Community

“I wanted to learn something new,” said Linda Mitchell, a Gilroy resident who has been volunteering with Child Advocates of Silicon Valley for 10 years. The group recruits, trains and supports Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) in the region.

While a mobile game is getting people out of the house to search for elusive Pokemon characters, author and ultramarathoner Gary Dudney has been hitting the pavement for decades. The 63-year old runs eight 100-mile races per year in all sorts of rugged terrain and his latest book, The Tao of Running, offers a glimpse into how and why he does it.A longtime columnist for Ultrarunning Magazine, Dudney will speak about his running adventures and sign copies of his book at Barnes & Noble in Gilroy on Saturday.“I started running in 1982-83, when I first got interested in running for a marathon,” he recounted over the phone last week.After 10 years of running marathons and shorter races, a friend introduced him to ultrarunning, and he started to prepare for his first 50-mile race in the early ’90s.“Once I started doing long trail runs, it began to dawn on me that running was a big part of my life and who I was,” said Dudney. “Not only is it a great stress reliever, but it contributed to my self-esteem.”Like mindful meditation, he saw how running helped him focus on the present, with acceptance.“Running is a great vehicle for focusing on the present,” he said. “With the rhythmic motions it becomes very easy to monitor your thought process. You are not distracted by daily things like working and chores.”In the book, Dudney shares details of some of his 100 mile races.“You get to that point of pain and exhaustion where everything is telling you to stop, but then you tap into those resources you never realized you had,” he said. “You get in touch with yourself mentally and physically, you learn how much water or how much of that sandwich you will need to keep you going for another couple hours.“You learn to use your determination to keep going,” he added.But it’s not all long-distances and quick bites from an energy bar in the wilderness.“Every time you go out and run there is something out there for you,” he said, noting that when he was working as a project manager in a small office, handling crisis after crisis, there was no better feeling than at the end of the day, when he would take off his tight suit and tie and put on a pair of silky shorts and a technical running shirt in preparation for a night run.“When you walk out the front door and take your first steps it’s like being launched—it feels so liberating.”Gary Dudney will discuss and sign copies of his new book, The Tao of Running, on Saturday, July 30 at 2 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 6825 Camino Arroyo, Gilroy. 

Ever wonder where people bought their clothes and why they chose them? 

The Garlic Festival wasn’t the only thing stinking up Gilroy last week. Smoke carried over from the Soberanes fire near Big Sur filled the streets of Gilroy. The smoke was so thick at times that it obstructed the view of the hills southwest of town.

This is a story about an engine, Gilroy E47, and firefighters.

Don’t take off your dancing shoes just yet. Fifth Street Live will continue downtown through the month of August.

For 29 years, they’ve known him all over the world as Mr. Garlic, the happy, healthy ambassador of Gilroy’s annual homage to the bulbous beauty of the stinking rose.

Though the festival is a wrap, garlic is making headlines as the prime ingredient in Gilroy Garlic Fries, now available at McDonald’s restaurants throughout the Bay Area.

The Gilroy Police Department was out in full force Tuesday evening for National Night Out, an annual event that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make communities safer, better places to live.

Tuesday at Gilroy Rotary, The Long Riders gave a wonderful presentation. The Long Riders Hepatitis C Project was created by Vic Ferrari, a HCV survivor, Frank Collison, an actor, and Steven Ferrari, Vic’s brother. They will ride the entire 2,650 mile Pacific Crest Trail on horseback from Mexico to Canada. The mission of The Long Riders is to educate, inspire, and empower those who are suffering from Hepatitis C to get tested, treated and cured. They have partnered with the HCV community and formed an advisory board of Dennis Simon, the Founder and Secretary/Treasurer of the Hepatitis C Association and managing partner of Help.4.Hep, a non profit peer-to-peer help line with counselors; Ryan Clary, Executive Director, National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable (NVHP); Wayne Gosbee, Founder, Linkage to Health, Inc. Emalie Huriaux, Direct of Federal & State Affairs for Project Inform. They’d like to raise funds to increase testing since 75 percent of patients don’t know they have the disease. They’ve created “Miles Per Test” program. Every mile ridden, they will raise funds to get 20 more people tested. Each test is $25 a test and their goal is 53,000 people. For more informationwww.longriders.org.