2016 Race Season : Beautifully Brutal

What makes animals like a Great White Shark, a Tiger, Killer Whales, Wolves, Bears so appealing to us as humans? I have always been fascinated as to why we have been so enamored with these dangerous creatures. Some may say their size, power, and ferocity are frightening and therefore entertaining, but to me I have always seen them as years and years of genetic perfection to survive and achieve a task at maximum efficiency. They are brutally efficient and yet beautiful aesthetically as well. Perhaps this is why I am attracted to the hardest races I can sign up for.
Last year I signed up for the Angeles Crest 100, then the Tahoe 200, and last minutely the Bryce 100. It seemed like a good idea at the time and I was excited. As June got closer, it started to look more and more daunting. So without further ado, let's just jump right in!
June 2016 - Bryce 100
I wanted to run this race to see the Hoodoos and I wanted to pop a certain question to a certain someone in Zion. While I didn't really plan on racing this one too hard, my training went pretty well. I went in confident. The race was pretty rough. With about 18k of climbing, heat, and the altitude (the whole race is  @ ~7200-~9400 ft), the out and back course weaves through the Hoodoos of Bryce Canyon. The race started off without a hitch and was going pretty well until I went of course with a Chris from Quebec. We went off course for 3 miles! It was our fault, we were chatting and ended up missing a sign...stupid us! We were 5th and 6th before we were off course. When we came back we were 29th and 30th!!!It was soul crushing. I had this experience at Chimera and knew too well not to let it get to me, yet the elevation was not allowing me to take any calories in. I was feeling terrible and by mile ~43 I was exhausted.

Feeling it at mile 43

 I saw my crew which was amazing and then we climbed up Pink Cliffs. For the first time I tried pickle juice and it worked wonders! At the out and back turn around I started feeling better and better. Soon the night fell upon us and I was running pretty fast at mile 60. I felt like one of those animals, just hunting prey in the night. By the time I got to mile ~84 ish, my father informed me I was in 8th place! I was totally dumbfounded. He knew I was feeling like crap earlier and said there was no shame if I wanted to call it, but with the new news of 8th place?! I told him hell no! Maybe it was a little reverse psychologically my father was playing on me...he has done it before. I climbed like a demon and really tried hard to get the sub 24 but didn't get it. Andrea was awaiting me at the finish line amazed at how I came back from the dead.

We joked with the finish line crew stating how technically I did get sub 24 since I did 106 miles...they all laughed. Overall time 24:08 for 8th place. It was an amazing trip especially due to the fact that she said YES!
August 2016 - Angeles Crest 100
This is a race I had always wanted to due as it is a pretty legendary race (since 1986) in the world of ultrarunning. It is a point to point race ran from Wrightwood, CA to Altadena, CA through the San Gabriel range. I had done trailwork with Uncle Hal before and loved the whole vibe and hype of AC. There was a course change this year and a little drama, but the race itself was fantastic! There is a certain electricity in the air before AC. I didn't do much training from Bryce to this race, but I had run it's entirety piecewise over the year. Some good friends of mine and plenty of local runners that I knew were running the race. This race was stacked with talent. I had registered to run it solo and that meant Andrea would not be here for this one. I was kinda bummed on that. The days before I really wasn't looking forward too much to this race just because I had a lot of stuff going on and my training wasn't where I would've liked it. The race started and I instantly knew it was gonna be a very strange and hard race. The initial climb went ok, but then when we got to the top, I just started feeling like crap. I thought it could've been the altitude. The course itself was beautiful and totally runnable. By mile 40 I was feeling the heat. Maty Kafka, Joe Ochaba, and myself had decided to run a little bit together but then the heat and altitude started killing us. Joe took a pretty bad fall and never really recovered, I started feeling terrible, and Matt went on for a bit.

