pack and verify if he was in there. We finally caught them and Rich was not there. I was starting to freak out. Then we saw Rich coming down as we were driving the opposite direction with no jacket on. We had to get that jacket so we backtracked to the beginning only to get caught in a slow Hawaiian traffic light. I wanted to whip a u turn so badly but you have to drive safely and within the laws so I cussed a lot until we were headed back in Rich’s direction. And Rich’s jacket was nowhere to be found. Allen saw something in the road, “That’s not his jacket!” I said, Alan screamed, “Stop, and pull over!” He jumped out of the van and in full on “Running Elk” style, he ran out into traffic grabbed something and handed them to me. “Purple gloves? Are you f’ing kidding me? Rich doesn’t wear purple gloves!” I was out of my mind! We had lost our rider and didn’t have his jacket. We later found out they were Miro Kregar’s – the Slovenian athlete who would go on to win the Day 3 double marathon leg of the race…

We finally caught up to Rich. Alan jumped out and gave him some nutrition. Rich was okay and we were back on track. For the next hour, we rocked it. Rich had bottles and nutrition and he was rolling really well. Coming up fast was the sacred “Red Road” – a sacred 18 mile section of the Island and also the only part of the entire course off-limits to crew vehicles. It was thus critical to get Rich his nutrition and hydration before this turn. He had made it very clear that “no matter what” he needed fuel before he left our company. Unfortunately. We completely miscalculated how quickly this turn appeared. In fact, Alan handed Rich a bottle and I saw Rich shake it and throw it to the ground. Rich yelled “ there is nothing in here!” Just then Rich made the turn onto Red Road – without any water or nutrition! Alan tried to run after him, but Rich was gone. We had missed Rich’s key nutrition handoff of the day. Now he would ride 18 miles without water or nutrition.

I asked Alan what was up with the empty bottle. He replied that he didn’t want to weight him down. A creative choice no doubt but the timing could prove critical.

We silently made our way to loop around where we could meet Rich on the other side of the Red Road. Tyler was navigating a very tough task for anyone, much less a 14 year old. The road doesn’t look like the map and the course arrows are about 6 inches long by 2 inches high. They are not easy to see.

The energy of the day had been this sort of adolescent knee jerk approach. I felt we were flying high on the adrenaline of the first day and making stupid moves. Tyler told me to make a wrong turn and I saw the course arrow out of the corner of my eye.

I pulled the car onto the shoulder. I think I remember a car honking. I ordered them out of the car and to the back of the van. “Get down on you knees!” I demanded. I got down on my knees and in the rain; kneeling in the mud, I called for help. I opened the field and I asked all of our guides and higher selves to come forward and clear this negative energy and to reset and harmonize us in the highest divine potential. I asked for the grace to wipe the slate clean and begin again as ONE

We got back in the car and I grabbed Tyler’s hand. “You all right honey? I love you and you are doing a great job, but we all needed a reset…. You okay Alan?” “Yeah Mom, I’m good.” Later on Alan and Tyler laughed and said, “ You had to give us some get back in line Mom energy!”

I’m sure people passed and they wondered, “What are these people doing on their knees?” You know an old friend who performed Rich and my marriage ceremony, Bhagavan Das, used to tell me, sometimes you got to lay it down to rise up. We had gotten out of balance and we needed to get back in our humility and reverence to make our way out…

In hindsight, I somehow had known that something was off.

As Rich appeared coming out the mouth of the Red Road, he was moving slow. I knew something was off. He emerged, bleeding from his legs and shoulder with a broken pedal. I just stayed neutral and observed what he needed. “I’m done” Rich said. “I don’t have another pedal” Just then another crew member says, “No, you’re not”, within minutes they had another pedal on. Rich took some water and nutrition and handful of roasted potatoes. Another crewmember offered him salve to put on his wounds.

This is one of the moments that we experienced the deep Ohana or family spirit of this race. It was a beautiful offering of support from another team. I will never forget that.

Rich was back in the race. As it turns out, we needed that reset, and we would need all of our wits and energy to support him. He still had 130 miles to go over some of the toughest inclines and strongest winds I have ever seen.

We stayed right with him for the remainder of the race. It was agonizing seeing him make his way up another and then another and yet another steep incline, agonizing in pain from the crash. It just kept going for miles and miles. It was raining for much of the ride and the winds were howling. So much for that Hawaiian heat! It was downright cold outside.

