Part XI: Chapman Gulch to KT

I spend ten minutes at Chapman before heading out at 11:11AM. It dawns on me that I have 19 hours until the final cutoff and 18 more miles to run. Last year I didn't hit this "I can average less than 1mph and still finish..." moment until the final aid station.

Uneventful climb up to Grant-Swamp Pass. You climb about 2,700 feet in 3.2 miles to the 11th mountain pass of the race. But considering what you hafta go through to get there, that hill doesn't feel like much.

I cut Paul loose at the top of Grant-Swamp. I tell him I'm doing fine and can proceed without him, so he takes off at a pace I can't match. I wouldn't see him again until the finish line (I believe he ran all the way in, covering the final 60 miles of the course). I spend a moment at the Joel Zucker memorial at the top of the pass, one of the best views of the entire course.

I'm able to run a good chunk of the Kamm Traverse and in no time I'm at KT. It's 2:11PM, and looking more and more like I'd be able to hit the Silverton Brewery before it closed...