HOTS UPDATE HOUR 240
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we are smoldering like last night’s campfire.
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there are only 8 hotties still on course,
and after the insanity of last night and this morning
it is quiet here on the rock.
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there is plenty if time for these last survivors to make it home,
but nothing is guaranteed.
they face the same merciless hills as all who went before them.
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my laptop is like the race staff.
running on the last dregs of battery
and badly in need of recharging…
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but with the last responsibilities to fulfill.
it to post this last report
and us to wait to record the last finish
and hand out the last sticker and t-shirt.
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one finish last night stood out above the others.
a story of determination and redemption….
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gina kimrey.
remember her?
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in 2024 she was timed out at the gate to castle rock ranch.
the finish eluding her .
in 2025 she returned for redemption,
and it seemed that redemption was destined to be hers….
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until she came to the crack.
gina is not tall
and she was totally exhausted.
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the crux of the crack is a feature called “the step”
the step favors tall people,
as the handholds are limited and slippery
and getting a foot up to a small ledge is key to getting up.
after the crack it is only a few hundred yards to the finish.
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gina arrived at the crack before sunrise.
and studied her last obstacle with her flashlight.then she took a stab at it.
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she got partway up
and slipped back down.
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she tried a new angle
and slipped back down.
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a third try saw her get to the cusp of clearing the step
clinging for desperate seconds
before slipping back down.
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she rested to regain her breath
and then tried again.
,
and again
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and again.
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for half an hour gina kept attacking the crack.
each time she failed….
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of course, clearing the crack is not an absolute requirement.
the runner can take a number to prove they reached the crack
and go back a little ways to an easier rope assisted climb.
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many runners had chosen that route.
taller runners.
stronger runners….
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but not gina.
she was determined to get the full monte.
but sometimes you dont get what you want.
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acknowledging the inevitable,
gina went, pulled off her number,
and started back for the rope.
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and then a large rock sitting beside the trail caught her eye.
she stopped.
she looked back at the crack.
the she wrestled the large rock out of the ground,
lugged it to the crack
and pushed it up next to “the step”
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with the added inches if the kimrey rock,
she managed to get a knee up to the edge of the step.
she painfully dragged the rest of her body up over the step
and then crawled up to the top of the crack before collapsing.
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gina took a nap right where she fell.
then dragged herself to her feet
and walked on in to stand on the rock.
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before the day is over we expect 63 athletes to have stood on the rock this year….
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none will stand taller than gina kimrey!