Ultra-legend Shanna Armstrong her Swiss foe, female competitor Trish rode up on Rich and passed him. Not good. Later he passed them both. But in the end they both passed him again and rode up ahead. We didn’t know whether to tell him there were riders coming up on him or just let him stay in his own space and race his race. He was in agony and just pushing through. I think we decided to say nothing and leave him be.

Rich just kept going. Our heart’s bled for him with every rotation of the wheels. But there was no way we could know the experience he was having, enduring the pain from his knee and the 4“ open wound on his shoulder, the mental upset from the crash, and riding in shock in the cold rain and wind. He put his head down and pushed and pushed.

What most people don’t know is that Rich suffered a very severe crash in June of 2009. It was a moment that forever changed us. He crashed on his face and had massive open gashes inside his mouth and the skin was completely torn from his nose. I remember him soaking in our bathtub completely unrecognizable after he left the ER. I asked him, “ So if this had been your exit point from this life, is this it for you?” He replied, “ Yeah, this is it.” “Great, let’s do it then.” I replied. Then he asked, “What are you thinking?” I answered, “ I’m thinking ‘English Patient’.”

Crashing on the Red Road brought back some of those memories and it upset him more mentally and emotionally than physically. This crash was not even close to what he endured in the June crash. But he also was hit by a car on PCH in August and suffered a cracked rib.

We kind of thought our crashing quota was up, so when he crashed on Day 2, it definitely affected us.

If you look at the road rash in the photos, it doesn’t look like that much. But I am writing this six weeks later and he is still in pain and healing.

When we arrived at the final incline – an 8 mile ascent up the “Kohalas” to Hawi, it was a beautiful ascent, unless you are the rider who has suffered the wrath of Red Road. It was a constant formidable grade that seemed to have no end. There is virtually no shoulder and you are not allowed to drive alongside your cyclist. We leapfrogged to the best of our ability; there was no way we would lose sight of him now.

For the descent, he wanted us behind him with flashers on. Close enough to give him some protection, but not so close that if he crashed we would run over him. Okay sounds reasonable. We tried to calculate when that descent would present itself, keeping behind him and pulling over into the narrow shoulder when other traffic came up on us.

Finally, the grade started to drop. We were in the final miles of day 2. We carefully stayed behind him and we started to feel the exhaustion of the emotion and tragedy of the day.

As Rich crossed the finish line, we parked the van and ran to him. He broke down from the pain. We laid him down on some towels and the race medic came to assist us. He told me that was the hardest day he had ever endured. I apologized to him for our mistakes. The race director, Sheryl, congratulated him on finishing the day. And she thanked me for getting him in safely. I told her that although we had gotten him in safely, we had failed him many times that day.

We had experienced the thrill of victory on day one and now the agony of defeat on day two. A little like real life. The yin and yang. The light and the dark, the truth of the spiritual journey.

He had dropped to 6th place overall from first the day before. But all told, he hung in very tough.

The doctor gave me some live aloe vera plant. I hugged her and thanked her. Jason came in some minutes later and had no idea Rich had crashed.

We all drove over to the house where Jason and Rich would be staying. I got Rich in the bathtub and washed his wounds in a hydrogen peroxide solution mixed one part to five parts. The doc had told me to do this so it wouldn’t scar.

Rich and I had some private moments and talked about the day. As I wiped the open wounds with Aloe I asked Rich to speak to Alan and Tyler. I was worried about them. We were really beat up and I had been harsh and stern with them.

Rich called them in and thanked them for their support and he assured us that we had done a great job. He acknowledged the fact that it is really hard to crew especially if you haven’t done it before. He was grateful beyond words. We all shed a tear together. Rich was not sure if he would run the next day on his knee. I had him move it and looked at everything. I didn’t say a word, but I was pretty sure he would run.

I went downstairs to get Rich some ice to put on his legs and ran into Jason in the kitchen in front of his Vita-Mix. Jason says, “ I feel like I’m going to pass out.” “Sit down” I say to him. “ No, I need to get my nutrition.” Jason replies. I climb back up the stairs, thinking “ Who ARE these people?”

We left to head back down to Kona to see the girls and Trapper. Also we would pick up Mike Field for day three. Ty would stay back and Trapper would join us for the 52 miles.

