I felt so happy to be back at Heavenly. To see my wife, my friends, and to sit down. I felt safe. All I wanted was to sit down and tell stories of the previous day. And eat. And sleep. I felt like I had accomplished something, although I had not even completed one third of the course at this point. As I sat in a chair, eating my cup ramen, with my crew attending to my needs, I started to realize just hard this challenge was going to be. The tough moments from the previous night were only the beginning. At least I would have a friendly pacer with me the rest of the way to keep me company. After eating as much as I could, I went down for a one hour sleep.

Before heading out on the next section, I wiped my whole body down with baby wipes and changed clothes. My crew got my pack ready and, soon enough, I got back out on course to start the second out-and-back with my pacer, Jon.

5. Heavenly to Spooner Summit, mile 63 to 81

Starting this section, my spirits were lifted. Having my friend Jon and a good nap and food in my belly pulled me out of the funk of the previous night. I knew there was a long way to go, but I was looking forward to the challenge and to share the experience with my friends.

The next two sections would be tough for pacers because the Spooner Summit aid was also a non-crew aid station. Meaning, pacers would have to go through Spooner to the next aid with their runner. This meant Jon would be pacing me two sections, for about 38 miles (an ultramarathon on its own). I had confidence in Jon’s ability to do this. We’ve had several long running adventures in the past.

A few miles into this section, we met a fellow runner named Hunter. We discovered that one of Hunter’s crew members was a fellow named Chris. And Chris was also from the Santa Barbara area and knew some members of my crew. Small world. We chatted with Hunter for quite a while. He told stories of his previous 100 mile races. He was quite accomplished. After a bit we separated out.

Not long after, we met another runner named Jonathan. We power hiked with him as long as we could keep up. He was talkative and told us stories of his young students – he was an elementary school teacher.

This section of the course contained some ups and downs but mostly stayed lower in elevation. I was grateful for my head to get a break from the windy, high altitudes. The course provided more spectacular views of Lake Tahoe, shimmering in the golden sun.

We had a smooth, flowy descent into the Spooner Summit aid station. At this point, I was still able to run most of the downhills, although at a more controlled pace – I was trying to prevent the leg cramping from the previous day.

As we arrived at Spooner, I saw Brogan and Steve just about to leave. They briefly told me how their races were going before continuing on. Jon and I sat down at a table and told the volunteers our food and drink orders. I ate as much my stomach could handle. It was here that I noticed that solid foods were beginning to become harder to chew and swallow. I knew I had to eat as much as possible but it was becoming difficult. We spent quite a bit of time at Spooner eating various foods. It was also here that Jon discovered broth mashed potatoes. A God-send. So smooth, yet filling. Easy calories to go down into the stomach.

While Jon spoke to a medic about taping his feet, I went down to check out the port-a-potty’s. We then got on our way to the next section.

6. Spooner Summit to Village Green, mile 81 to 100

This section started with a descent climb for several miles. I noticed I was starting to move a bit slower on the climbs and I was beginning to feel sleepy again. We continued climbing and eventually popped out of the tall pines onto an exposed ridgeline. The sun was beating down on me and, along with the wind, seemed to create a friction with my forward progress. Each step seemed to be slightly harder than the last.

I started to become frustrated at the course. Why did it have to be so hard? Could there not be an easier way to run 200 miles?

As I started to slip into negativity, I looked around me and saw the most amazing view of the lake with the snow-capped mountains and birds gliding through the air. Wind rolling over the grassy hills. Sun shining bright on the magnificent earth around me. I said out loud to Jon how comical the scenario was. My body was feeling so beat down in an environment of such natural beauty. The universe was smiling and laughing at me. Maybe this was a reminder that I should not take myself so seriously.

Once we made it off the ridge and back into tree cover, I noticed I was growing more sleepy. Jon kept reminding me to eat and drink but it was getting harder to stay engaged. My brain wanted to shut off. I asked Jon if he could see some little green structures in the woods some several yards away, to which he replied, “no.” I realized this was probably a hallucination from sleep deprivation. I had never experienced this before.

As the afternoon turned into evening, Jon did some mental math and figured we still had at least two hours until the next aid station. He suggested I should eat and try a trail nap to regain some mental strength. I pulled out a bag of goldfish from my pack and took a handful. As I bit into it, I tasted the distinct flavor of a marijuana sour gummy bear. I had forgotten that I put this edible in with my goldfish. Things were about to get interesting. Or terribly bad.

I decided to take that trail nap and found a nice patch of ground to lie down. Jon tucked me in with my space blanket and I drifted off into slumber.

After several minutes I suddenly awoke. Jon then handed me a couple of gels and a piece of pizza, which I took down quite well. We continued on our way.

The nap was a good refresher. I felt my energy stores were refilled. Just as we got to a scenic vista, the sun was going down. Another runner and his pacer were sitting and watching the sunset. I remembered the last time I saw this runner was within the first several hours of day one. I think his name was Alexander. We chatted and watched the sun fade behind some distant mountain.

