The Beast of Burden 50 Mile Race Report

I DNFd at mile 25. Things started out all right. I was taking it easy, jogged the first 80 minutes through then started adding a little walking to conserve my energy. My core was warm, hands felt warm, and overall my body was handling the cold. After the first aid station at mile 6.5, I took my jacket off and wrapped it over my shoulders because I felt too warm and wanted to cool off, but did keep my mitts on. Got to the 12.5 mile turn around about 12:45 (race started at 10 am) and was the 7th female. The aid station was indoors and very very warm. I was in/out of there in probably 3 minutes. After I went back outside, my muscles in my hips started to tense up and I started to worry because I hadn't even hit the first aid station again at mile 18. Before I even made it back to the first aid station my hips were totally stiff, legs were not moving as fluid, and my morale was sinking. 

My mental state before the race began was already shot because I got myself stressed out the night before, and while in the car to the race I discovered my music got wiped off my iPod somehow. I had just synced it again the night before so I have no idea what happened. I normally wouldn't care about music, but I knew I was doing this race by myself and would have no one to talk to, so I was looking forward to having some tunes. Needless to say, no music, running alone, flat course, and nothing interesting to look at made for a very lonely time out in the cold. 

After I reached the third aid station at mile 18, things started to go downhill for me. My hands were getting more and more frozen. Putting my jacket back on may have helped warm up my arms and consequently my hands, but I wasn't thinking about that at the time. My core and arms seemed warm to me, but perhaps my arms were just numb and I couldn't tell? I think if I had used a different jacket as my top layer, I would've been comfortable the whole time. Next time? But my hands were becoming increasingly worse. I could no longer function with them and I couldn't access my pack without taking the mitts off. Every time I took the mitts off, my hands got worse and were unable to warm up in my wet mitts. The sub freezing temps (teens), and still getting over the flu were making my nose run like a waterfall so I had to keep blowing snot rockets. That eventually gave me a bad nose bleed so then I was scrambling into my pack to get tissues out with hands that were no longer able to work. Everytime the tissue filled up with blood, I had to take the mitts off to restuff my nose. It was this ridiculous cycle of my hands freezing. I couldn't get to my endurolytes, potatoes, or jelly beans without my mitts coming off so I got to the point where I stopped eating. At this time my water was also starting to get very cold and I was feeling anxious to get out of the freezing weather. I also was struggling with running on the snow. Some of it was powder, most of it was slippy and hard to get a nice push-off. It was almost worse than sand. I was wishing I had worn my YakTrax, but changed my mind at the last minute thinking the course had less snow. Stupid! 

By mile 15 I knew I was finished. My hands had swelled up like balloons, and they were frozen and at risk of frostbite. My hips and thighs were stiff from the cold, my back was hurting from tensing up so much, behind my knees were sore from pushing off on slippy snow all day, my lungs felt a little strained from the cold, and I was feeling both of my achilles. I was totally over it and just wanted to be warm again! There was no way I was going to make it 50 miles in those conditions. My goal shifted to just finishing 25 miles so at the very least, I'd feel like I'm still "on track." I was happy to make it to the half way mark, very sad and bummed to DNF, but at the same time, knew my mind and body had done what it could for the day. This San Diego girl just wasn't adjusted to winter and running sub freezing temperatures. I also didn't want to get injured and set myself back 2 weeks trying to recover from this race. 

Even though the course was totally flat, the 25 miles on snow felt like 50 miles on my body and mind. It was insane to me. And I couldn't believe how beat up people looked after the first 25 miles. 

Things I'd do different:

1. Keep my jacket on or wear something thinner as a third layer so my arms could help keep my hands warm

2. Put those heat thingies in my mitts (I think you like snap them and they give off heat for a while?)

3. Wear more clothing around my hips

4. STRENGTH TRAIN! My glutes/hips have clearly weakened. My hip flexors are fine, but the sides in two spots around my hips are sore.

