By David Welch

The mind works in mysterious ways … On the drive down to MMT I casually commented to Lindsey that I had not had to deal with extreme tiredness in a race. A few hours later, after race packet pick up and an awesome dinner, I was ready for bed at 8. Any other day I would have been asleep in 5 minutes but today my mind wasn’t ready. I relaxed, I meditated, I finished my book (Kafka on the Shore – great book!). It was after midnight and I was still wide awake.

The alarm went off at 2am and I had had about an hour of sleep – oh well. Breakfast, toilet, toilet, check race stuff, toilet – the standard pre-race plan was in full flow. Amy and Danny arrived to pick me up and before we knew it, it was 4 am and we were splashing across a wet field in the dark. I was running with Brenden and we moved easily up the first few miles of road and hit the first trail. Already there were so many rocks! I was moving well but my climbing legs were not yet with me. I felt a little dizzy, I tripped a few times and stubbed my toe on a couple of rocks. No worries – just getting warmed up … We reached the ridgeline and I was running with a group of four or five. It was pretty technical (are there going to be this many rocks the entire way??) and they were moving a little too fast for me. I let them go and settled into a more comfortable pace. It was so hard to find any kind of rhythm with the combination of rocks and undulating trail – a challenge that would continue for the remainder of the race.

I was having trouble shaking a constant feeling of tiredness but my legs were now moving pretty well and nutrition/hydration was going perfectly. The race continued: up a big climb, along a ridgeline and down to an aid station. Over and over. The rocks were relentless but the course was beautiful.

The aid stations were the best I’ve ever experienced and the volunteers were amazing! The care and attention I got at each continued to surprise me throughout the race. It was like traveling in coach your entire life and then getting an upgrade to first class.

The climbs, ridgelines, descents and aid stations became a blur. I saw Crys at one aid station and Bill at another. I caught back up with Brenden on the downhill into Habron Gap where my family was waiting. So awesome to see them! The help from another amazing volunteer and (despite my tiredness) Lindsey’s pep talk plus knowing I would see them again at the next aid station gave me some energy. The climb on the way to Camp Roosevelt went pretty well and I felt like I was moving more like my usual self. If only the course was just climbs – perhaps I would have found that elusive rhythm! After a seemingly endless stretch following the climb, I shuffled into Camp Roosevelt aid station. Lindsey suggested a nap, which in hindsight was probably a great idea. Perhaps the final 40 miles would have progressed more smoothly with a bit of sleep but the worry of not being able to get going again stopped me from lying down.

After more awesome aid station food and attention, I set off. The next section to Gap Creek would be one of the hardest of the race for me. The trail was an endless river of rocks, water and mud and I really struggled to find the energy to move quickly. At one stream crossing right before turning right to climb up to Gap Creek I slipped and fell in past my waist. After the laughter stopped, I realized all my extra clothes for the colder temperatures of the night were now soaked (along with me). At least I was a little more awake now. I headed up the climb and, when I reached the aid station, was so happy to see a roaring fire. As I dried myself and my clothes by the fire I was again helped by an amazing volunteer and chatted with Andy. While any hope of a sub-24 hour finish had disappeared with my lengthy stop, I would have had much more serious problems had I continued on into the night with wet clothes.

Warm, dry, full of veggie ramen and with the light just beginning to fade, I began the climb to Jawbone. The climb to the top went fine but I couldn’t run well on the ridgeline. The ability to focus on the technical trail had disappeared and my pace slowed to what seemed a crawl. The next few sections and aid stations melted together and, as the night closed in, so did exhaustion and some fantastic hallucinations. A shrunken head (log), leopard (bush) that I crouched and hid from and a komodo dragon (big leaf) were the most memorable. As my pace slowed even more, I began to shout at myself to stay awake and keep moving forward (and scare away any leopards). I finally made it to the Picnic Area aid station and my final drop bag. After several cups of amazing lentil soup and a bag of pbj sandwiches to go I set off on the final 15 miles. I really don’t remember much of this part other than a few more excellent hallucinations and sleep-running down Crisman Hollow Road.

On the way down from my second climb to Jawbone, I ran into Brenden who was having his own struggles. We ran the rest of the way together (well, he ran and I stumbled). Finally we made it to the field and across the finish line: 26 hours and 37 minutes.

This was by far my hardest and most challenging ultra. Throughout the race, but particularly in the final third, the tiredness and exhaustion were all consuming. Along the way I discovered more inner strength than I thought I had. No matter how tired, how difficult it became, I always knew I would take another step. Painful, exhausting, completely overwhelming – I wouldn’t trade any of it.

Amy was waiting at the finish line with some warm clothes and food. I got to see Danny finish a few minutes later then we drove back to the cabins where my amazing wife breathed a well-earned sigh of relief. Apparently I had looked a little worse for wear when she waved me off at mile 60 and she had spent the whole night checking her phone for updates… Then I slept.

Thank you to all the volunteers. While I can’t say the rocks were always enjoyable, the course was beautiful and the volunteers made the race very special. Thank you to Amy and Danny for hanging out with us and the rides to and from the race. Thank you to David, my coach, for getting me in shape to run and smile through this crazy adventure. Most of all thanks to Lindsey and my boys for putting up with my long training hours, coming down to watch me and pushing me forward when things got tough. Now I can say I’ve beaten the sleep monster!

On to the next adventure …