None of us had eaten a thing all day save potato chips and peanuts. We were emotionally fried. We found a café and stopped in to feed ourselves. We were so relieved to have come through this day. Tyler and I had veggie sandwiches and a carrot coconut soup, which was divine. Running Elk had a — you guessed it — Bison burger. It was the best food we ever tasted and we kept thanking and honoring the woman who owned the café. She was sort of taken aback by our enthusiasm. She had no idea what we had just experienced.

We drove down the coast and headed into Kona. We arrived at our rented beach house. It was great to see the kids. Nicole our child crew did the most amazing job. The girls were happy and fully enjoying the islands. They were naked, with malas draped around their necks, flowers in their hair and third eyes, adorned. If you know my girls, this is how they love to be. Nicole is the child whisperer, and a Reiki Master. They had built a labyrinth on the sand. She took such great care of everyone.

DAY 3

I woke at 3 am. Trapper, Alan and I kneeled in a circle and called in support for the day and sealed our energies as one in service to Rich.

We picked Mike Field up at 4 am in the Starbucks parking lot. We got acquainted on the drive up. We had met Mike briefly on the dock in the dark on day one. Mike and his crew had done a stellar job for Rich. Mike and his family are truly a soul connection that will endure the test of time. We were so happy to have him with us for day 3. They are all so dear to us.

We got lost on the way up. Mike drives this road often and even he got lost momentarily. I guess it’s not that easy to navigate this island. We arrived at the breakfast to a sea of competitors. But I couldn’t find Rich or Jason for that matter. They started announcing that we would all caravan to the start in five minutes. I told Trapper to call Rich’s cell. He kept trying, but it went right to voice mail. I was starting to get really worried. Did Rich decide not to run? But Jason wasn’t here either. Mike and I decided it best to go with the caravan to the start. Maybe they decided to skip the breakfast and socializing.

We were at the front of the line of crew cars. Mike said, “I’ll throw on my running shoes and run back to see if I can find him.” Trapper and Alan stayed in the car. I went to find Sheryl the race director to check in.

A circle was forming in the pitch black with all the competitors holding hands around a Grandmother Kahuna with a large conch shell; she would blow in the four directions to call in the ancestors. They were taking roll and calling for Jason Lester who was missing. I think Sheryl checked Rich in as she saw me, but Rich was not with me.

All of a sudden out of the dark, I saw him step forward. There he was all in white and looking great, beautiful and strong. My heart smiled. I walked to him and I kissed him good luck as he stepped into the circle. I knew it was going to be a great day.

I found Mike and got Trapper and Alan out of the car. We could stay back a bit and enjoy the energy of all the runners and cheer Rich on to a great day ahead. The atmosphere was really upbeat. At least it felt that way to me. It was an honor to walk among all these amazing men and women. They are varied in age and origin. It could have been anyone there. Well not anyone, but you can’t tell an ULTRAMAN competitor by looks alone. I think it takes something deeper, that is unseen by the human eye. They are much more than human…

Day 3 was a much-welcomed relief from the tragedy and intensity of the prior day. Rich looked just great. He was in good spirits and running at a good pace. I had a lot of time to take pictures and we had a lot of fun on this day.

I was kind of disappointed that Tyler couldn’t be with us. He had endured so much on Day 1 and Day 2. It would have been a great wrap up to the experience. He really put in a lot of energy and it had been intense for him. But Trapper had waited patiently for his turn to be with Rich on the race and had put in his hours with his little sisters. Trapper is the runner of the family, so he really wanted to be able to run with Rich. He got his opportunity more than once and he did really well to lift Rich’s spirits. I have great video and photos of them running together. Mike was also an awesome pacer. He ran I think a total of 20 miles that day.

As we passed the first marathon mark, it was inconsequential. It just seems like they just ran five miles, there is no one blowing up or freaking out like you see on TV. They are just moving on…surreal. At least that was the view from our vantage point.

Somewhere in the second half of those 52 miles, Mike stepped out to join Rich on an incline. Mike said that their legs were starting to lock up and just then they saw a whale breach. This gave them new energy to get it on and tackle that incline. The healer named Grandma Chandra I had mentioned earlier told me she would appear to Rich as a whale during the race a show of support that her energy was with him. We had all assumed this would be during the swim, which didn’t happen, and then when you least expect it, it appears…Thanks Grandma!

We had some other spiritual totems and signs given to us. Alan, aka Running Elk, was speaking to us of the sun dance ceremony that he will participate in during, June of 2010. He was telling us of the chest piercing that the men endure as an initiation. The cherry wood sticks are pierced in one side of the skin and then out the other to form a tab where they are lifted up onto this totem pole that has been erected. It reminded me of the movie “Little Big Man”, with Dustin Hoffman.