5. Make sure I triple check everything I need a couple days before.

6. Wear YakTrax regardless of how little snow it seems is out on the course

Perhaps, I'll just wait a couple years before doing a winter ultra. Between not being used to anything below 50 degrees, and being on the thin side, I'm simply not built for this! For now, I'll stick with my hot desert races :)

Desert RATS Race Report

Desert RATS Race Report

Stage 1 - 20.5 mi

A beautiful and very hot, dry, windy day! I was blown away by the views and humbled by the difficulty of the first day. A combination of starting at 1:45 pm in the afternoon and the shock of running at altitude made the first 10k challenging for me. It was 20 miles of up and down and plenty of rocks, but I eventually found my flow. I couldn't believe how thirsty I constantly felt so I was trying my best to juggle my water and electrolyte intake. It felt more dry than the Atacama Desert! I was ecstatic to finish with no blisters and still have plenty of time to socialize and hang out with fellow racers.

I have to say I love ultra runner dinner conversations. No where else could you talk about a** chapstick, blister juice, pooping/consistency of your poop, and peeing, while getting your dinner from the cooks and eating.  This was a really good day.

Overlooking a beautiful valley

My best girl, Jessica Oh, running along the Kokopelli Trail with the Colorado River below.

Stage 2 - 34 miles

This stage was cut short 4 miles due to flooding at the original campsite we were to stay at. I was so glad by the end of the 34 miles that I didn't have to go any farther! It was another hot and dry day. I felt parched and thirsty the entire time, never being able to feel hydrated. The course was all up and down and tons of rocky surfaces. It was hard on the feet. We had made ourselves sandwiches to have for lunch near the half way point, which proved to be a mistake on my part. I could barely stomach the food and consequently spent about 6 miles just trying to digest my food instead of using that energy to run. I never again made a lunch for myself and opted to stick with my Perpetuem powder. Full stomach + heat = no good! By the time I got to mile 25 or so, my feet had begun to blister up. Not wanting to stop and slow myself down by taping, I kept going until I finished. I hobbled the last 10k since my feet were hurting from all the blisters rupturing. Seeing the finish line this day made me so happy. It was my weakest day of the week by far, and I actually cried when I saw my feet. So pitiful. :( 

Marilena running downhill to the next aid station. Yay!

It's all about having fun!

Stage 3 - 12.7 miles aka The "Sprint" Day

This was a great stage and a great day. A couple miles were added to make up for the 38 mile day. It was all hills and climbing, nasty rocks, and some mud to navigate through, but it was so short and sweet! We finished in a couple hours and had the remainder of the day to nap under the trees, do cannon balls into the river (plus wash our stinky clothes), and get plenty of time off the feet. The cooks made me gluten free pasta with tofu marinara sauce. It was divine. After great conversation with a couple new friends late into the night -like the rabbit making mochi on the moon...you know deep stuff- I fell asleep under the full moon and stars while listening to the river flow by. Complete bliss and one of the most memorable moments from the race. 

More rocks! Don't twist your ankle!

Taking a moment to absorb the scenery

So close to the river and can't go for a swim :(

Colorado River

Day 3 Campsite 

Time to relax and fix feet

My view from under the tree. Let all my worries melt away. 

Stage 4 - 52 mile Expedition Stage 

After staying up way past my bedtime and getting about 2 hours of rest, I was awake and ready to tackle the long day ahead of me. 

We were driven out to the start line at 6:30 am with the heat of the day already creeping in. The first 9 miles were awesome! Views nothing short of amazing. Besides the blisters on my feet nagging me, I felt stronger than the days prior. From the aid station 1 to the first water drop at mile 14 was challenging. The monster up hill had begun. Thirsty and hot we arrived at the water drop to find a shortage of water. There wasn't enough for Marilena, Gary, and I and surely not enough for the remaining runners if we topped off our bladders. We decided to only fill our bladders to 1 liter and hoped it would allow us to make it the next 12 miles to the next water drop if we walked. On top of this, the bugs would eat you up every time you stopped moving. On we went with the heat becoming worse and the uphill climb becoming even more unbearable. We were barely moving 2 miles per hour due to the steep incline and heat. Every time you came around a bend hoping you had finally made it to the top of the mountain, there was another uphill. Or a downhill, which meant you'd have to climb back up all over again. It was very tough and the downhills we came across were covered in rocks and stones. I was feeling overheated and nauseated. Thankfully, Gary had some extra water and poured some on my head and neck. That immediately made me cool down and my symptoms went away. 

