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Ultramarathon
This past weekend I volunteered at the Uwharrie Mountain Run 8-16-40 miler race at the mile 5/35 (for the 40 milers) aid station (mile 5/11 for the 16 milers). While I was there I snapped photos of the racers coming back along the course. The full album is available on Facebook, but here’s a quick glimpse of the highlights!
How do I describe running 31 miles in the mountains? The fact that I’m struggling to describe it tells me one thing: it’s a lot to process. I’m remembering the race in snippets, like scenes from a dream: a long line of runners streaking across a field in blue pre-dawn light, the angry buzz of perturbed yellow jackets, gravel roads that continue for miles, swollen mountain streams, the arduous climb to the summit, the thrill of the technical downhill running, the smell of cookies and bananas and PB&J, and the final grueling miles in the late afternoon heat. Thirty-one miles is a montage of pain and stubbornness.
Just four days into the new year and I’ve already completed my first race of 2020 - nay, my first ULTRA of 2020! 50K #3 is officially in the books for me after the Salem Lake Frosty Fifty on January 4!
It has been a ridiculously long time since I’ve been active on this blog, and yes, I miss it, but on the other hand it’s been thrilling to have such a fast-paced summer.
So if I haven’t been blogging, then what the heck have I been up to?! (The responsible and mostly true but boring answer is I’ve been busy with my job - technology moves fast and creating innovative technology means I have to move even faster.) But the more exciting thing to say is I’ve been running trails.