We all then started the trek off the mountain and down to the Village Green aid, about 5 miles below. Jon led us with a descent hiking pace and eventually morphed into a run. It was the first running pace I had in several hours. It felt amazing. I had my music going in my headphones. Goose’s album Dripfield kept me in a groove to cruise the flowy downhill.

Jon and I passed many runners as we trotted down the mountain. I felt like a new runner. Fueled by groovy music, a bit of a mellow weed high, and Jon’s positivity, we made it down to the village where we got on a bike path for a couple miles before finding the aid station. At this point it was dark and headlamps were in use. Jeremy and Jon’s sister, Esther, met us at the aid station.

I got seated with some warm cup ramen and a coke. My crew got my bottles filled. We then went to Esther’s car where I would take a 90 minute sleep. I was beginning to feel quite sleepy again.

Waking up, I reapplied lubricant to the land down under and put on warm clothes for the second night. Jeremy would be joining as my pacer for the next section. We needed to get moving.

7. Village Green to Brockway Summit, mile 100 to 114

Jeremy and I got back onto the bike path that would lead us into a fancy neighborhood of multi-million dollar homes. This was an odd change-of-scenery, coming from the high alpine mountains into a row of extravagant homes.

From this neighborhood, the infamous Powerline trail began. A very steep and challenging 2 mile section of trail. I came across fellow runners at the start of the climb. Jeremy and I started climbing faster, so we left them. I spotted some more headlamps further up on the climb. I made a game out of trying to catch them. The climb was challenging but I kept making steady progress. My heart rate was racing. I was able to pass every runner I saw on this section. By the time we reached the top, I was out of breath. Jeremy and I continued. Of course, it was not long before some runners caught back up to me.

One runner and his pacer started hiking with Jeremy and I. I believe they were from Scotland, as they had a particular accent. I stayed with them as long as I could before my pace slowed again. A bit later, I came across Dan, who I had not seen since the evening of day one.

The trail continued upward for several miles, climbing through the night. Finally, we saw day breaking through the woods. I realized my stomach was needing to make a “movement.” Luckily, I had a wag bag in my pack. I took a small trip off trail to find a secluded spot where I could do my business. This was my first time ever pooping in a bag and then carrying it for several miles to the next aid station. The race required runners to dispose of their waste in this way.

Eventually the trail started to descend. I started hiking faster and eventually broke into a run. It was tough but I wanted to move a bit faster if I could manage. I was beginning to feel a bit sleepy again and I knew the next aid station had cots to rest.

Jeremy and I finally arrived at Brockway Summit aid station. Helen, Rick, Jon, and Esther were there ready to help me eat and reset. Helen immediately took control of the situation. She could sense my tiredness and knew I needed some direction. I told her I needed to sleep for an hour to which she replied that she had already worked out how much sleep I needed (without telling what that number was). She got me down in a cot and I fell asleep instantly.

After what felt like 5 minutes, Helen woke me back up and got me back in a chair to eat more before it was time to head out onto the next section. I was still in a groggy haze when my new pacer, Rick, and I got back on trail to head towards Tahoe City, the second turnaround point.

8. Brockway Summit to Tahoe City, mile 114 to 133

It was around mid-morning on Sunday as Rick and I set out for Tahoe City. The section was about 19 miles and a net uphill. The trail started out with a nice, gentle uphill and meandered through the tall pine trees. The sparkling sunlight weaved through the greenery. I told Rick that it felt as though we were walking through the set of a Snow White movie, like a magical fairy tale land.

We stopped at a couple of streams to wet our hats and legs. The cool mountain water felt refreshing on my skin.

As we made progress through the section, the sun began to shine brighter. The heat began to overwhelm my body. My stomach became nauseous and my feet began to hurt more and more. I realized my feet were developing blisters, which could become a major issue later.

The heat from the sun seemed to suck the life out of me. I had to start taking breaks to sit on rocks in the shade. My attitude was spiraling downward again. I started to complain to Rick about the difficulty of the trail and was angry we were not at the aid station yet. I apologized to Rick for my “bitch noises,” the groaning and complaining.

After several more miles of tough hiking, I decided to sit on a rock and try to eat a gel. I knew the aid station had to be close but was not sure. I was feeling down and out, unsure how I would continue. Then I heard some footsteps coming from the opposite direction on trail. Sure enough, if it was Brogan and his pacer. He saw me and asked me how I was doing. I think he could see in my eyes that I was having a hard time. He began to speak words of encouragement and positivity to me. His pacer did the same. They assured me the aid station was right down the next hill, about one mile away. He then put his hand on my shoulder and prayed for me to have strength to get through this hard time. I almost cried right there. As Brogan and his pacer left, I got myself up and looked at Rick. We were both in shock at the spiritual moment that just occurred. Both our hearts were filled with positivity and we started running down the trail all the way to Tahoe City.

As we approached the aid station, I saw Helen and my wife standing there waiting for us. I ran to them and embraced them. Helen once again took charge and led me into the aid station to get food. She had laid out a blanket on the grass where I could take a nap. I ate cup ramen and drank coke and fell into a slumber.

I had reached the second turnaround point of the Tahoe City aid station. It was time to start the journey back to Heavenly to finish the race. About 67 more miles….