Gary trying to cool off by taking off his pack.

The amazing views.

A very slippy and steep climb we had to navigate down.

Eventually we did run out of water and would take turns taking sips from another runner we met up with along the way. What felt like hours and hours later, we made it to the next water stop and topped off our bladders. After losing several hours to walking in order to conserve our water, our energy was depleted and our morale was slightly crippled. Finally made it to the 2nd aid station at mile 27 around 4pm. We couldn't believe it took us 9 hours to go 27 miles. Those mountain climbs! Ahhh! After eating, we were on our way within ten minutes and heading out to climb another mountain pass. Up hill, up hill, up hill....that was the theme for the day. It just never ended. I was just thankful to have my poles. 

Down in the valley again. Absolutely beautiful here.

On our way to climb up those mountains in the distance.

But with climbing comes spectacular views to take my breath away and remind me of why I love doing this so much. Lots of blister pain, beautiful views, rain that had an indescribable fresh smell, lush plant life at 8,700 feet, storm clouds, lightning, wildflowers, good company, and happy thoughts ahead of me. Life was feeling really good on this mountain and I felt so free and one with nature. 

Taking it all in. 

The fresh clean mountain air smelled incredible. 

Mountain zoomed in. Making our way towards them. 

The last 7 miles were tough again. My feet were throbbing and my hips had had enough. To make it more interesting, the last 7 miles were on pavement. It was jarring every time I took another step. I was getting close to hitting an emotional wall, but one step at a time I kept trudging along. Near the bottom of the hill, Marilena and I spot Gary coming up to walk the rest of the way with us. Thank you Gary! I was so happy when he told us how much farther we had to go and could finally see the finish. What an amazing finish line welcome! Everyone was out cheering, lights flashing, car horns honking, and hugs coming from every direction! I was so surprised by the amount of energy that was happening at midnight! I felt so thankful for everyone who stayed awake to welcome us back "home." And the doctors were great too. They immediately had me sitting down, icing my knees, and bringing me food to eat. It was the most warm and comforting reception of any stage finish I had ever experienced.

Stage 5 - Marathon day 26.2 miles

After having a full day of rest the day before, my feet and I felt ready to tackle the last day. If was, after all, "just" a marathon :) Amazing how your perception changes. The first 7 miles had us climbing up another mountain. The views had changed from desert landscapes earlier in the week to national forest. We saw snakes and a deer along the way. Totally awesome! But it was still a total grind and a tough way to begin a marathon. 

A grind with spectacular views.

Yes, we have to climb that mountain.

The temperature was perfect at this altitude. 

We were in and out of the first aid station within minutes and continued running towards the trail. It felt great to get off the road, but with trails come rocks. My blisters were not happy with me, but I had to ignore the pain and keep running. At aid station two we had to go up another climb to get a rock with a number on it. This was to prove that you went all the way to the end of the trail for the out and back section. It was really, really hot and my mouth was feeling dry. Marilena and I took it  easy navigating this section to conserve our water and save our legs. On the downhill coming back we almost took a wrong turn. We never noticed the fork in the trail when we were going to get our stones. Now we had no idea which way to go. We started the down path after seeing shoe prints, but after 20 yards or so we felt unsure about the direction we chose. I climbed up the side of the hill to check out the other path and discovered WAY more shoe prints! I couldn't believe how close we were to getting lost, and on such a critical day. 

