So Much Respect
It’s hard to fathom running 100 miles in a day. Especially through the mountains. Over the past two weeks, I’ve run 107 miles total. That consisted of 10 runs in just under 16 hours total. 107 miles in 16 hours over 10 days (a lot of which were on the streets). Yesterday, Jim Walmsley ran 100 miles from Squaw Valley to Auburn in 14 hours and 46 minutes. One shot….no stopping…..straight through. That is insanity. It’s literally hard to wrap my brain around it.
For anybody who has ever run any distance you know that you have ups and downs in a run. In most of my long runs (15-25 miles) I experience a period where it gets tough. Sometimes really tough where I don’t think I can go one more mile. I am sure this becomes exponentially more difficult to overcome the further you get. What’s amazing to me is how often I’ve hit a wall and pushed through only to find a second wind where I’ve felt great and was able to keep going.
Yesterday, there were two efforts that stood out to me….other than Walmsley’s super human race. Tim Tollefson and Hayden Hawks. Both of these guys hit a hard wall and pushed through to finish. Tim finished super strong and took 5th overall. Hayden was hanging with Jim near the front for 92 miles when he hit his wall. He pushed through to finish 8th place male in what he described as “the hardest 8 miles I have ever done”. What gutsy efforts by both men. I love that will to finish and push through the discomfort. I hope when my first 100 mile race comes, I have the same determination and will.
Lastly, I am so grateful that I live near the location of this amazing race now. I’ve had the pleasure of running some of these same trails over the past two years and look forward to the day I can toe the line in Squaw Valley to give it a go. Until then, I will continue to show up and support the runners as they make their amazing journey through the mountains. They are beyond inspiring. As I write this….there is about 20 minutes left until the 30 hour cut off. I’m going to go watch the final minutes for those last gutsy efforts of people finishing this journey. Run a trail…..be happy!