Climbing up the legendary Baden Powell

I caught up to Matt and we ran the road section (Hwy 2) at a good clip. Once again I started feeling it pretty bad as it was getting really really hot climbing up to Mt. Pacifico. I went into, as Peter Brennen likes to say, "full desert mode" going back to Mt. Hillyer. Ice in my buff, cold water everywhere, the whole shebang.  I kept suffering and suffering. My goal was to go out slower and push it the last 30, but I was actually thinking of dnf'ing for the first time in my career. At mile 59 I was about anywhere from 60-80% sure I was going to DNF, but alas! Matt Kafka to the rescue!!!!! He was feeling like crap and stayed a little longer at the aid station when I caught up to him. He asked if we should run together and I said yes in a heartbeat! He helped me out so much mentally. I was down and out and to find a friend at that moment, in the darkest time to pull you out of the pit was something I will always remember. Matt and I ran all the way up to Newcomb's saddle, which was a sufferfest. We died a little at the aid station, but then on the downhill going into Chantry we found a wind to really run it hard. We passed two people on the downhill and came in to Chantry. This is where things got a little strange. They separated Matt and I. Since I was a solo runner the volunteers all stayed in my face and wouldn't let me be for a bit. They kept pushing me to get out, it was very aggravating. So before I knew it I was pushed out of the aid station without Matt, who had now picked up his pacer. Not before long they caught up with me and we continued our journey to Altadena. At this point I hit super lows as well as Matt. We trudged up two brutal climbs which were Mt Wilson and Sam Merrill. These climbs destroyed our souls. We were puking left and right. We finally came to the last aid station. From here it would be all downhill....and I do mean DOWNHILL. Matt wanted to stay a little and I just wanted to get to the finish, so I booked it downhill. The footing was very technical and the scenery was a perfect overcast. As I descended into the low clouds I passed numerous people.  I was feeling good again. I went passed JPL NASA which looked amazing at early morning and booked it to the finish. I saw Andrea and my soon to be mother-in-law and they were both excited for me. This was my worst race result, but yet it felt so rewarding because I persevered when I wanted to drop at mile 59. Overall 23rd place and official time 24:54.

Not a better way to end the race!

Now...a little backstory. I had always wanted to do the 200 even when I hadn't even run a 100. There was some certain appeal to go where you thought you couldn't, to push yourself further than you could imagine. So I signed up after I had three 100 mile races under my belt. I had heard 200's are actually less taxing and demanding than a 100 miler (cough cough bullshit). So last September I signed up, excited to finally partake in one of my lifelong goals.
As time got closer and the races started getting finished I was getting more and more scared. To run 100 miles THEN have 100 more left?! I couldn't fathom it. I had bought some trekking poles for the run and practiced with them, but before the race I really didn't do much running. It was recommended by Candice Burt (the RD) to just rest if you have raced a 100 within a month of the Tahoe 200. This gave me a little hope. I kind of signed up for the Bryce 100 and AC100 for practice for the Tahoe 200 anyways, but I was worried about the time. Did I recover well enough? Am I running too little? I had only one month of rest between every race. Suffice to say I had no idea what I or my crew was in for.
September 2016 - Tahoe 200
Thankfully I had an AWESOME crew for this race which comprised of my fiance Andrea, my older brother Michael, and his wife Sharon. I also had a pacer for the first time ever in a race. The greek god himself Mark Pokora would be my pacer for a hard 15 miles!!!
I had stupidly thought that 200's would be relatively less technical due to the fact that we would be running 200 miles. Well....from the first look from the start line I knew that was not the case. This was a legit 200 miles through highly technical and rough mountain terrain.
So to the race. I started the race with only a water bottle because it was early, cooler, and 7 miles of climbing. I thought it worked well for me and before I knew it I was at the aid station.