By the time we made it back to aid station two/three, my mind was going a little crazy. I kept asking for strawberries and the staff would tell me they didn't have any strawberries. I wanted strawberries! Actually, I didn't want strawberries. I was trying to ask for oranges. I was looking at the orange, but strawberry kept coming out of my mouth. I couldn't remember what that round fruit thing was called (oranges had fast become my absolute favorite aid station treat). After a couple moments I blurted at Paul, from the medical team helping out, that he knew what I was talking about! He immediately began cutting the orange. It was a nice mental lapse :)

With only 7 miles left to go we were flying down the downhills. The slamming on the balls of my feet were becoming unbearable and I was having to concentrate very hard on the task at hand and not the pain in my feet. Just 7 more miles. Again, my hips started to give up on me. I kept running with Marilena, using bushes as points to leap frog to. It was even hotter the farther down into the valley we went. My hips were hurting and I was starting to feel nauseated from the heat again. I was running out of steam. Then once again in all his glory, Gary shows up around the bend! "You only have 4/10ths of a mile left!" I squealed and Marilena and I took off running once again. I was ecstatic to see the final finish line and cross it with my good friend, Marilena! 

Finishers!

The first thing I did was take my shoes off and kick back in one of the chairs. I was DONE. Not just done with the race, but my blisters were done. They had finally maxed out their tolerance for the day and I apologized to my poor feet for everything I put them through, and thanked them for carrying me so far.

I started reflecting on the week and entered into such a runner's high that I barely noticed the pain in my feet anymore. What an amazing week and experience. What comes to mind when I think back on the race week is not the mileage I ran or how difficult the course was. My fellow racers, the staff, the medical team, the food, all the laughter, stories shared, and beautiful scenery are all what come to my mind. That's what made this race so special. All the friendships that were formed. But I loved every moment of it. I felt more alive and full of joy than I had ever felt in years. 

Thank you Marilena for keeping me company and making me laugh from all your burping. We made a really great duo and I had a blast running with you all week. I miss you!

Marilena and I

Thank you Jessica for being an awesome tentmate (again) and becoming an irreplaceable friend to me. I look forward to doing more races together. HUGS!

Jessica and I

Thank you Gary for always showing up at a time when I needed my morale boosted and for being such great company. Too bad we were too tired to follow the F-bomb rules. I think there was a lot of potential  there. Maybe next time when we aren't so burned out :) Oh and I won't thank you for all your fart offenses you sent downwind to me. I swear I can still smell them, but at least they weren't as bad as dog farts. 

Gary

Thank you Paul for taking such good care of me when my body was wrecked and my feet were blistered. I'm so glad you love what you do otherwise I think my blister juice shooting you would've been a little awkward :) And thank you for encouraging me to enjoy life's present moments more by taking it all in and laying out under the stars instead of in the tent. Even if it meant being eaten up by mosquitoes. Memories. 

Thanks to my crew from Atacama, Candy, Alex, and Martin. You guys are now a part of my extended family. I'll never forget this week with you guys. You all did amazing and I'm so proud of you!

Marilena, Clancy, Alex, Candy, Me, Richard, and Martin.

My girls and I

Thank you Karen for making delicious meals for me and making my tummy very happy :) 

Thank you to the staff and Reid. This was an epic race and one filled with such happy memories that it'll be hard for other races to compare. 

And thank you to all my friends and family who contributed to the charities that are very dear to me. The animals thank you :)

Now what race should I do next? :)

Desert R.A.T.S. Ultra Endurance Race Fundraiser!

As some of you may know I am currently training for another week-long ultra endurance race in June called Desert R.A.T.S. A 148 mile foot race along the Kokopelli Trail from Grand Junction, CO to Moab, UT.

Last year I raised approximately $5,000 for Animal Acres while participating in the Atacama Crossing. A 250k self-supported foot race across the highest and driest desert in the world. I'd love to not only reach that goal once again, but hopefully surpass it! 

I am once again working hard to raise money to help build a RESCUE CENTER for Animal Acres Animal Sanctuary. This Rescue Center is critical in allowing Animal Acres take in animals from large cruelty cases, as well as provide refuge for large animals during California wildfires. 

In addition to raising money for Animal Acres, I am also aiming to raise $5,000 for Wee Companions Animal Rescue. As many of you are aware of my love for little critters (I've adopted 4 from WC so far), it feels only natural to raise money for the little pocket pets while doing a race with the word "RATS" in it :)

To learn more about these two wonderful organizations, feel free to click on the above links! And to make your tax-deductible donation, please click on the widgets on the right hand side of the screen :)

You can also help Animal Acres and Wee Companions by searching and/or shopping at iGive.com! Select either Animal Acres or Wee Companions and with every internet search you do a penny will go to them. If you make an online purchase from any of the stores listed, a percentage of your purchase will also go to them also!

