It was hard to wrap 17+ hrs up in one little blog post.  I skipped a ton of stuff that I will try to capture/highlight here, if only for myself.  It was also pointed out to me how convoluted my previous post was – haha – Im not going to go back and fix it tho, it is just where my head was – after no sleep for three days and a little bit of pain killers (well RX anti-inflammatory that probably expired four yrs ago but whatevs).

The race story really starts Friday night just after the pre-race dinner/meeting.  I called my friend, Harmony who didn’t live too far from the course and we were to meet up and spend a little time together.  But I had little to no cell coverage and could hardly call, text or use gps.  I started to have a full-on breakdown.  I screamed, I cried, I was lost, I felt like everything was caving in on me.  This was: taper + biggest race ever + Ive been sick and still don’t know why + where am I + Im starving + I have no technology to help me –  all wrapped up in one.  She was so sweet, so patient.  A long while later we were finally connected.  She took me to REI and helped me find what I needed then treated me to a fantastic dinner and gave me a beautiful sparkly bracelet that said BELIEVE.  I really don’t know how much better of a friend she could have been to me in that moment.

Now we skip to the part where my husband drives 2 hrs in the middle of the night, just to get no sleep at all w me then drive back home at the crack of dawn to take on two kids and a basketball tournament….

*Now back to the race*

I talked previously about the moment of deciding if I could go any further and then the last bits (9 hrs) and the people who helped me – but I didn’t say much about the first 8 hours which I spent with two amazing people who I couldn’t have done it without – Rachel and Cori.  We bonded and chatted and devised plans and methodologies on various parts of the course ie where to run and where to walk and where to turn….reminding each other to drink etc.  It was a lollipop course that you could choose to run in either direction.  Different people chose different directions for different reasons.  It came down to choosing between steeper inclines for longer stretches of downward motion verses short steep inclines and longer upwards with a gradual slope.  After trying both the three of us agreed we preferred to tough out short steep inclines as the declines we more painful in the extreme, and conversely, we could literally run super fast on the long downs.  Either way, there were narrow rocky parts that were unrunable regardless.

I hope to find their contact info because we lost touch in the second half (they kept going when I took my icing-the-ankle-break).  I do know that Rachel finished 8 loops and Cori finished 7.

Some highlights overall include:

–        Again, the food & support crew

–        There was a waterfall, and whenever I heard it up in the distance, it was  a signal to me that the final turn was just ahead

–        Even though the bridge caused an optical illusion that made us all dizzy, it was really pretty

–        There were REAL bathrooms, it was quite a treat

–        The sound of the water all around us was soothing

–        The stars were so bright through the trees

–        None of the animals attacked us 😉 they just provided ambiance

–        Every person I met and encountered was helpful and kind and it was very cool to watch everyone helping each other in ways big and small

–        A few of us saw a bridge washed away by the storm during Lap 1 and stopped to fix it – we all worked together as a team, it was very motivating and positive

And finally:

– We logged over 200 miles and $2,000 for Jodi 😉

Overall it was a non-stop myriad of blessings and pleasant surprises.  So much goodness in people and nature.  An experience I wouldn’t trade for anything and look forward to doing again!!!