144 hr update
(4.5) days to go)
“I just wanna be done.”
For days the only thing to focus on
has been to make miles,
to reach the next store…
But now what seemed impossible,
the finish,
just barely comes in to view.
Whether it is one day out, or two…
when the brain can actually comprehend
the distance to completion,
things change.
The world shrinks and the only thing remaining is to reach The Rock.
Leaving Gadsden at mile 300 marks the entry into
the penultimate section of the course…
traversing the length of Wills Valley.
With Lookout mountain on their right
and Sand Mountain on their left
for more than 40 miles.
Mostly their heads will be down,
focused on the line in front of them…
but if they look up, the views to the ridges are awe inspiring.
Only the final climb up Sand Mountain to The Rock remains.
The big dogs have all reached that point.
They are on their final push…
and something else is happening in this case,
IT IS A RACE!
Last night John and Addison spent miles together.
Jim is just behind…having had either a rough night…
or a great rest??
We are almost as curious as they are,
who has the most left in the tank with a marathon to go??
While the leaders pounded out 60 miles yesterday,
Matt Barker quietly covered a monster 62 miles.
On this course, that is a very impressive day.
The rest of the field will reach Gadsden by tomorrow morning’s
check in.
They are all well past 200 miles, and fully invested.
The effort they’ve put in is great, but much remains.
They can do this.
They have to.
The Rock and all it’s glory beckons.
There is just the matter of holding things together
until they get to that point where the finish no longer feels impossible,
and they can start a push,
to “just get it done.”