5…4…3…2…1…GO!
And with that, the journey that I had been preparing for since January began.
Despite all the miles I had put in since I had been lucky enough to win the lottery on my first try, I knew I was in way over my head. I was standing among some of the giants of the sport of ultrarunning, several of whom had more than 100 hundred mile race finishes. My grand total was one, Leadville, and I had quite the difficult time finishing that. But at the same time I was kind of giddy, being able to challenge this monster of a course and to see if I had what it takes to finish.
Leaving Silverton High School, the course climbs up past the Shrine of the Mines statue. This was the last time I, or anyone else for that matter, would see speedster Kyle Skaggs. While he’s busy running away from everyone, I’m walking slowly, making sure I stay buried in the pack to avoid too fast a start.
After the Mines statue, I ran along the Nute Chute and soon found myself headed to the first water crossing, about two miles into the race. Very fun moment, as all the folks who were at the start of the race made it here well before the runners and gave us a huge ovation. Katie, Melissa, Joyce, Lynn, Tony K, they were all here cheering for me. Christian, one of the two reporters the Colorado Springs Gazette had sent in to cover the race, was taking his pictures diligently – from the middle of Mineral Creek! Luckily, the adrenaline rush from the crowd made me forget the unfortunate fact that my feet would remain soaken wet the rest of the race.
Upon exiting the creek, we continued a steep climb up to the Putnam Basin trail. Lots of faint deer paths and open field crossings. I was scared shitless of getting lost, so I was super careful about locating the course markers (reflective tags with the Hardrock logo on them) even though most of the runners around me knew where we were going.
About seven miles into the race, I finally hit the top of the first climb. I’m at the Putnam-Lime ridge, about 12,600 feet. It’s difficult, but not too much of a problem for me and I actually think, “maybe this is gonna be easier than everyone says.”
The first major downhill of the race is uneventful. I take things easy – meeting some of the runners, enjoying the incredible Colorado scenery, and trying not to pound my legs too bad. All the while, there are minor stream crossings and lots of mud, no big problems other than that they keep my feet wet.
Soon we pass some abandoned mines from the old Bandora mine and I hear some noise up ahead – the KT aid station. One more creek crossing and a muddy field later, I’m on a jeep road heading into the first big checkpoint of the race. I clock in at 9:13AM and leave at 9:16AM. Cutoff for the aid station is 12:45PM.
Even though I’m 3.5 hours ahead of the cutoff, I’m happy with my start. Not too blazing, but it’s nice to already have a cushion. I’m drinking fluids and I eat a ton at the station. The weather is cooperating. I’m 11.5 miles into the race. Life is good…
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