A hesitated look

The views and landscapes were utterly breathtaking. I rolled into the aid station, picked up my pack and poles and continued on. I would not be able to see my crew for another 60 miles or so (the course does not allow crew again until mile ~63, but they would meet me at mile 70.6). We descended down a pleasant trail until we hit the infamous Rubicon trail (literally what the Jeep is named after). The Rubicon is a nasty trail that is super dusty and hides rocks that catch your foot. The dust really affected me as I started to cough and have sinus issues. I ran with the eventual winner (Jason Kinsella) for awhile. It was strange how we knew the same people yet we were thousands of miles apart. He was from Canada and was Alissa St. Laurent's neighbor ( I ran raced her at Cascade Crest 2015...she's a beast). So I knew he was a good runner and he looked great going over the Rubicon.
We came to the aid station and he took off. I was feeling a little worse for wear so I confided in eating a few grapes. My stomach was kind of sour, but not too bad. I was worried about the elevation and heat because I had issues with it at Bryce and AC. I left the aid station only to be caught by the legendary Scott Jaime!. I knew he was running the race and had hoped I would get to chat with him a little. Scott and I ran good 30 miles together, constantly playing leap frog. We would chat a little, but he is a man of few words. I would describe him as the Clint Eastwood of ultrarunning...just a silent badass who never complains and gets shit done. I respected this and rather than barrage him with a bunch of fanboy questions we just ran silently together most the time. We started another huge climb up to Tell's creek when my first issue happened. Since I was using poles for this climb, I started to get intense "Holy shit!" pain in my left elbow and soon I couldn't even use it for the poles. This bugged me a little, I still had over 150 miles! Oh well, shit falls apart, I can always powerhike. We rolled into Wright's Lake aid station (~44 miles), ending the first technical section. Scott and I stayed for a little. I was feeling pretty good and got up and took off. The sun was going down and we had a nice little flat downhill road section in which DJ (a fellow runner who killed it at the Bryce 100) caught up with me as well as the first place woman. Soon Scott caught up. We all ran down the road feeling ok, DJ decided to take a "dirt nap" (sleeping in the dirt). This was the first time I had seen this. I hadn't really thought about my sleep plan. The fact that DJ started napping kinda worried me. He had done really well at Bigfoot 200 this year, was I missing something. We all got to HWY 50 water station and guzzled some water and took off uphill to get to the first sleep station. I honestly don't remember the climb too much but I do remember getting to the aid station Sierra at Tahoe (mile 62.5) This aid station was in a ski lodge. It was awesome. I rolled in and drank a bunch of coke and cup o' noodles. Scott came in after me. He was just dead silent. We nodded at each other for a job well done so far. I decided that I was going to sleep. So I went up to the sleep room and slept for 15 mins. The rest was well worth it. My aches and pains from the run seemingly healed and I felt great. Scott had left and there were now entirely new faces.
I proceeded to my next aid station and it was dark. It was pretty cool to sleep atop a mountain in the night and I was surprised how it was not that cold outside yet. It was about 2 am. I came into mile 70.5 aid station (Housewife hill). They had a rave tent going on and my crew were having fun with it. It was such a relief to see them. I switched out my shirt for a base layer and some gloves. The more I sat the colder I got. Pretty soon I was freezing. My crew pushed me out and got me going. I warmed up as I ran faster and pretty soon I didn't need my jacket.

Leaving the raid station

Before I knew it I was at Armstrong Pass aid station. The sun was coming out and it started getting hot. I had a gnarly blister that had formed on my left big toe. The medics there attended to it with a tape job good enough to get me to the next aid station. I was starting to get pissed. The aid station difference was 18 miles and felt sooooo long. The worst thing about 200's is the aid station distance. They feel like they will never come. I got to the aid and was caught by Sean Nakamura. Sean and I have done many of the same races and we chatted it up for a little. I had saw his pacer coming up while I was going down. I asked her "where the fuck this aid station is?! This is fucking ridiculous!!" I hope she didn't get too mad over that. I was just feeling terrible. It's part of ultras and I bleed from the sleeve. The aid station informed me that there was a "little" climb up then down to Heavenly aid station.
This "little" climb was about 3000ft of climbing up switchbacks to an exposed and hot area. Once atop I had only my baselayer with me. I was getting HOT. it was about 95 up there. I took off my baselayer and just went rambo with the baselayer wrapped old man syle around my waist. I looked haggard.
I descended down to Heavenly and wanted to drop pretty bad. I was feeling like garbage, my toe was excruciating, my arm messed up, I was just not feeling it. My crew met me there and I was just kinda out of it. This is where something miraculous happened. Todd Nardi, the race medical director, took a look at my toe. After soaking it in cold water and drying it, he propped it up on his lap and gave it a full examination. He examined my foot while talking to me. I told him I was thinking about dropping and he told me that this is a life changing event and when you come out of this people will look at you differently. He asked if I had cried yet, and I have to admit I did a little already, I don't know what from but I did. He said my foot looked beautiful and I was in good shape. I don't know if he told me that to make me feel better or if it looked way better than some of the horrors he had seen in other races or his job. He was such a calming force, while he talked to me he massaged my foot a little, which by this time I had metatarsalgia in both pinky toe knuckles and the massage felt amazing.He never rushed anything yet was in complete control of his surroundings. His demeanor was inspiring and such a simple gesture gave me a renewed faith in the race and myself. I took a nap for 30 minutes in my car and I went off again.

Todd inspiring me while Sharon and Andi look at the horror.

