Ran the Knoya Ridge Mountain Race this morning. The race is only to the top only; then we had to run back down again on our own. Rainy weather, lots of rolling hills for the first half, and then we hit the LONG and slow climb to the peak.
Sad news: A 22-year-old runner with a pre-existing heart condition collapsed and died about 400 feet from the finish. It was TERRIBLE. We were all crying as we stood around and waited for the helicopter to deliver his body back to his family. A doctor and nurse who had been running the race administered CPR but couldn't revive him. I can't begin to tell you the surreal feeling of standing of top of a mountain in the middle of nowhwere, the clouds rolling in and all that beauty, and seeing someone's body covered with racers' windbreakers waiting for the helicopter. It was stark and tragic and oh-so-silent. Really makes you respect the wildnerness, and the mountain, and the miracle of our beating hearts.
The race was basically called off after that. My unoffical time was 68 minutes. You can read more about the event at: http://www.adn.com/running/story/869611.html
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