My brain was so fried at this point that I thought I still had a sub 36 in me. Had 53 minutes to cover the final 5.6 miles. And they were downhill. No sweat, right?
I gave it everything I had for those 53 minutes, but the trail was a bit too rocky and I was a bit too tired. I made it to Mineral Creek, mile 98.5, as the race clock was striking 36 hours. Shad and Katie were waiting on the other side and I gladly accepted a can of PBR from them. Didn't waste too much time here, as I was told there was a runner not far in front of me. I crossed HWY 550 and headed out the Nute Chute towards the finish line.
As I was running way up on the Nute Chute, I could hear Katie and Shad down on HWY 550 honking at me. They pulled off the road and got out to take some pictures. So of course I mooned them!
I did end up passing the other runner just as Silverton came into view. I made one final push up a small hill on a dirt road, took a right turn at the Shrine of the Mines, and began the home stretch. There were no runners in front of me and nobody close behind me, so I took the time to enjoy the final few blocks.
About 50 meters before the finish line my crew was waiting for me. They handed me a lit cigar and an open can of Pabst, which I carried down the state flag lined chute to the finish rock. A puff, a chug, and a kiss later, I had finished my second Hardrock.
2 comments:
Nice write up!
Can't believe that guy from the East coast finished!
Yeah, he was hurtin'. Tough cookie though.
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