This would be our shortest day of the
trip so we lingered a bit longer in camp. Since we needed to take the van
back to Box Canyon we’d all be starting at the same time. No big deal,
the van would meet us after the last person made it over the top at Reflection
Lake. I decided to carry some dry clothes in my hydration pack so I could
change after rather than wait around in wet clothes. I started out
slowly, as I had on most mornings. It seemed to take me a good half-hour
to get loosened up. The guys were all well ahead of me as we dropped a
few hundred feet in the first few miles. I was 33 minutes through 3 miles
which I felt was plenty fast. As the climb started (2,200’ over the next
4 miles) I caught the group and went by. I knew Tyler and Luka would be
smoking the downhill so I didn’t mind working a little harder on the up.
It was a little hot out there but not terrible. There weren’t many views
on this part of the trail but the footing was by far the best, which meant the
fastest easiest BEST running. I got to the van at Reflection lake in 1:25
and grabbed a quick drink before heading into the 5 miles of downhill that
remained. This would be my fastest running on the trail including a
couple of low 8’s. Tyler was 5 minutes behind me at the top but he put
down some low 7’s and just flew on by with about a mile to go. I reached
the sign (which we had started at on Tuesday) in 2:17 for the final 13 miles
with 2,600’. My total time for the 92 miles was 23:20:41 (that includes
all stops during each run, I only stopped my watch at the end of each
day). By comparison the Fastest Known Time for the trail is 18:54!
Once we all arrived at the finish we
got a group picture and did a little bit of Fireball to celebrate. The
drive back to Seattle gave us all a chance to chat about the highs and lows of
the trip. It was a great experience, a lot of fun and a great test of not
just physical but mental strength. Happy to have safely made it through
and now thinking about the next adventure!
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