Notes
Gorge Waterfalls:
It started with surreal nighttime running on slick rocky terrain, with cavernously deep unseen cliffs a sidestep away and roaring waterfalls in the ears, lovely mist in the face. Then the more terrifying technical downhill with insufficient lighting from my headlamp lead to an ankle mishap, cussing swallowed by the roar of the river, and mutters of "walk it off, walk it off!" 1 hour in. After a kind pat on the back from Denise and subsiding stabs I plugged on, more cautiously, and more focused on sustainability.
A constant yo-yo with the men around me characterized the next section. I would charge up a hill leaving a train in the dust only to step out of the way for those more aggressively utilizing gravity on the next downhill. The trail spit us out on pavement for 2 miles and I felt overjoyed with freedom prancing in a straight line in the warm lovely rain.
As I headed back into trail dawn turned on like a switch and the crowds of peers dispersed, each on his/her own wave. Friendly conversations with happy positive-minded runners, like Will, made the miles slip away in a calm, joyful way. Rocks were way more fun to navigate during daylight and periodic views of the gorge sound tracked by the choo-chooing of trains made for a lovely existence I was happy to steep in. Gel after gel I downed with gatorade and salt, resupplied by aid station folks who treated me like royalty and a winner... even though I was way behind the front runners.
Ankle pain resurfaced in miles ~25-35, but thoughts of dropping were quieted by exuberant greetings of runners now often encountered in the opposing direction. The return leg was filled with happy chatter with Luke and Paul, who yo-yo-ed with me for 25 miles and definitely helped me keep moving. Quiet solo moments I kept negative thoughts squashed with the Despicable Me happy song and I just kept rolling forward, enjoying the now familiar trail. The last brutal climb slowed me to a walk that seemed to never ever end, but the ensuing downhill was reward enough, and the finish a wonderful place to be!!
I cannot fathom how people run for 100 miles, but 100 km on gorgeous gorge trails was a great experience!
130 people were signed up, only 61 finished, I wonder how many started!