The next time we pulled over, we discovered a sun dance piercing in the sidewall of our tire. Very bizarre, in all my life, I have never seen such a thing in a tire. And the synchronicity of the timing of it all well lets just say we knew we were not alone.

As we headed into Kona, Mike jumped out and showed Rich exactly where the finish was. It was such a smart move. It was the last five miles and Rich was feeling the fatigue. When Mike showed him it lifted Rich’s spirits. At the final left turn, Mike again jumped out and we pulled into a nearby parking lot. Mike paced Rich for a stretch and then jumped back in as we drove in a bit ahead of Rich to get to the finish before he crossed over the line. We were cheering loudly for him now; he had it in the bag. He completed the 52.4 miles in 7 hours 51 minutes. Over an hour faster than his 2008 run performance, on an injured knee and shoulder. It ended up being good enough to hold on to 6th place overall with a total time of just over 24 hours. Not bad.

Nicole, Tyler, Mathis and Jaya were waiting for us at the finish. We all rushed to congratulate Rich on his stellar race. It was the experience of a lifetime and we were all forever changed. Like a fine sculptor, Rich had added to our beings, a beauty we had not known before. He had then taken something out that was no longer needed, and finally in the end, he smoothed out the open wounds and engraved deep meaning into our hearts.

We enjoyed the kids at the finish line and waited to cheer in Jason and the other competitors.

All the top finishers teased Rich, asking him why he was wincing? One asked him in a guttural European snide, “What’s wrong? You want to go for a short run together now?” To which Rich replied, “ no, but I’ll go for a swim with you!” “No, I would drown”. He replied. Very funny humor. They don’t really look like they are hurting so much but the next day in town you see them limping and struggling up an down the stairs…well I didn’t see Ribiero limping… ever…

On the beach that evening with Rich, we gave thanks to Creation that I was his crew. That the children were here to experience this with him was it connected us at a whole new level, deeper than we ever thought possible. What a blessing of life we were given.

We spent the next week recovering and enjoying the island and our new friends. We had dinners with Mike Field and his family, Jason, and Jochen Dembek and wife Judith. We spent a day with Mike out on his paddle sailboat that he made himself. And Rich and I even had one dinner out alone. We were really loved by the Big Island and we felt totally supported there. We know we will be back soon.

The morning our flight departed, we gathered in a circle on the beach and we gave thanks to all who had a part in this. From our friends and families to the great divine ones and nature spirits that loved us and blessed us, we offered a deep Namaste, and Aloha. It is forever in our hearts and we consider it our Ohana…. until next time…JAI!

Rich’s number was 493, which contains a 1, 13, 7 and a 6. Which were all significant numbers for his race. A 1 for the day one win, a 6 for the day two overall place, a 7th for day three overall. And the 13, the master number for the whales. Rich’s total time 24:20:31 adds up to, that’s right, 13.

Since the race, we had Chief Golden Eagle and his tribe host a workshop at the JAI house. I have picked up a new name, Ina Waste, meaning beautiful or good Mother. I am honored to take on this robe of the Lakota Star Nations. We are starting our JAI SEED School and he offered his blessing and foundations for it.

Rich and I finally had a moment’s peace after everyone departed. We have been moving a lot of energy with first Ultraman and then the Chief’s visit. After eating dinner with the girls, he asked me if I wanted to watch Ironman 2009 that he had recorded. Now, usually, I exit the room quickly whenever Ironman footage appears. Not this time. I anxiously watched and enjoyed every minute of the race. Rich and I laughed at the contrast. “Wouldn’t it be hilarious if I started racing?” I asked him. “Yeah and then we can fight over who gets to train!” At this point I can’t see myself putting my body through that kind of pain. I am a different breed of human. I think my efforts better spent in meditation and yoga practice, which consists of asana, cooking, loving my children and my husband singing, painting and creating…but never say never….

It is evident that the beauty of this race is rooted in the hearts of the founders, Jane Bockus and Sheryl Cobb. They are doing a great healing for humanity and for the planet. Without them, this race would not carry such a high vibration. As these athletes gather and move their bodies to places never before experienced, they are anchoring new DNA coding for creation. Winners or not, just the act of committing the physical to this experience, training and racing is much more than an egotistic endeavor. The Ultramen (meaning both male and female) are a unique breed of humans shifting the planet and healing all of creation.

