Volte Uses A Village To Go Virtual

"Wing it" is not something that's in Volte founder Bill Dwyer's vocabulary too often.

And February 20, 2021 was no different.

Before we added SNOVID and ERCOT to our permanent lexicon of acronyms, he had plans to support both Holly Benson at her marathon in Lufkin at the Race For Hope event, then drive to Cat Spring to be there for David Cain as he completed his 12-hour run at the Jackelope Jam.

Instead, Mother Nature had other plans, cancelling the few races on the calendar statewide and saved Dwyer at least 354 miles on his new VW Tiguan.

Yeah, but Mother Nature hasn't seen the force of Volte either.

Sure, Volte might come from the equation VO2 (max) plus LT (lactate threshold) plus E (economy), but for Benson and Cain the Volte family jumbled the letters up projecting LOVE towards the two with the power of T-cells defending one's body.

Up first?  Ladies, of course.  

Here's what Holly had to share about the day:

I ran the Lufkin Race for Hope virtually today in The Woodlands with my Volte family. 

Such amazing people and wonderful support! I was not once by myself the entire run!

My gun time was 3:50 and my moving time was 3:38.

My friends are so sweet. 

Holly leading the Volte Village to the finish!
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Devyn Cook and Jane Campbell started me out, Roger King and Darren Hadden paced me for 15 miles, and Mayra Caamano and Carlos Rodriguez joined me around mile 18 to finish. 

The rest of my triathlon friends joined me after their crazy 50+ mile bike ride for my last six miles, including (Tammy Grado, Yaya Herrera, Paolo Biagi and Shannon Truman).

I was humbled by how accommodating and encouraging they were today. 

Plus, coach Bill Dwyer is one of the kindest humans on earth.

And as David Cain shares with us, Layton Gill is closing in on the same definition after his efforts last Saturday.

Here's what David had to share about his experience:

In October, I decided I wanted to see how far I could push myself by signing up for the 12-hour Jackelope Jam race put on by Trail Racing Over Texas. 

This is a timed race (up to 72 hours) where you run a .75 mile out & back (1.5 miles total) for the selected time. 

Last Tuesday, we received notification that the live Jackelope Jam was canceled due to the weather and we could choose between running remotely or get credit. 

I was crushed. 

After a day of trying to figure out where to run for 12 hours, Layton Gill went above and beyond by offering to host it on the drainage ditch behind his house.

Layton Gill and David Cain on one of many 1.5-mile out-and-backs
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

The course was perfect; wide, flat, smooth with easy access and best of all, no dog poop thanks to Layton.

I expected to run mostly by myself with Layton pacing later in the day. 

I had multiple headphones and portable chargers ready so I could listen to music/podcasts etc. as I ran by myself. 

The Volte team made sure someone was running with me the WHOLE time!!! 

It was the most amazing experience anyone could ask for when running an ultramarathon, let alone their first.

I’ve read and talked to many ultrarunners, so I expected the ups and downs that come with running that long.

And while the day was extremely difficult, I never went to the “dark” place mentally that many people experience. 

So many people came out to support me by running laps with me and/or hanging out at the tent. 

David and Steven Sfeir put down a few miles.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

The love shown made it virtually impossible to have a bad day and I will be forever grateful.

Thank you everyone!!!

Dwyer reported that somewhere near 20 people came out to support David as he completed 46.13 miles in 11:56:55.

The team support included Layton Gill, Katie Gill, Brittany Haddad, Rob Myers, Debra Myers, Llana Bingham, Tammy Grado, Kristi Park, Jerritt Park, Todd Hunter, Steven Sfeir, Todd Hunter, Tim Russell and Dwyer.  

David's wife Laura & several family members also gave support too.