Thank you for visiting my blog! Let's make a difference and reach these goals!

4 Deserts Atacama Crossing Race Report

2010 Atacama Crossing Race Report

Stage 1

08-Mar-2010 07:07:55 AM [(GMT-08:00) Pacific Time(US & Canada); Tijuana] Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2010

I got to the campsite yesterday and the views were amazing. Not much later when the sun went down the temperature dropped to near freezing. I was at 10,600 plus altitude. I was freezing my ass off and because the race was shortened one day (still the same mileage) I was trying to lighten my pack load by eating my extra food. The tents are spacious and my 7 tentmates are awesome. I was on an incline so I spent the night sliding down in my sleeping bag. Got so cold that I had to pull out my emergency bivvy for more warmth. I fell asleep around 11 and woke up at 2am wide awake and not feeling good but did NOT want to go outside in the freezing dark. By the time it was six I was feeling worse. I spent the next two hours scrambling to get ready for the race start, but I was a total mess. I was still trying to get my bib on and put my pack on when the race started. It was so cold that my whole body felt like it had been dipped in a frozen lake. But where do I even begin about stage 1? Ummm the good news is that I finished today after 9 hours and 15 minutes. The bad news? Holy shit what an awful day. I’m sorry to sound so depressing but really it was such a long hard day. Stage 1 is called Navigation by Rock, which in my mind I pictured large boulders that would act like course markers. I was very wrong. Navigation by Rock meant the entire terrain under our feet would be rocks. Deep sand mixed with gravel, small rocks, large rocks, slippery unstable rocks...rocks, rocks, rocks, lots of rocks. My feet got destroyed with the amount of twisting, turning, slipping. I took an ugly fall in the first 20 minutes of the race, which totally broke me down mentally right from the start. I fell again on slippery gravel and landed on my ass, which made me feel more idiotic. And I got scratched up by these dried out thorny cactus bushes. The morning temperatures werew fantastic until just on time at 2 o’clock it became sweltering hot. I started really slowing down because my feet hurt so bad. Throw in the high altitude and you get winded from just drinking water. My pack weighs about 8.7 kilos but started to feel like a pile of bricks. I`d stop frequently to bend over and get the weight off my shoulders. OMG the heat is bad here. At one point I felt scared that I wouldn`t be able to go on I was so miserable. The views were breathtaking, but I spent most of the time looking down at my feet trying not to sprain or twist either ankle. My eyes feel like they were on fire from the dry air. They even started to water which never happens. My ears are burnt and the backs of my knees got a little toasty. My hips and knees are sore and I acquired 5 blisters. I had one drained in the medical tent. Apparently I have signs of trench foot. They`re just incredibly soggy and nasty. My taping strategy has gone out the window and I have to attempt something else for tomorrow otherwise they`ll get worse. I guess I should try to end this more positively though. I`m so happy I crossed the finish line.  I have met some wonderful people so far and all in all I know I`m going to look back at this experience and be amazed that I survived it and pushed through. Laurie the 78 year old welsh man made it too...he is such an inspiration.  Stage 1 makes Avalon 50 look like it`s for babies and wussies. And I want to dedicate today`s stage to cows...for all the pain and suffering they experience for their entire shortened lives. I can`t even begin to fathom what they go through. This one was for all you beautiful soulful cows! Stage 2 09-Mar-2010 06:25:40 AM [(GMT-08:00) Pacific Time(US & Canada); Tijuana] Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2010 Wow what a day. I completed Stage 2 but not without the usual up and downs. I once again managed to not get any sleep whatsoever. I woke up with the stomach flu again so began my first dose of cipro. I`m amazed how quickly it kicked in. Maybe it was the large amounts of almond butter I`ve been eating that made me sick. I don`t want anymore almond butter. The day started beautiful. I did some climbing then descended into a canyon and began the river crossings. I   lost count how many times I crossed the same river. At first it was a little nerve racking because the current was so strong. But then I started having a great time navigating the thigh high freezing water. My feet felt completely numb but it made my sore feet and blisters feel wonderful. I think the slot canyons were my favorite part of the day. I then climbed 3000 plus feet up a mountain and had spectacular views of the salt mountains, volcanoes and Atacama Desert. I was so glad I spent so much time doing hill training on the trails. I had no problems climbing this huge mountain. The funnest part of the day was running down a monster sand dune. I fell a couple times and couldn`t