….A place I thought I would NEVER be.
…..A place I’m glad God ALLOWED me to be.
…..A place that has CHANGED…..ME.
Last October…. October 23rd 2011 to be exact, I ran the Tussey Mountainback 50 Miler in State College, PA. It would be my second time completing the course and my 5th ultra run. Joe also ran but cleared the mountain in about 9 hours and some change…
….ME, well just say, I was the person with whom the medical vehicle followed. The person that everyone whispers and says, “Thank God I am not.. THAT person”. It took me almost 12 hours to finish....
So let's be honest here… “Wendy, how DO you feel about that?”
Well let me tell you…..…… God… its been a little while since we talked.. I know we used to talk a lot but ever since mom got sick, I kinda been a little angry about that… so I’m really sorry that I’m calling on you now but we need to talk…
….I don’t need to win…. I don’t even need to make the time cut off ….but I do need you to help strengthen my mind to deal with this pain so I can keep my legs going so I can get me off this F-cking mountain!
…The lower half of my body was toast… my right hip flexor destroyed… 4.2 miles to go with less than hour on the clock … and its getting dark.
I have been out and moving for 11 hours now … and I am coming to realize.. I’m LAST… there is no one else behind me. The verification came at the last aid station when the wonderful volunteers acknowledged it.. YES ,THANK YOU VERY MUCH…
.. now it's just me and this hour.. and 4.2 miles to go… ALONE….…DARK.. COLD.. PAIN… ALONE… DARK .. COLD .. PAIN…
… 3 miles to go…
…and I see headlights… and the car slows besides me… and it’s Joe… he looks terribly worried and tells me to get in the car… I felt so bad for him. I know I looked like shit and if I were he, I would be scared for me… but the BOY DOES NOT KNOW ME TOO WELL… NOW DOES HE!?
“No, I’m ok”.. as I shuffle along… “I am going to make it.”
He said, “PLEASE get in the car, it’s COLD, you don’t have the proper clothes on, it’s DARK.. and..”
“NO… GO AWAY!”
I am sure it was more for my safety and health and he was right.. it was getting soo COLD… and it was SOOO DARK… and I was exhausted and in PAIN..BUT… there was no way… so with some wild jesters of my hands I swish him away.... and he turned around and went back down the mountain… and now I realize…. that there really was NO ONE ELSE OUT HERE… I WAS ALONE….DARK.. COLD.. PAIN… ALONE… DARK .. COLD .. PAIN…
2 miles to go…
Then a light behind me…it was the sag wagon and they trailed and provided light for me for the last 2 miles off that mountain… I see the finish… and I see Joe….I drooled a SMILE… he’s screaming to get in within the cut off…poor Joe…
Finish time… 11:54:47… cutoff was 12 hours.. I had less than 6 minutes to spare…PLENTY OF TIME…
49:47 for the last 4.2 miles (11:51 pace)
DEAD F-CKING LAST…..
So now let me tell you a little story…
.. about how HIDEOUS that mountain really is….