To all of you, I offer my love and respect and deep Namaste and thanks for your presence on the planet.

The divine in me, sees the divine in you.

Thank you and Aloha!!!

Ma Ananda Shreemati
Ina Waste
Julie Piatt

By: Julie Piatt

It’s 2:13 am and I finally have a quiet moment to write about one of my dreams coming true. We raised a tipi at JAI. It is our first lodge for JAI SEED, the conscious children’s school project we have been developing over the last year. And we did with the guidance and blessing of a beautiful soul, Chief Golden Light Eagle.

It was June 9, 2007 and Rich was driving me and our newborn baby girl Jaya Blue home through Malibu Canyon. We had birthed her just six hours before at Cedars Sinai and we were bringing her home to the safe womb of JAI. When I say, “we” birthed her, that’s what I mean; my sons Tyler & Trapper, my daughter Mathis and my husband Rich were all there; in the room for the entire birthing process. They played music, laid in bed with me, ate popsicles and when the moment arrived, they coached my pushes and delivered her into my arms. She entered the world with her arms stretched in a thrilling “V”. A confirmation that we had named her well. Jaya, the feminine version of Jai, translates from its Sanskrit root as “Victory”. It was the family bonding moment of a lifetime.

Anyway, we were nearing the turn off onto Piuma Road when suddenly my mouth says, “I’m going to have to home school them”. To which Rich replies, “WHAT?” You see his firmly held notions about the importance of a rigorous and traditional education, buttressed by his Stanford & Cornell pedigree tend to be offended by my sometimes counter-intuitive premonitions.

“Yeah,” I say, “I don’t know why I just said that but the girls are going to have to have a different experience provided for them than what the boys had.”

To be very clear, I do not aspire to be an educator or school administrator. I am an artist and I require a certain amount of freedom to create and sing and express myself. I also love to practice yoga and meditate. Being the Mother of four children, I scarcely get the quiet moments I crave, so starting a school was not something my ego was dreaming about. But then that’s just a detail because my soul KNEW that this was part of my blueprint or divine design.

The early months of Jaya’s life were full with baby life but I did manage to get a kids page up on my JAI SEED website: . It was basically an informational page about the new kids that are beginning to incarnate on the Planet. I listed what came to mind about my own crystalline child, aptly named Mathis “Indigo”, and I figured I’d just leave it up there and let it incubate.

I started talking to my friends and neighbors about my feelings that the school system is obsolete and that everything is changing so quickly that we need to be courageous as parents and teachers and start finding a new way. Of course no one was too keen on the idea. It just seemed so impossible. “What about Math?” is a very popular mind response. “What if they become social misfits?” is another standard reply.

But I persevered. I just kept going back to the reason most of us drop our children off at school. We need a break or we need to work. We have no community or village supporting us as parents. So you are on your own unless you have the money to hire someone to help you out. I remember last year, I tried to secure a ride to school for my two boys two days in a row as Rich had crashed his bike and I needed to take him to the doctor. No one could manage to shift their schedule to help me out. The school is five miles away and this was a major task to get some support. I’m not judging anyone, we ALL have our schedules and our lives are already maxed out. So there just isn’t a natural flow to be a village, so to speak.

From time to time, I would receive an email from some parent across the globe saying, “I read your site, and now I know who my child is. Thank you.” Or, “I just saw your site. I’m a Starseed. Thank you.”

I would ask the question: “In these times of major changes and shifting, is it wise for us to be dropping our children off at institutions and then driving away?” I had to admit that I would not spend five minutes with most of my kids’ teachers. It’s not that they are bad people; I know we are all equal in the eyes of creation. But I do know that most of them have no idea there is a major planetary wakeup going on here and my children are conscious of this. Many of these starseed children can’t sit still as they are processing information on many different channels simultaneously. To the unaware observer, they can be called disruptive & rude, etc. And then comes the parent/teacher conferences and the suggestion of medication.

I watched the film “Race to Nowhere” which highlights the fast track that kids are put on commencing sometimes from pre-school and ramping up in middle school, where they begin preparing for college by test taking. This is taking its toll on the children. Some are suicidal and most admit they are simply memorizing to get by and don’t retain or care about what they are learning. The film was screened at our 7 year old Mathis’ elementary school, Mariposa School of Global Education, which is a wonderful step in the right direction. The director Jeff Lough is really on point with many of the changes that are happening and he is doing a wonderful job of trying to implement a higher level of conscious education within the public school system. Not easy. I have tremendous respect for him.

