It was a beautiful day to run. With my Dad on board to crew me throughout the day(s), I was confident in a race strategy that played to my strengths on the more runnable sections of the course. From the start in downtown Leadville through the Twin Lakes Aid Station at Mile 39.5, we executed the plan, and I came in at 6:24, about 30 minutes off the leaders, as I prepared for the back-to-back 3,000' climbs up to Hope Pass at 12,600'. Of course, I knew going in that my "power-hiking" was more of a slog than a hike, but I was still feeling pretty confident back at Twin Lakes (inbound), Mile 61, in 13:11. My Dad, who was awesome all day, set me up for a strong finish with dry socks, shoes, and two sandwiches.
Then, inexplicably given how well the course was marked, on the way up to Mt. Elbert around Mile 63, I turned the wrong way on the Colorado Trail, added 4 Miles, and lost a lot physcially and even more mentally. With darkness approaching and no headlamp, I was fortunate to fall in with a couple of runners who pulled me in to the next aid station at Mile 75.5. My Dad did everything he could to keep my spirits up, encouraging me to enjoy the latter miles and not ruminate on the added distance/time. Over the course of the final miles, I fought through an upset stomach and chills, learned a lot about basic human kindness from other runners, and pulled myself out of a very dark place to finish in sub-25 hours, earning the big gold buckle.
Wesley
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