Notes
Being at Camp during daylight is so different than only being at there at night. The camps, the lake, the cars, the tents, the people, the outfits, the dogs, the aid station, the clock….the entire set up. When I arrived, I wandered around for a while and wondered if I’d bump in to Jake. I found a tree hugger type car that smelled of hemp seeds and kombucha which had a Sugarloaf and VT 100 sticker on it so I knew I would find Jake at some point. I recognized him on a camp chair reading a book, said hello, and I settled in. It should have seemed weird for him, but he was great, and more talkative then I expected. It was cool to spend some time with him and hear him talk about his dad. He’s such an unassuming kid but when he talked about Doug you could tell he was amazed at what his dad was able to accomplish with his running and you could tell he was proud of his father. That was really cool.
Leg 1
I didn’t think this leg would be a problem for me but I wanted to be ready. I haven’t traverse 15 miles since my last long run before Sugarloaf back in May but knew the pace would be easy. I’ve run 10 miles or more 4 or 5 times since August so I figured it would be fine. I was right. Leg 1 was really pretty uneventful. The course was very well maintained and although there were some roots in spots there were very little challenging parts of the course. It became clear to me that Doug knew the course like the back of his hand, and he had a very specific strategy. Run the non rooty parts harder, walk during the roots and hills, and repeat. Despite his 60 miles, he was clear headed and focused on his strategy. Fueling/hydrating seem like a hard thing to figure out over 100 miles but Doug had this down to a science. We get to the bridge with the pumpkins and I notice they were scented. I didn’t like that. We get through the pumpkin bridge, the aid station, and then Doug starts to pick up. We both know we’re getting to a tricky area but it feels like we are flying and he looks really strong. Then he hits a root and goes down. He’s just in front of me so as I notice him stumble I do the same thing. Like fucking dominoes. We do a quick check of “you ok?” and we get up and keep going. Sometimes these falls knock the wind out of your sails but this wasn’t bad for either of us. The good news for Doug was that he had gloves on. I did not so my hands got a little road rash. No big deal. We hit the aid station and I get some water but we are in and out quickly. Crossing the water before the aid station always seems a little dicey. The cement barrier is about 3 fee across but no railings on either side and it amazes me that I never hear of any wipe outs into the water. At some point on the way back Doug pulls a Doug move. He crossed a street and just keeps going. I am about 10 steps behind him and hear a car so I stop. A car comes barreling around the corner but jams on its break. Holy smokes. At some point on the way back we smell something weird. An older gentleman who is a runner goes by us. Wait? Is that weed I smell? I say out loud, “for medicinal purposes only” and we keep going. By the end of the leg Doug seems to go into a dark spot but seems relieved to see Pam at camp. Once he crossed the mat and comes back to our set up the issues with the headlamp start. He seems very focused on solving the problem to the point where it looks like he forgot he needed to get back on the course. 25 miles buddy. Don’t fuck this up now. Lots of dickering, searching for other lights. Not good. Now Doug seems off and for the first time since I saw him at 4pm he is distracted. Fuck. “Dude. I hate to sound like a dick but you need to get on the course”. Several minutes go by. “Doug. You’ve been here for almost 10 minutes it’s time to go”. After 11 minutes, he finally leaves. Not good.
S: 73
C: GO! The winner ran 13:29. Doug sucks
The I get the update that Dodgers have won the pennant followed by an MFer.Inspirational text from Cremer
Cremer and text throughout the night. The first is:
C 60?
C: ????
S: Just finished 75 at 11. Time for sleep.
Then Cremer keeps texting me. Dude. I have 3 hours to sleep leave alone.
C: Going out at 90?
S: Yup.
C: Don’t fuck it up. Push him.
Thanks Tony Robbins. I get it. I’m the only CN guy here. It’s 3am. Doug’s run 90 already. What could possibly go wrong?
My last response to Cremer before back on the course for the final 10 miles was the following:
S: Took him 2 hours to go 7.5. Another prolly another 2 to get back. Then 10 in 2 hours? That’s a big mountain to climb. But he’s a robot.