I was verified again and again that my intuition was right on. After the film, parents stood up and pointed fingers. They blamed the kids, they blamed the parents, and they blamed the system. I could clearly see the imbalance and it was clear that there was a complete disconnection from an awareness to divine source and our relation to nature and the cosmos.

That’s when I KNEW without a doubt that I had to keep going. It’s the beginning, middle and end. That is why I make no bones about it; JAI SEED is a spiritually conscious school. Let me be clear, we are NOT a religion or a dogma, but a connection to the natural life force that is all of us, in all colors shapes and sizes. We represent a rainbow tribe of many cultures. So far our tribe is made up of these lineages : African American, Native American, Mexican, Irish, Lebanese, Israeli, Sri Lankan, Swiss, German, Chilean and American.

Still, starting a school is just plain overwhelming and no one wanted to step up. I was warned that it would be extremely difficult. And it can’t be done. There are standards to meet and the children may be angry with you later for stealing their school experience. Blah blah blah…

I was waiting for our live to ease up a bit. Rich and I had been through some extreme financial dismantling at the time, and just getting through the day was often challenging. Finally, I called Nicole Duran, my starseed sister and indigo whisperer and I told her I was ready to gather five families for our first meeting. She had been waiting in the wings for the right moment. We started to meet just once a month on Saturdays. The day consisted of sharing a potluck vegan meal, followed by ceremony where everyone gets saged and then is led to a large yucca staff where they state their name and then we chant JAI! Or Victory! Then the take their place in the circle. After we are all in, we sing our school songs, an ancient chant calling in the 13 grandmothers from 13 galaxies given to us by Chief. Then we sing THE NEW EARTH, a song that I wrote for our school. Afterwards, we engage the children in a creative endeavor like making tipis or drawing visions. The kids’ ages range from 1-19 so we are more like a tribe than a school. It makes for a great day of community and sharing. And the kids love it!

After 5 meetings, I got the directive that it was time to raise the first lodge. We put the word out to the community and received a most gracious response. Isabel Snyder donated the tipi right away and an angel donor gave funds to bring our Chief Golden Light Eagle out for the tipi raising ceremony. These two offerings were powerful beyond measure. To step up and activate this support in a sea of complete unknowing touched me deeply. I will never forget these two special people who believed in my family, the children and me. This gave us a raft as we continue to flow in the river not knowing what lies ahead.

I felt Chief coming in February and when I spoke with him, it seemed in alignment so we set the dates and started getting ready for him. There are many preparations that must be made to receive a Chief in a sacred manner. We had our community offering everything from blankets to Elks teeth, Lakota love medicine that has an spiritual power to bless us all in his spiritual shakti.

For more information of the Chief and the role he played in Ultraman and in Rich and my life, check out my previous post entitled Ultraman 2009. This post shares the spiritual side of Rich’s race from my perspective as his crew captain.

Why Chief Golden Light Eagle? I have studied with many spiritual teachers. I am a yogi through and through and I have healed myself using ayurveda, the ancient Indian natural science and have greatly benefited from energetic healing from the inner planes. A couple years ago, I was really aware that I would be meeting an elder from the Indigenous peoples. The message I received was that they know how to walk the Earth and this was the final piece I was missing. That is what Chief is bringing to us. The way to walk the Earth embodied in Spirit.

When I saw the Chief for the first time, I had the inner knowing that he was a dear brother that I had worked with before in other lifetimes. He is a holder of living light codes and he holds the ancient teachings that connect us with the whales, the Moon and the Earth as our sacred Mother.

Lucky for us, he is also an awesome musician and really funny. So being around him is just a sweet, deep experience. It’s truly a blessing.

We had an amazing experience with him over the past five days. The details and amazing photos are all in Rich’s post. All I can add is that my heart is just loving him and loving all life. I am so grateful for all of our tribe whose presence and energy made this happen and for my LIFE allowing me this experience. Rich, Tyler, Trapper, Harrison, Mathis, Jaya and I have chosen to live fully in each moment. Even when all is uncertain and changing moment to moment, we know when we rest our head on our pillows that we played well this day, living our dreams. I’m so happy for this.