I had made it to 103 miles! Now I was going where I had never gone before, a monkey shot out into space. I would not see my crew until mile 140.5 (Tunnel Creek). I hobbled up from Heavenly. I had changed my socks from Injinji to Smartwool. I believe 100% that Injinji's cause blistering due to the fact that the seams sitched around the toe provide friction points and therefore major blister sites. I have had this problem multiple times with these socks, so I will probably never go back to them. I had the same issue at AC100. Anyways I took my steps slowly, like tacking out and old muscle car that hadn't been run in years. You know what it's capable of but you don't know what damge you could do if you pushed it too fast. I knew my body was going into unexplored territory so I took it slow. It must've looked funny. It started to get dark again. This time going up and descending for what seemed like an eternity. The footing was really tricky as we ran on the Tahoe Rim Trail. Soon I  was starting to hallucinate at this point. It was a scary feeling this time. It started off as just the usual little things a shadow here, a dog in wood branch there. But as the race would proceed this would cause some major issues. I got to the aid station feeling cold and tired. I wanted to sleep there but it was not a sleep station. So I chatted it up with a Australian-German guy named Daniel (I think). He finished Tahoe 200 last year and had some good advice for napping and the cold next section. He said the next sections were the coldest on the course. Thankfully a runner mistakenly took my gloves and ran off with them so I could have cold hands on the next section. Why would I want it any easier? I took of and this section had me on weird street. I caught up with a runner and his pacer. His name was Andy and his pacer's name was Sam. They were awesome and we pushed each other constantly leap frogging. At this point I started hallucinating really badly.
We were climbing highly technical terrain and since I am a Blacklist fan and all, Raymond Reddington decided to give me a visit. While I was walking his face leered in front of me trying to get me to just throw myself off the side of the trail and that he wanted to do open brain surgery interrogation on me. It was really scary. He said all this in his nonchalant demeanor. I was constantly shaking my head to snap out of it, but no matter what I did I couldn't. Every 30 minutes or so I would sit on a rock for 10 secs to rest and keep going. This seemed to help. I felt as if I could fall asleep at any second and that also scared me. Someone had died at Tor De Geants from this exact same thing. I had to dig deep and stay in the game. I kept eating gels and sipping electrolytes to keep me up. At this point I started feeling pretty sick. I thought it was from the dust, but apparently it wasn't because I got most my crew sick as well. My tonsils were killing me as well. Soon the new dawn came and with it a huge descent to mile 140.5. The descent was absurdly steep and killed my quads. Andrea found me and led me to the aid station. Mark, Michael, Sharon were there. Mark called me a pussy hahaha which only he would do to light a fire under my ass. He was excited to run and I was super grateful he was there. Before we could set off though I needed a serious nap and some medical attention to my feet. The technical terrain had caused blisters to form on my heals and pinky toes as well as my middle toes on my left foot. Mark and my brother worked on my feet.

The 200 manicure special

Michael gave me an awesome massage and wiped all the dirt off my feet and legs, while Sharon and Andrea got me to eat and put sunscreen on and change clothes. This was an amazing crew. My left pinky toe was a horror show. It was as if my entire toe was a blister. Mark did the best he could. Todd's tape job was holding up really well. I was coughing up a bunch of crap. My base layer was still on and I took a nap for 30 mins. Those 30 mins of sleep were great, but I have never felt worse in my life than when I woke up in that tent. My base layer and the sun made the tent scorching and when I woke up I was dehydrated and to my chagrin I had a pretty bad fever. I felt like complete shit. Before I knew it I was out and running with Mark! Having Mark pace me at this point was so crucial. We ran on street for a little and caught up with an Australian and his crew. His name was Paul (I think) and they were great people. We chatted how hard this was. Mark knew this section pretty well and kept me going. We came to powerline pass, which looks just terrible when you see it. 1500ft in less that 1 mile. Ugh...but Mark's positive attitude helped push me to new heights. We got to the top and took some pictures over looking the gorgeous Lake Tahoe. It was a great moment to share with a great friend.

