Day 4,129—Running to the Store: Reflections on the Badger VI —

 

          I cannot believe it is so late and I haven’t written about my run yet, but everything seems to be taking longer today. I didn't want to get up and do things this morning, nor did I want to go running, but I figured I could go to the store and buy some food for my kids, which I ended up doing. I am wondering now what my main thing I wanted to get from the store was, and it might have all been food-related. I went the long way so I would get a few more miles in before I went home. When I got there, I got way too much to put in my running vest, and I regretted not bringing my bigger bag so I could carry as much stuff as I wanted. I kept seeing more stuff I wanted to get for my office, but I didn’t have room to carry anything else.

         When I ran home, I had to carry a lot of stuff in one hand, which I rotated as I ran. I have started working on the video, but I am moving at a much slower pace than usual. I am normally so much more motivated to get a cut done within a week, which would have been today, but with all the work stuff and so much to think about, it. It is going to take longer than it has in the past. I was going to work on it today, but I think I might have taken a nap.

Reflections on the Badger, Part VI: the Return and the Recovery

         I woke up about 10 a.m., and I heard Travis taking down his tent in disbelief. I couldn’t believe he wasn’t still sleeping. When I emerged from my tent, I confirmed it was him and slowly started to pack up my stuff with Travis helping out. We walked to the main area and saw runners still finishing. I asked what place I had finished, and I was 7th overall and 5th in the men's category. Everyone finished a good hour ahead of me. Nicholas was in the 16-hour something, which was the fastest of the people I ran with. PJ was after that but didn’t finish close to Nicholas's time. Travis was under 22 hours, which was his goal coming down, so everyone I talked to was able to meet their goals, which blew my mind.

         The drop bags were not there yet, so we decided to leave and get them. It felt odd going to see the aid stations again, which were still up and running, now so many hours later. It didn’t take that long, and the aid stations were right off the road, so they didn’t take a long time to find them. This would be a good run if you had a crew because they would have no problem following you to the major aid stations.

         Travis was nice enough to stop at Burger King on the way back, and we both got the Impossible Whopper. I tried to find some music on the way back, but we didn’t talk as much, and I didn’t record any video. I think we were both thinking about the workweek and what we would need to do tomorrow, but what a success! I also talked to Holly, who beat me after the race, and she is a vegan, ultra streak runner! First time I have ever met another runner who is all those things. There has got to be more of us. I meet a lot of vegan runners, but I have never met another vegan ultra streak runner before. Maybe we’re slowly taking over the world, and every runner in time will be all those things! I read a newspaper article about an ultra runner who is 80 years old the other day. He is the oldest runner to complete the Badwater 135, and of course, he is a streak runner too. 

The  Badger 100 video should be done by next week at the latest! I have watched through all the raw footage, and I undeniably have a lot of good footage, so I will be excited to share the video when it is done. I also will try to make a complete edition for this race when I share it. I feel like this has been the least focused race write-up but maybe I will feel differently when I read through it all.