My friend and ex-housemate Jasper Blake once told me that after running a triathalon he sometime goes back hours later to the finish line to cheer on the people who are racing not to win but for the sake of doing it. This, he tells me, is a truley satisfying activity: shouting and clapping in the people for whom finishing the race is a victory in itself. I can easily picture my buddy Jazzy standing trackside and getting a thrill from the victories of the people who are in it for the pure physical challenge. I can easily picture it because Jasper is just exactly that kind of good guy who revels in other people’s successes and passions.

Well I sure wish I was trackside earlier today in Penticton to shout and cheer in Jasper as he cruised in to win his first Ironman Canada National Championship. 13 minutes up on the competition. Eight and a half hours of winning.

I heard the CBC sports guy on the radio the other day, responding to the punching episode in the Blue Jay’s bullpen by stating his conviction that despite the aggressive and more or less stupid mindset that gets held up as the winning attitude in sports, it’s actually good human beings who ultimately excel at competitive physical activities. That really resonated for me. It’s the only conclusion I have been able to draw from watching my Little Smokey planting crew quietly and unassumingly blow away all the standards for production tree planting I’ve ever known. And Jasper becoming the Canadian champion at the most grueling sport imaginable (4km swim, 180km bike, 40km run all in one day) cements that theory. Nobody accomplishes that on testosterone or unbalanced desire alone. It needs a whole life of intelligence and wisdom. And Jasper Blake is exactly the sort of dude who can pony up intelligence and wisdom in spades.

Thanks for proving me right Jas, and nice work my friend. Nice work.