Soon, we will be offering our summer camp moving into a full time home school in the fall. And also continuing with our once monthly gatherings. We’ll be filming everything and sharing everything on our own TV Internet site so that our brothers and sisters in Denmark — or wherever you may be on the Planet — can watch and see how JAISEED is living their dreams by supporting their children and their families in the perfection of individual divine design. In short, to be more of who you are, exactly as God intended.

We know that all life is sacred and we honor each individual’s blueprint or divine design. In short we endeavor to provide a very large soft boundary in which the children can BE how they naturally are, loved, supported and free. I’m certain the genius in all of us will be revealed in very unique and earth shattering ways!



Stay tuned and if you feel called to offer your talents, self and resources, we are accepting support with gratitude and blessings. Email us!

People often ask me “What will JAI SEED teach the children?” I just laugh and reply, “ You got it backwards, the children are the true teachers. We must listen to them.

In deep love and reverence for all life,

JAI SEED!
Julie & Rich

BY: RICH ROLL

This past weekend was the epitome of the JAI LIFESTYLE experience.

In honor of our quickly developing JAI SEED SCHOOL project, we were blessed by the presence of Lakota Sioux Chief Golden Eagle, who visited us for our monthly school meeting with our local community of children and parents.

“Chief” as he is affectionately known is a sweet & gracious presence. Not only is it always a pleasure to have him with us, he is a bounty of enlightened knowledge. Well versed in countless subjects, he can pontificate at length on almost any idea or concept, not matter how obtuse. Quiet and humble, yet firm in his resolute sense of spiritual purpose on Earth.

Not only did he visit our daughter Mathis’ school, he presided over an assembly of all the students at Mariposa Elementary with a message of respect for the wisdom of the ancestors, the whale beings and the overall preservation and protection of our fragile planet. He followed it up by individually blessing each child that wished to meet him with his gigantic eagle feather.

Friday night, we hosted a sweat at Jai, in a lodge built by Chief’s trusty and devoted aid Alan Blackburn, who incidentally served on my crew at Ultraman in 2009. Fueled by the full “whale” moon, Alan managed to secure the lodge and build a raging outdoor fire to heat the lava rocks despite a torrential downpour. With rain coming down in sheets, a group of us joined in the sweat lodge, where Chief provided many blessings. That night I enjoyed the best night of sleep I can remember.

Saturday brought the JAI SEED SCHOOL meeting, which was attended by over a dozen families with children of all ages. Accompanied by our boys Tyler, Trapper and my nephew Harrison, Julie led the children in the sacred “Grandmother Song”, followed by the school anthem “The New Earth”, written by Julie. The Chief arrived and regaled the children with more stories of the whale beings and the importance of ancestral wisdom while we ate a vegan feast prepared by Julie and the school parents.

The main idea behind the day was to raise our very own JAI SEED SCHOOL teepee, manufactured by the people who built all the teepees for Dancing With Wolves. During the week, we were blessed to have renown street & graffiti artist DOSE come all the way from Phoenix to customize the canvas with the help of our daughter Mathis & the other Jai Seed kids. It was an honor to have DOSE, and what he did for JAI will never be forgotten.

However, the rains returned on Saturday afternoon and we rescheduled the raise for Sunday. Almost everyone returned the next day and we had a beautiful afternoon of community, all hands in service to building the school teepee from the ground up — pole by pole. The photos depict the collective beauty and communal commitment to our goal of hosting a sacred space for children to grow, expand and flourish.

Sunday night Chief hosted a second sweat lodge and this time it was packed with over 20 JAI SEED SCHOOL parents and community. The Chief called in the Whale Beings, who thanked all for the blessings bestowed by the weekend. It was a powerful ceremony, culminating in Chief’s pronouncement that powerful work had been done in preservation of the Whale Nation. The following day, the Japanse government announced the suspension of whale hunting. Coincidence? The Chief would beg to differ.

In all, it was a sublime weekend of blessings. Julie and I cannot convey how grateful we are for the support of our community and JAI SEED SCHOOL dream, which is only beginning to form.

Special thanks to Nicole Duran, our very own Reiki Master, “child whisperer” and true family member; to Isabel Snyder for underwriting much of the teepee expenses; to neighbor Linda Kaplan for hosting Chief during her Ayapis Retreat; to Alan Blackburn for his tireless work ethic and for filming the entire experience; to DOSE for his artistic magic; to all the families that took time out of their busy lives to contribute and participate; to the children for their joy and spirit; and of course, to the Whale Beings for their majestic presence.

