Day 3,559 —Reflections on the Shippey 100, Part 3: We Were Catching Our Second Wind —

        After around the 50K distance, Brian and I were still running together, and although we were slowing down, we were doing well. Brian was about to hit his longest run ever, and I was generally impressed with how he was holding up. He had a good crew with him, and my dad was talking to them at the aid station. 

        After the second lap, it was good to finally hit the official 40-mile mark. I knew we still had a lot more to do but now I was feeling like I had really done some running. It took about 5 hours to complete the second lap, and I wasn’t in the lead anymore, but that was okay. I was planning to have to hold back a lot if I was going to finish. 

The third lap started, and I realized it was going to get dark soon, so I made sure to put my headlamp back on after the first leg of the second loop. It seemed crazy that it was already getting dark. The really crazy thing about doing these ultras is how I feel like I am living outside of time. I can see how time is affecting everyone else, but I am focused on the trail and talking to Brian, and not really on anything else. 

When it started snowing, we were both surprised by the change in the weather. It was tough to stay in good spirits, but I kept thinking about how much I liked how everything looked in the snow, and I just wanted to take a picture. 

Eventually, I shot a short video of me running out of the aid station. It was the only video I took during the race, but I am glad I did. I can safely report that I have enough video recordings to make a movie about the race. I’ve been working on it today, although it doesn’t have many shots of me running. My dad recorded four or five videos, including the start of the run during the second loop. 

        Brian’s buddy was suddenly pacing with us, and it was nice to have somebody else around who was experiencing this with us. I encouraged him to record some videos, and he did! I kind of would like those videos now but I did nothing to procure them at the time. I could have just given him my number.

        When Brian’s buddy finished pacing us that leg, Brian needed to sit down for a minute. I knew this would be where we parted ways. I was just getting so cold that I couldn’t slow down. I was moving fast. When I started on the last leg of the second loop: it was the beginning of the end.

Tomorrow, the Final Leg + the video