So definitely not what I was looking for. My first DNF from a race. But glad that it was due to an injury and not to something more in my control.
I started off great and ran well on the first big climb into mile 13 or so. I got off course for about a mile or so, and once I was back on track I ran into some stomach issues. I eased back and recovered from that going into Dry Fork at 17. From here we did a 3.5 mile out n back. Since i went off course i decided to just drop all my crap and run the 7 miler before stopping at the aid station. This part included an amazing stream crossing that took away any pain i had at this point. This was also my first chance to see everyone else out there. Everyone looked full of life and happy. I made it back to the Dry Fork Aid station feeling great. Grabbed some food, changed socks and continued on following Chip. He provided great company for the next few hours.
We pulled into Cow Camp at mile 30. This is where the mud was pretty gnarly. Knee deep and shoe sucking in parts. I kept pushing and tweaked my ankle at around 28 or so. I was so focused on keeping my shoes on my feet that I ignored any pain. I had my second wind at mile 36 and ran great down this super fun 2000 foot descent.
Came into mile 41 with a great mood and lots more to give. My feet were pretty bad from being soaked the last 10 or so hours. I changed shoes and got my headlamp on. 8:30 pm or so I began my trek out to the 50 mile turnaround. This section was rolling with a net climb through a pretty narrow canyon. The river below was RAGING.
We crossed a extremely sketchy footbridge over the river and pulled into another camp at 44 or 45. I still felt great, but the slow pace in the night put more stress on my ankle. I began to crater physically and mentally. I fell asleep on my feet a few times re twisting the same ankle 4 or 5 times. Amanda kept giving me simple questions to answer, and i would respond 30 seconds later with a completely off topic answer. "Rob, so what are you doing with your parents next weekend?"...my resonse..."Yeah Fort Collins brewery is pretty awesome". I felt better in little spurts when i got to see friends. I ran into Chris, Kari, Ning, Chip, Pete, Victoria, Sheri, Eric and Cat. Seeing all of them gave me a pick up that lasted a few minutes before i sank back into my hole of delusion. The thought of quitting became a very, very, very painful reality.
I came into mile 50 and sat down for the first time in 14 hours. Had some hot soup and trail mix, I tried to get up but no go on that.
I asked for some tape and went at my ankle. In the mental state I was in I taped my ankle like an ape with turrets, but it was the best I could do. I left and tried to run on it without success. Still being incoherent I began a slur of random conversation with Amanda. I crushed my ankle on a rock, and that was it for me. I could no longer put weight on it.
I Grabbed a stick to walk with and began the longest part of the race for me. A 5 miles “hike” through this canyon which took me about 6 or so hours. To put that into perspective....In the amount of time it took me to "walk" 6 miles I could have almost been back in Boulder. I knew at this point my race was over..but i still needed to make it out of the canyon. I felt worse for Amanda, she had to follow my sluggish pace in the freezing canyon. With each step came a piercing pain through my foot.
Freezing and exhausted I FINALLY made it into mile 57 and gave notice of my dropping. This was the hardest decision I had to make, but it was necessary. I sat in this camp for hours and realized I still had 3 miles to go to get out of the canyon. Poor Amanda sat there at the camp freezing, while i sit in out out of consciousness. I tried to dry my feet and shoes off by sticking them in the fire. I would fall asleep and then wake up from the smell of burning rubber. I watched as people poured into this aid station for hours making their journey out and on the way home. I came into a state of depression from my 3 year journey to make it this far. I spent the rest of the long cold night sleeping in a camp chair by the fire with this REALLY, REALLY annoying girl yapping in my ear about god knows what.
I waited until day break and tried to get out and realized it would take me another 4 or so hours to traverse the rest of the canyon. The aid station volunteers were absolutely amazing and decided the best way out for me was horseback. HAHAHA…this Yankee has never ridden a horse, let alone in a freakin canyon with a raging river 600 feet below.
But with a swollen ankle, I figured why not...what better way to learn? Hopped up on casey the horse and went at it. Absolutely the scariest part of the race. the stretch from Narrows to Footbridge has some steeps and quite a few rocky sections. All i could envision was Casey bucking back and tossing me into the river down below. I cringed and clenched this poor horse as i leaped up and over boulders and streams, down the steeps. On the flat parts i was falling asleep on this damn horse and slipping off the side and would manage to wake up and pull myself back up before i plummeted off the cliff face. 3 miles later I finally arrived back to where my friends were. The race was over for me.
I gave it a go, Im happy with how I felt throughout the race. My legs felt absolutely fresh at mile 50, but my ankle prevented any forward progression. I know I was training and racing right, but just need to put the race together better next time. The fire is lit under my butt still, and will take another shot at this distance in late august.
Congrats to ALL, it was an amazing experience and i am honored to have been able to share such an experience with everyone.
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