Best story I never told

When I was researching “Born to Run,” I visited the Hopi reservation in Arizona and got to spend time with Hopi elder Bucky Preston and his ultrarunning protege, Dennis Poolheco. It was a wild time, including a freezing moonlit scramble over the mesa while trying to find our way back out of the wilderness and not get too freaked by coyote howls. I learned a lot about the Hopi’s ancient running tradition, but was moved the most by a story I heard from Dennis Poolheco. I’ve now listened to the tape at least a dozen times, and it still gives me chills.
Because of space and coherence I wasn’t able to include the story in Born to Run. I’ve been meaning to write it ever since, but now I’ve got a better idea. “Racing the Rez” only needs about $5000 of financing. That’s all it will take. If a few hundred people kick in ten bucks a piece, this important and dramatic tale of Hopi-Navajo running will emerge from seclusion in Arizona and come to the rest of the world.
Problem is, there’s only one week left to raise the cash.
So: if we pull this off and “Racing the Rez” is completed, I’ll get up and tell the Best Story I’ve Never Told at an exclusive screening for backers of the film. I’ll also film it and put it online. Can’t beat that: two great stories for the price of one. Please contribute before time runs out.

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