Wow what a crazy night! Got to Brighton before 9:00 PM expecting the runner, Phil Lowry, I would be pacing the last 25 miles to be in before 10:00. At 9:45 I got the word that he would be in any minute, so I grabbed my gear and headed to the door to wait, knowing he would be making an in and out stop and would be in a hurry, as he was going for a sub 24 or better time. Phil's pacer for the last section came in first, sweating hard, told me phil was flying and would be ready to push hard to the fininsh.
Phil came in, weighed, garbbed his stuff and we were on our way up the big climb to Sunset point on a gorgeous moon lit night. Having never paced before, I had no idea how fast we would go and what exactly Phil expected. I asked if he wanted ot be pulled or pushed, he said pushed, which meant I walked behind him.
About 50 yards out, he stopped and puked. I thought, well, some people puke in these things, so no big deal if it's not to him. Sure enough, we were off a walking agian in moments. Tough as nails were the only words I could muster.
Within 15 minutes, Phil puked again, then a little farther and he had to use the bushes. We came into a small valley, right before the last section of climb and Phil,sat down, telling me he wasn't doing well. Having never run with him, and not knowing his usual habbits, I wasn't quick to push him to keep moving, but figured we would give it a few minutes and see how it went. Well, one minute in and he was dry heaving badly. We tried to assess what we could do, he had no answer as he has never gotten sick in any of his other 28 hundred mile races before.
I knew with all the puking, his blood sugar would be low, his electrolytes would be wacked, and he was in danger of getting really dehydrated. I pulled out an S-cap and asked him to try and get it down as I knew it would settle his stomach. One S-cap one swig of water, lots more puking. He wanted to lay down, so we found a flat spot next to the trail and he laid down. I set my waistback under his head for a pillow and my jacket over his legs as he was shivering hard. It was a cold spot we were in, so I kept myself warm walking up and down the trail, waiting to see if he would come around.
After what seemed like 15-20 minutes, Phil sat up and said he was done and wanted to walk back down the 2 miles to Brighton. A good pacer will do everything they can to encourage a runner who wants to quit. My only words were something like, you have been doing this a long time, you know your abilities and limits, if its your call, then lets go.
On the way down, we ran into Cory and Tom with pacers Matt and Kasey. Both gave Phil encouragement to keep going to the finish when he felt better. I think it was them that first flipped the switch in his mind a bit about being able to continue.
Getting back to Brighton, Phil went to the back room of the lodge and collapsed on a cot, with volunteer Marc Colmen looking out for him. We had been on the mountain above Brighton fro 3 hours and not really moving. I was cold as I had given all my jacket and gloves to Phil on the way out as he was suffering much worse.
Phil spent the next 3 hours sacked out,trying to recover. I had an enjoyable time hanging out at the lodge seeing many runners I know come and go. Scott and Craig came in looking good and we tlaked for a bit. Craig went into the back to check on Phil and I walked back a few minutes later. Phil was sitting up looking much better. He asked if I was ready to go. Totally remarkable to go from where he was at, recover, and have the strength and courage to go on to the finish.
It took us a while to get moving, but once we did it was at a good clip. We cruised quickily up the climb, back past the spot where Phil had decided to turn around. We were moving well and passing alot of other runners. How his legs were able to move after sitting for 3.5 hours I don't know, but moving we were.
The sunrise was unbelievable. The views in every direction were stunning. We were having a great time. Phil asked if I thought his kids, who were wating at the finish, would be disapointed in his finish being slower than planned. I told him if I was one of his kids I would be more proud of a dad who didn't quit, than one who was fast. We made it in at a steady pace in about 30 hours and 50 minutes, with over 6 hours of down time at Brighton. A few people told me that Phil's comeback was one of the most remarkable they had seen. The guy has finished 29 100 mile races with no DNF's. Remarkable.
Highlights:
Phil pulling off a finish.
Running through a stunning morning
Seeing Scott W finish his first hundred with kids in tow
Having several other friends finish, some their first, others their 10th.
Hanging out with good friends at the finish
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