Powerline Trail overlooking Lake Tahoe

He always kept me going, he was the perfect pacer. If it was flat, he'd say " let's run this little section" at the perfect time. Before we knew it we got to the best aid station of the course (Brockway summit or Donner pass aid station) at mile 155.5. Mark and I hugged and he said words of encouragement and I thanked him dearly. This station was awesome. They had everything. I guy named Joel was like my personal helper. He got me a bunch of cokes, a egg and cheese toast sandwich , and a delicious chia, grape, something smoothie. He even filled my packs up with gatorade and put my hydration bladder nozzle in a configuration I had never known making it way easier for me to drink way faster. This aid station was so awesome that they would play a song for you to see you out. They asked me and I said "Born in the USA" by The Boss. They all said hell yeah! On my way out they blasted that shit for all of America to hear. They were rocking out, it was super awesome!
I ran the next 6 miles at a quick clip, but suddenly I had a really sharp pain in my knee. It brought me to a hault. I was pissed and hoped it wouldn't end my race...well it wouldn't I had come too far...I would crawl to that goddamned finish line if I had to. We went by the beautiful Watson Lake and got to the water station. I filled up a little bit and washed my face.
The next section was by and large the hardest of the race. On the map it said downhill, but it didn't describe what kind. This downhill was as if people just threw large rocks onto the course and said have fun. My knee was jacked at this point, I was pretty sick, and every step was excruciating thanks to all the blisters I had. To add, I couldn't use my poles at this point due to my arm still being messed up. I called Andrea several times and cussed like a sailor. This section NEVER ended. It was sheer torture. I even cried a few times just from the pain. Yes, it was that painful, if you wanna call me a wimp, you can go right ahead and run 200 miles then talk to me. If I went to hell, this would be my torture. If you looked up for a second, you would catch a foot on a rock and trip. No matter what you did this section stripped me of all I was worth. I got to Tahoe City (mile 175.5) aid station with Andrea guiding me there. I was catatonic at this aid station. Michael massaged my back then my head. Who would of known how amazing a head massage is?! Sharon and Andrea once again on changing me and feeding me. I just sat there like a zombie. I couldn't speak. I tried sending texts earlier to Andrea and I could only send them very slowly. It was as if my body was operating in slow motion. Mentally I was comatose almost. I got word that a cold front and some cold weather was approaching and we would have to bundle up for the push up the massive climb we had. This worried me as I was full blown in fever sick mode. I bundled up with leggings, gloves, baselayer, extra socks.I decided to try trekking poles since it had been two days since I used them. This was such a weird thing, it had been such a long time that I injured my arm and was able to heal it and use it later during a race. I decided to give it a go and tread lightly. Andrea saw me off and I was freezing. This is where shit got really strange. As I climbed up the 2k + mountain I started getting warm again. I took off my pack and blink for a second. Soon there were people passing me and I followed them and ended up doing a full circle back to where I started. I was super confused. I think I must've fallen asleep while standing and not have known it. I waited for the next headlamp. Soon Jose from Portugal came and I told him that I didn't know where to go. He check his Garmin device and said we were off. We went back and forth for about an hour before we came to realize his GPS was wrong. We decided to follow the markers and then got even more afraid since we were not seeing markers for a while. Thankfully we saw one after a half mile. Losing an hour or two on a 200 mile race is nothing to be too concerned about, I was more afraid that I would get lost in the woods and pass out.  Jose did not speak English so this made it even more difficult. But we soon came to a common ground in Espanol. We ran for a good amount together. He told me he was scared because he was peeing blood. I told him he was too far to dnf and that I had heard of runners powering through it. I told him to drink more and soon he was good to go. The climb in the dark was beautiful. I saw a waterfall and could hear rustling water. By the way the stars for the whole race were amazing at night. It was strange, while Jose and I were running this section, I thought we were in a biodome the whole time. And since there were some steps at times, I thought I was walking up to ancient Incan temples. It was really strange. I was constantly living in this void realm of consciousnesses, subconsciousness, and unconsciousness all at once. Unlike 100 miler hallucinations, these were super dangerous because this was sleep deprivation. I had only slept an hour and 10 mins for 4 days. My arm was feeling ok and the knee was feeling better. My feet were beyond pain at this point. Jose took a little nap while I pushed forward. While I was running to the 190 aid station I swear I had been there before, climbing to the top of the mountain I thought I was in a land filled with some Atlas Shrugged type of people who had set off to build their utopia and I was going to see their leader. Hahaha I know it sounds weird and it was. Well no one was there and I powered downhill to the 190 aid station where I saw Andrea. I told her I was super sick and was wigging out, but ready to get this done. I felt surprisingly well. I took out everything and stripped off any excess gear. This was the final push. I took the bladder out, I wanted to go super light. Jose caught up and said he was going to sleep for 30 mins. I knew it was do or die for me. I had no idea what place I was in during the race. It's weird because people sleep at aid stations and you don't see who you pass or who passes you.
Before I knew it I kissed Andrea and I was off. It was getting warm again. After about 3 miles on road I headed up a seemingly nice little uphill. For some reason I thought we were linking Blackstar Canyon (a trail in Orange County) to the end of the race lol. Once again, when you are ~1 hour of sleep for 4 days you'll see some shit too. Soon the trail turned into a straight up beast. Just giant jeep trails going all the way up to the top of a mountain. For some reason at the start of these trails I was worried Jose would catch me and for some reason I thought there were checkpoints in the dirt....like checkpoints were if you were a foreigner you would have to fill out something in the DIRT?!!! So I thought I would gain some time on that since I was a US citizen.....If this sounds wierd...it should it makes completely no sense. I am just relaying what I went through. When I got near the top, I thought that Candice Burt had me help her out with her Subaru at this section. Hahaha I swear this was REAL!!! But I relayed this to Candice after the race and she was like I don't own a Subaru and you are hallucinating hahaha. Once we got to the top I saw a sign saying To the Finish . This excited me. I cried a little. I had come so far....so very far through some shit at that. Turns out these signs would show for the next 16ish miles. We climbed up to Ellis Peak which was breathtakingly beautiful. I looked behind me and saw a runner coming up on me. Crap! I thought, so I flew down Ellis peak, seeing To the Finish signs while going. The finish never seemed to come. My feet were killing me, my arm was back to hurting, my knee was hurting again as well. For more entertainment at this point I thought I was in a Jewish Bat Mitzvah Retreat or something at this point. Finally I saw some familiar trail. We had to go down the way we came up. It was a brutal descent. The rocks once again thrown on the trail by the ultra-gods to test our mettle.
Before I knew it I was on the final descent. and ran like a bat outta hell to look good for the cameras. I heard the cheering and tried not to eat shit going down the hill, while looking like I was in control. I waved to Andrea. Then I finished!
Candice shook my hand and I explained the whole Subaru story to her. Then I gave Andrea a great big hug. Gave Michael and Sharon a huge hug. Usually I cry a little after a race, but I was so empty I had nothing left...no emotion...no talk...no more energy to give. What had I just done and been through? I sit there just staring off to space...that 200 mile stare.