But most of all, thank you to my beautiful wife, whose faith is tireless, whose devotion knows no boundaries, and who always believes in dreams coming true.

JAI MA!

By: RICH ROLL

Part of JAI LIFESTYLE is exploring new terrain in communion with like minded-people. On that note, I wanted to share a slideshow of some pretty stunning photos from my ride yesterday up Mt. Baldy with Ben Bostrom and Stu Bone, two amazing vegan athletes and very cool people.

It was a spectacular ride – 6,000 ft of vertical gain in about 24 miles up to the ski lifts with pitch ranging from 5%-10%. Quite amazing that we could be in such a winter wonderland just a 30 minute drive from downtown LA, but that is part of some of the less understood beauty and diversity of living and riding in Los Angeles. Its not just LAX, Pico Blvd., traffic and strip malls. Its also places like these – easily accessible with just a modicum of effort.

On the ride up, all 3 of us drank our own preferred home-cooked pre-ride superfood green drink plant-based nutrition concoctions as Ben regaled us with his mad knowledge master class on the wonders of bees and beekeeping. We traded information about what foods fuel our training and help us recover, and Ben had some amazing insight into keeping his engine well-oiled on plants, including some superfoods I had never even heard of. I will collect all the info and look for a future detailed post on some of what Ben does to stay in peak form.

We then suited up and headed out in blue skies up Glendora Pass. A spectacular road with epic landscape views and nary a soul in sight. We entered winter at 3,000 feet, and as the photos show, were forced to ride across snow & ice covered roads in places.

Many people know Ben as one of the world’s best superbike motorcycle racers in the World, currently rocking #23 on his Jordan Suzuki for Michael Jordan Motorsports. But Ben is also a seriously hardcore mountain bike racer, finishing on the podium at all sorts of crazy races all over the world. Not bad for a side job. Just to keep things even, Ben decided to ride his 29′er – a mountain bike with oversized wheels. Given all the snow and ice, he made the right choice. And he still kicked my butt without raising his heart rate, despite a bike with big knobby tires weighing in at twice my steed. That boy can ride a bike like few people on earth. I was killing myself just to keep pace – not copacetic with my typical aerobic zone early season routine!

Lots of great conversation, including much about Ben’s vegan nutrition program. Another master class. Over the years, he has experimented on himself, honing his whole food plant-based plan down to a knife’s edge — a top athlete fueling on plants and exotic superfoods to superbike/mountainbike greatness. He definitely knows his stuff and I learned a lot of things I look forward to incorporating into my own nutrition program.

Plus he has endless tales about riding dozens of miles on flatted out carbon rims, and wiping out on $700K superbikes at 180mph. My takeaway? I’m a puss. Ben’s the real deal.

Anyway, good times and definitely a JAI LIFESTYLE experience. Hope you enjoy the photos. B&W’s taken on my iPhone 4 using Hipstamatic with John S lens & BlackKeys Supergrain stock. Color photos by Stu.

Oh and here’s a birds-eye view of Ben rocking his stuff on his “other bike”:

At a robust 139 pages, the book takes you deep into everything you will need to know to get it done right – from goal setting, to training to diet/nutrition and all the way through the race, it is an outstanding and very comprehensive primer.

Plus there are hyperlinks to four hours of MP3 audio interviews with six knowledgeable vegan endurance athletes, including me and Brendan Brazier, author of THRIVE FITNESS.

Soup to nuts – its all in there. A must read! The ebook will be available for purchase starting Tuesday February 15, 2011. But follow the link below to pre-order today!

Click here for more information on the ebook and to order!

Rich & Julie share a few quick tips on how to stay nourished on a whole food plant-based diet.

People are fearful of the unknown. So its very easy to shrug off the “purported” benefits of eating a plant-based diet by simple regurgitating some outdated conventional wisdom. To wit:

Aren’t you anemic? How do you get your iron?

What about Vitamin B-12?

All the above are easily managed with just the slightest bIt of awareness & planning. The video only touches on these issues, but the TRUTH is you CAN get more than enough of all of the above on a plant-based diet. None of the above concerns need be an issue.

Rich plans on writing more extensively on the above issues soon, but for now suffice it to say that you can get more than enough of all of your essential amino acids, protein, EFA’s, Omegas, iron and all vitamins and minerals on a plant-based diet.

In fact, current studies establish that meat and dairy intake can actually CAUSE calcium deficiency, not to mention an entire battery of other health maladies. More on this later.

Until then, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!