Apparently, the 10 mile section between aid stations 3 and 4 had literally 100s of blowdowns, making this section extremely slow and cumbersome to cover. Speaking of blowdowns, the RD pretty much assured us before the race even started that the course record would not fall today. It's part of what makes trail running what it is, be it creeks, rivers, snow, hail, ice or a crap ton of blowdowns that nature throws at you. Apparently, some runners opted to take off their shoes, which may sound like a great idea.until you realize you have 20 more creeks to cross, so you should probably just accept that your feet will stay wet for the next 24-36 hours. We encountered the first of more than 20 creek and river crossings as we left this aid station. I grabbed my nutrition for the next section (3 Spring Energy gels) and continued on. I was clearly ahead of my race schedule as my wife struggled just slightly to get my bottles filled and exchanged. ![]() Once we finally left the railroad tracks, we started to climb continually until we reached the first of only 9 aid stations for the course at mile 8ish. ![]() Whether that actually works or not, it gave me the confidence and peace of mind not to worry about lack of sleep. That proved to be challenging, but having anticipated a restless night before the race, I had made sure I got plenty of sleep the week leading up to the race. By 8PM, I attempted to go to sleep to get as much rest as possible prior to the 7AM race start the next morning. I had extra clothes, shoes, bottles and nutrition zip-locked and labeled for easy crew access to minimize my time in the various checkpoints. ![]() I decided not to use drop bags and instead rely exclusively on my crew to meet me at the designated spots along the course. Aside from the mandatory emergency blanket I carried extra gloves, buff and my trusty Patagonia Houdini windbreaker. Temps in the low 30s for most of the day meant possibly carrying more layers for warmth. We both arrived at our campground around the same time and while she was kind enough to prep our obligatory pre race pasta dinner, I finalized prepping my gear for the next day. I had driven our camper van while my wife had to work late, so she took our 4Runner straight to the campground, which allowed her to use a more capable vehicle while chasing me through the mountains on (sometimes) sketchy, curvy and narrow dirt roads. I chatted briefly with a few fellow runners before making the 45 minute drive to my campground at Fort Mountain State Park.
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