Andrea and I at the finish.

Michael and I at the finish

I still am processing it all. It's hard. My senses are still dulled, my feet still hurt like hell, legs are battered. Thankfully the fever is gone. I feel as if I got to experience an apex-trail race that demanded nothing but your complete self, who you are deep down. I had conquered my goal. The beautifully brutal Tahoe 200 in all it's glory is just that. Much like those animals mentioned in the beginning of this post. The trail was so aesthetically pleasing, but so efficient of tearing you apart in the fullest sense of the word. This was by far the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Overall 16th place at 76:51:14.
Would I do another 200? The short answer....yes. But it may be further down the road. Things like these take so much time and planning.
I would like to thank my Fiance Andrea for her neverending support and love. It helps so much to know when you are all alone out there that someone loves and misses you. My older brother for his massages and scrubbing me down. You were stellar out there and those massages were gold! I can't ask for a better brother. Sharon, you helped me so much with getting me the food and drinks, as well as making me remember what I need to change into. Also the company you provided Andrea was super crucial. Mark, without you it would've been so much harder and I probably would not have done as well as I did without you man! I am indebted to you guys and could not have finished without each and everyone of you guys. You were so important that words written on here cannot describe the gratitude I have for all of you!
Other thanks: Candice Burt and her crew for putting on this crazy event. It truly is an amazing event and so well organized. I will hopefully see you at the Bigfoot 200 sometime in the future. Todd Nardi - you are an amazing medical and person who I am indebted to for one: saving my toe and two: inspiring me not to dnf and finish....to achieve something. I hope our paths will cross again my friend as I'm sure they will. All the aid stations and their respective volunteers. These events are ran because of you...I hope to return the favor to any of you someday.
Overall 2016 was a crazy season. I am really satisfied with the results. I hope this blog inspires at least one person to go out and realize nothing is impossible and achieve that goal!

The belt buckle collection thus far!