stop laughing. It was awesome! After that things started to get ugly again. It was 2 oclock and the heat had jumped up to 40 degrees celsius (yesterday it was 45 degrees celsius). I made it through Death Valley and was struggling with the distance and intense heat. Everyone was having a hard time. Especially when I ran out of water. The winds became relentless and were blowing sand in my face. My dry eyes were suffering and burning terribly. I had to walk and close my eyes for about 3 miles. I was getting really pissed off and ready to see the campsite. Then finally I did! I went straight away to the medical tent to have more blisters drained and betadine applied. My little pinky toes look like they`re in casts. I`m definitely going to lose my pinky toe nails. I had 5 blisters yesterday. I now have 15. All but 1 on my toes. I`m not worried though and honestly blisters aren`t so bad yet. It`s carnage out on the course already. People with jacked up knees, one guy blacked out, dehydration, blisters, banged up shoulders, torn tendons. It`s already ugly and I still have 4 more stages to go. I can`t begin to even describe how unforgiving the course has been. It`s the hardest race I could`ve ever imagined. I`m getting kicked out so I`ll write again tomorrow. Wish me luck and many prayers I make it another day! Stage 3 10-Mar-2010 06:05:29 AM [(GMT-08:00) Pacific Time(US & Canada); Tijuana] Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2010 I survived yet another day. Man what a tough stage it was. One of the course markers described it as ''awful'' and it was nothing short of that. I didn`t get in till around 730pm so I have very little downtime tonight. I can`t really even begin to describe how insanely hard it was. Sand, rocks, climbing up rocky jagged mountains, gravel sand, ugly sand dunes and then one last monster climb to the finish. This isn`t the 2nd hardest endurance race in the world for nothing. And everyone says this is the hardest of the 4 deserts series. The lack of sleep definitely caught up with me today. My feet also look like they`ve gone through a meat grinder. I have over 20 blisters on my toes, ball of my feet, and heels. My pinky toenails are floating so I had to spend some time draining them. The medical team doesn`t do much for blisters. You`re pretty much on your own so I`m glad I studied before I got here. It`s a struggle to walk sometimes but in all honesty you start becoming numb to the pain. It feels like different body parts are competing to see who can hurt worse. But all you can do is continue on. Tomorrow is the infamous salt flat stage. I need to go eat and get some rest if possible. I will try to blog tomorrow. I forgot to dedicate yesterday’s stage. I want to dedicate it to all the kind and intelligent pigs in the world. I`m doing this for you guys. And today`s stage is for all the chickens, turkeys and their chicks. This one was for you Pumpkin! Stage 4 11-Mar-2010 05:59:06 AM [(GMT-08:00) Pacific Time(US & Canada); Tijuana] Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2010 Yes, I made it another day! It was once again nothing short of hell. The heat is so brutal out here...it has been reaching 120 degrees just about every day. It was especially roasting at the salt flats and the sun would reflect off the ground burning your face. The salt flats were also vicious on the feet. I accidentally stepped into salt water and it went through my shoes and onto my blistered feet. Burned like hell! But I got over it. There is this Japanese woman that amazes me. She looks like one of the little women you would see walking around the burbs outside of Tokyo with their canvas grocery bag in one hand and sun umbrella in the other. She`s adorable and beats me everyday (except today!). She walks the entire time and seriously makes it look easy. She walks with a pack as big as her, sometimes you`ll see her carrying her reusable grocery bag full of goodies, and she never stops at check points to sit down. I don`t know what her secret is, but she must have amazing feet. My feet are throbbing pretty bad and my feet were giving me trouble during the salt flats. It`s amazing how you can still somehow find the ability to push through no matter how much pain you`re in. I notice if I keep going that the pain typically subsides. My left knee has started to give me pain, but most of all my feet just hurt really bad. Elevating them is the only thing that helps which is what I do every night (I put my feet on my pack). I counted 20 blisters today so I haven`t acquired more...yay! A few have gotten worse, a few are under control. I`m working hard to keep those pinky toenails for as long as possible so I`m continually draining them and taping them back onto the nail bed. Besides looking purple and swollen they`re getting better. Oh yeah I`ve also lost feeling in some of my toes. It`s weird. It’s time to go back to the tent to hopefully have my knee taped for the long day tomorrow (77k). Today`s stage is for all the sheep, lambs, and goats out there. I saw some of your buddies in a valley today and it really made my day!

