California Warrior - Robert Mead — California Military Department Foundation

Become a #CaliforniaWarrior at the California Warrior Experience hosted by the California Military Department Foundation and produced by Race SLO on March 24, 2018. We'd also love to hear your #CaliforniaWarrior story - submit it today at https://www.californiawarrior.org/welcome.

ROBERT MEAD

Mead was not only the 2017 SLO Ultra Half Marathon champion, but also manages the Dining Hall at Camp SLO. Below is his #CaliforniaWarrior story...

Being a California Warrior is no easy task. Hard work, dedication, consistency, a solid training program, and a little bit of craziness all factor into my weekly routine. I have been a consistent trail runner over the last 9 years of my life and I have won several local half marathons and several local trail runs. Most recently these include Spooners Cove out at Montana De Oro and the 2017 SLO Ultra Half Marathon. You can find me during the week training all over the central coast usually logging anywhere from 60 to 70 miles weekly.

A few of my favorite spots include Cerro Alto Campground and Camp San Luis Obispo. The Cerro Alto Trail consists of 1,700ft elevation gain in only two short miles. Here I strengthen my legs and get the extreme elevation gain that I need to be succeed in local trail runs. Running this mountain also enables me to focus on my deep breathing and tactical trail running skills. I also run on base here at Camp San Luis Obispo. Here I get a mixture of elevation and flat ground which enables me to focus on my splits and my speed.

I feel honored to be able to train on base where so many military personnel have done the same. My favorite part of running is the euphoric high that I get when I am hitting my stride mid run and jamming to heavy metal on my ipod. No feeling in the world beats that high.

My day job consists of managing the Dining Hall on base at CSLO and ensuring all aspects of food service are executed at a high level for both the Grizzly Youth Academy and the Military. Knowing they are being fed makes me feel like I am contributing to a great cause and helping serve our country. I also consider this an honor and enjoy making sure they are fed to the best of my ability.