We Conquered the Jay Challenge Ultramarathon!

I don't have enough time or laptop battery to describe all of today's events, but our race was incredible! It took us 8 hours and 31 minutes to run 33 miles on the most insane trails I've seen in my life. It was brutal and beautiful at the same time. I'll start with a few pictures and follow up with more details later. Let's start with the start:



And before we knew it, we were climbing huge hills on narrow trails in the woods. Some sections were so steep there were ropes to help pull ourselves up.



Shortly after that, we started running our first brook section. I enjoyed the challenge, but it sure was dangerous. The rocks are so slick that every step is just begging for a slip and a fall (yes, we both had a few).



After we finished the first brook section we came out of the woods, ran around the corner, and found ourselves at the base of Jay Peak. Wow! This started a LOT of walking....



We finally made it to the top and it felt fantastic! What an accomplishment.



But what goes up, must come down...



And down...



And down...



Eventually back into the brooks and rivers.



As the miles wore on, there seemed to be no end to the variety of terrain or the hills. Here's a perfect example: somehow in the middle of Vermont there's this huge sand dune we had to climb.



And the last five miles or so were a combination of farms, trails, and mud.



We finished step for step after 33 grueling miles, just as the sky opened up and started to pour huge raindrops. We got a warm outdoor shower (really), a bite to eat, and hit the road back to New York. Our feet are beat up and we're tired, but I think we held up okay. I think Mark's had enough of this ultramarathon thing, but I'm already wondering how much time I can shave off this race next year....