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| Help me! |
You know, when you sign up for a race on New Year's day after a long night of celebrating with your trail running friends who say, "Hey, let's all sign up for this 26+ mile ultra trail run/hike thing," it somehow sounds like a great idea! I wasn't exactly picturing what I was getting myself into, hence the above photo.
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| Chris making it look easy! |
The Mega Transect is 26+ish miles of hell on a mountain in Lock Haven, PA. When we signed up, it sold out in just a few hours! My friend Erik who had completed the feat several times along with his fiance, Anita insisted, "Oh, it's totally runable!" I would find myself snarkily repeating this phrase over and over as I envisioned punching Erik in the face for my finisher's photo!
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| "Shaking tree" pose |
Don't get me wrong, I love trail running. And I love hiking. I just didn't anticipate the straight-down descents and the rocks of death that were taunting me for over 7 hours! I experienced a new kind of pain out there. Had it not been for my friend Judy who met up with me on the first boulder field of death (there were two!), I would probably still be out there curled up in the fetal position mumbling, "Erik is a dead man!"
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| Finishing ecstatically with Judy, my savior of the day! |
Since I am writing this now, I did make it out alive, but it took me a while to put my thoughts together! "Never again!" is what I have avowed after this harrowing event! Fortunately, there was plenty of Troeg's beer at the finish line, cold showers, a warm camp fine and the great company of friends who had survived a day of pain. And no, I didn't punch Erik in the face!
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| Still alive! |
Chris destroyed me at this one, finishing 31st in 6:02:55. I hobbled in at 7:18:12 in 134th! Next time, I'm taking pictures!!
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| Erik, Noah, John (Noah's dad), Chris, Judy, Anita & Pol celebrating our victory! |