Stage 5 and The Finish

16-Mar-2010 12:41:35 PM [(GMT-08:00) Pacific Time(US & Canada); Tijuana] Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2010

It's official! I finished the Atacama Crossing! I wanted to blog after the race, but needed some time to reflect and think about everything. It's really quite difficult to put everything into words. One really has to do this race themselves in order to really understand. But I'll begin with stage 5. Stage 5 started earlier (7:35am) than the other stages for those of us not in the top 10. Right off the bat they had us going through another 15k of salt flats after going through 14k of salt flats the afternoon prior. My feet did not want to go through this section and I could feel my feet swelling and throbbing. I was paranoid of rupturing any tendons and a little worried that it could be a fracture and not a tendon issue. I had no choice but to start slow due to my paranoia and the pain. Within 10 minutes I managed to step in a soft spot on the salt flats and my foot fell through into the salty water. I was beyond pissed off that my morning was starting off with salt water going into my sore blisters. After cussing and whimpering the pain slowly dulled and I was able to get a little better footing on the jagged hard salt flats. I hate salt flats with a passion! When I made it to check point 1, I was able to redo my tape job on my toes with the better adhesive the medical team had and from that point on chose never to look at my feet again. Blisters no matter how big or small were the least of my concerns now and I couldn't care less about them. The heat was intense but a cooler 100+ degrees. Check points became more important as an opportunity to stop and elevate my feet, drink plenty of water, and cool myself before going back into the sun. The checkpoints were much much further apart now...15k, 14k and so on. Kevin the dog was at checkpoint 2 and looking pretty bad. He still managed to pick himself up and run with another competitor. Worried, I decided to carry his make-shift water bowl on my pack in case I saw the little pooch dehydrated out on the course. Getting to checkpoint 3 was depressing and pretty awful. I was dealt with more salt flats, which made me want to cry. I kept ignoring the pain in my feet anyhow just because I knew I just needed to get through the long day. But just when I was off the salt flats (another "3k" of them) I see this monster sand dune ahead of me and notice tiny ant size people making their way up it. It was huge and I couldn't believe how steep it was. The wind had started to blow fiercely and you could feel your face getting grinded by sand like sand paper. When I made my way to the top it was the weirdest landscape. It was clear that the top of this mountain was once at the bottom of the ocean. It was creepy. At this point the winds had become hurricane force winds. Easily going over 60+ mph. It made it extremely difficult to see where I was going and I had to fight to move forward. Coming down the other side of the mountain was extremely reckless. You couldn't tell where you should step and the sheer steepness of the descent made it challenging. I made it to checkpoint 3 (Kevin was there resting already!) and I was disappointed to learn that there was no hot water. I'd have to wait till checkpoint 5 more than 22k away. Hungry, cold, and with no food except for a freeze-dried meal, I rested for about 40 minutes before moving on with 3 other competitors. It was about 7:45pm. It was dark, windy, and cold, but I kept my pace steady. Eventually our little group split up and it was just Mara and I. I made the decision to pass through checkpoint 4 just to get water, but not rest. Along the way I ran into Paolo from Italy so that was cool. What a great person. I would say between checkpoint 4 and checkpoint 5 things started getting ugly. Mara's toes were blistered and painful, my feet had swelled to the point that my toes were beginning to jam into the toe box and the sides of my feet were getting squished against the shoe. My feet felt like they were literally going to explode. I also started becoming incredibly fatigued and lethargic. If I had the energy to lift my arms out in front of me I would've looked like a zombie stumbling down the road. I was beginning to feel like I was going to collapse along the road, but managed to still find the will to keep putting one foot in front of the other. It was 2am before I made it to