The Grandeur "Fun" Run and my first DNF anything!
The race started pleasantly, comfortbale temps, a nice breeze, and a light sprinkle. I felt fantastic the first 1500 feet of climbing or so and then the wind picked up and it started to rain harder. And then the wind really picked up and I huddled behind a rock to put on my wool longsleeve that I thankfully stashed in my pack and this is where Karl Meltzer passed me...
Then sh!t got real. It was blowing and sleeting so hard that I could barely think straight and had I been thinking I should have turned around. I thought going down the west face would be worse and that Church Fork would offer more protection, but both sides were awful. It was sleeting at the top and completely disorienting cloud-covered that I actually went the wrong way down, but quickly realized it (unlike Fritz) and climbed back up and tucked in between some guys to avoid dying alone.
I ran as hard as I could down the trail without slipping. I have never been so cold and scared ever. I just needed to make it down to the road where I planned to flag down a car for the rescue. I caught up to some runners that bailed from Pipeline and had a car at Rattlesnake and they graciously offered to drive me back to the West Grandeur trailhead.
I was soaked to the bone and trembling so hard I couldn't even make conversation. When I got back to the trailhead I assumed I would see Fritz, but he wasn't back yet which freaked me out because he should have been back and he had the keys! Jennilyn nicely wrapped me up in jackets and towels and I shivered uncontrollably warming myself over cooking bacon. And then some guy told me they had seen Fritz head off the mountain in the wrong direction and I was like oh no. But I will let him tell the story. And he better tell my favorite part!
Now I'm home and the sun is coming out and I'm bummed that I bailed. But I had never been so cold, I didn't really care at the moment and it isn't a real race :)
Oh and I forgot to mention that I wiped out running uphill and totally pancaked it. Fun run. And then it took an hour of sitting huddled on the bathroom floor (Fritz was in the tub, he was worse off than me) with the space heater on and the room temp 83 to finally warm-up.
And one more thing... a Grandeur PR!
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