Stumpjump !!!!

Well that was an experience. This was by far the toughest race I have ever entered. It should definitely be called the Rockjump instead of the Stumpjump. The course was probably around 25% runnable. I kept telling everyone I was running with that this was not like a run but an extreme nature hike. I'll give you a brief run down of the race from my point of view. Me, Patrick, Drew, Holly, Elle, Lauren and the "Mandingo" all started out at the back of the pack. As soon as they said go, we were off. I looked around a hundred yards into the race and I had lost half of the group. I slowed and ended up running with Drew, Holly, Elle and Lauren. Patrick and the "Mandingo" were no where in site. On the way to the first aid station, Drew and I stretched the distance between us and Holly, Lauren and Elle. We waited on them at the first aid station and took there pictures as they came in cheering. (Side note: These pictures did not turn out. Booo crappy disposable cameras) We left this aid station in a herd of Memphis runners. It was at this point that we made our huge decent down the trail. One step and you could fall off of the mountain. Somewhere between the first and second aid station Drew decided it was his time to go ahead. This was the last time I would see him until the finish line. Me, Holly, Elle and Lauren went ahead to the next aid station which was at a road crossing. After we crossed the road, we began a climb to a large runnable section of the course. At this point, Lauren and I started running in a pack with several other racers and got separated from our group. When we reached the next aid station at mile eleven it was starting to get hot and my body was getting a little bit tired. Lauren and I waited there until Holly arrived and we decided to keep our forward motion. The sign said 2.2 miles to the next aid station. My thoughts at this time were, this is great for me because I know that I can drink my water faster and get a little bit more hydrated on this stretch. What great planning by the race directors on the positioning of the aid stations. As Lauren, Holly and I pressed on, we began to hear the bellowing laugh of Patrick coming up behind us. He and the Mandingo had managed to catch and pass us. At this point I jumped in to run to the next aid station with them. We pressed on for what turned out to be 3.5 miles instead of the 2.2 they had posted on their sign. When we arrived the people at the aid station told us that they were out of water. How can that happen? We are in the middle of no where and we have run 16 miles. They told us that the next aid station is at mile 21. As Holly, Lauren, and Jackie arrived, we told them the situation and discussed our options. We all had about an inch of water left in our bottles and decided that there was nothing left to do but think positive and move toward the next watering hole. At this point we were told that about 60 people dropped out of the race. While we were blinded by the mental jab from the last aid station, we missed the turn for the trail. After about ten or fifteen minutes, we turned around and got back on course. Me, Patrick, Jackie, and the Mandingo left the group and moved quickly to the next aid station. They had plenty of water for us to drink. However, the dehydration was already taking its effect on me. I was feeling weak and I had stopped talking all together. When Patrick asked me how I felt, my exact words were, "I feel like crap". We proceeded on until we came to the start of the huge uphill climb to the finish line. At this point, Patrick and the Mandingo stopped to take a break and I decided that I did not need to stop moving. Me a Jackie, a woman that I met from North Carolina, pushed on to the end of the race. When we crossed the finish line, my parents and my sister were there to congratulate me. Overall it was a great experience. All of the crew from Memphis finished the race, despite the lack of water, the heat of the day, and the ridiculous terrain.

After finishing a race of that difficulty, I still feel like I could run longer.

I will keep you posted!!!!