checkpoint 5. I sat down and my feet felt like they were cement blocks. I was still torn with whether to stay and rest a few hours or keep going after eating. OMG eating. I had one last freeze-dried meal left and the moment it touched my mouth I wanted to hurl. It tasted like the most   foul thing I had ever tasted. I managed to get it down, but I would later in the night find myself on the verge of barfing it back up. After about 45 minutes the 3 of us mustered the energy to go the last "10k" of stage 5 and make our way to camp. Kevin the dog also joined us. It was a long 10k. More sand dunes, more rocky surfaces, more sand, and then a hard road to camp. I finally made it in at 5:15am. Kevin the dog followed me to my tent and passed out. I covered the shivering dog with my emergency bivvy to keep him warm and finally got to bed about 6am. I slept another night on rocks since my sleeping pad got a hole in it the night before.   I woke up about an hour later at 7am and was pleased to see daylight. It dawned on me that I was going to finish this race. I could feel the tears coming. If my tendons tore or ruptured, I could still make it to the finish. I could relax finally. I had to untie my shoe laces completely leaving hardly any lace left to tie with in order to fit my feet into them. The tape on my feet were thrashed, but I still didn't want to take them off. Why bother when there's only 10k left. I chose to drain one very large blister through the tape and then started practicing wearing my shoes around camp (also because I lost one of my sandals) to get used to the pain in my feet so I'd be warmed up for the last 10k. I figured the race officials made every last bit of 10k difficult, and I was right. The first 5k were through trails climbing up narrow paths through loose rock. One mistake with stepping and you'd fall down a steep drop and that would be the end of you. I hobbled for about 10 minutes before the pain subsided. I could hear all the moaning and sometimes yelling from people in pain trying their best to make it through. Once I was off the trail I just couldn't slow myself down. I felt nothing in my feet. My shoulders didn't hurt, and I was hungry. I started thinking about the week and how incredibly hard it had been. My emotions were building up and I couldn't believe it was almost over. When I came around the corner and could see the finish line, and made a run for it. I ran the best I could till I crossed that final finish line. I started crying. I held a lot of pain in through the week and now it was hard to hold back. I thought about those animals at Animal Acres. How that collage helped get me through some really difficult times. I thought about how I was saving lives and that made me bawl. I was saving animals...a dream come true. I saw the friends I had made during the week getting their medals and crying and laughing for joy. I was so proud of them. We had all gone through an emotional roller coaster and fought battle after battle to get to where we were standing. We all had different stories, different backgrounds, different reasons for doing this race, but this moment we all shared together. I look back on this experience with happiness, misery, joy, sorrow, calmness, and a HUGE sense of accomplishment. My feet have over 30 blisters. I'm losing a few toenails. One toe has an infection. I still can't feel my right shoulder. My feet may have fractures (heading to the doctor in an hour). My knees ache. My lower lip is severely burned. I look like I have hobbit feet and cankles. And I look like skin and bones. But I'm already thinking about the next time :) I hope to see some of my friends at another race (RTP Nepal you guys?!). Marilena, thanks for always smiling...your positive attitude was infectious. Trig, your story is powerful and moves me. I look forward to supporting you in your journey this year and doing what I can to help make Carla's name last forever. Owen and Mel, you guys did an amazing race out there and I'm amazed by your efforts to push to the very end. Paolo, I am so proud of you for getting through stage 2 and crossing that finish line. Laurie, there is so much to be said about you...you were an inspiration to every one. It was such an honor to participate in this race with you and I wish you luck at the London Marathon. Wow. What a week. I am so thankful for being able to have gone through this experience and can't wait to do another one. Perhaps a little faster next time :)