“Without Suffering, the Character Lies Dormant.”

My runner came into the 50-mile aid station, an old converted ghost town, 14 pounds dehydrated. He lost over 10% of his body weight in the past 12 hours. The onsite doctor was concerned that he would not be able to rehydrate to complete the last half of the infamous Leadville Trail 100. My runner still had another 50 miles of running to do over 2 major mountain passes. And I was supposed to be his pacer! Could he still run? If he continued was I really prepared to pace my good friend, running mentor, and fellow entrepreneur over the next 14+ hours?

The doctor ended up allowing my runner to continue. He sat down in a chair that the crew setup for him, ate some top ramen, and began to cry as he looked into his wife’s eyes for an answer. He spent the past year training for this event. He did not run countless miles; nurse skinned knees, and live sleep deprived only to quit now. As the crew refueled his camelback and stuffed headlamps and clothing into my pack, my friend and running mentor slowly got up and looked at me saying, “let’s go!” That was one of the most amazing moments to witness.

As we left the Winfield Aid Station, I promised my friend’s wife that I would take care of him. I would get him to the finish. Over the past 4 months, I gave up hours of sleep, soaked my legs in numerous ice baths, and ran more miles than most elite marathoners. This was it. My wife and girls came to watch. Our crew was ready to meet us at every aid station for moral support and refueling. My legs were ready. My heart was fired up.

The next 50 miles were better than I expected. We climbed up and over two major mountain passes, crossed a river, ran across amazing terrain, saw the brightest stars, witnessed a lightning storm miles away and created a once in a lifetime bond that was the result of accomplishing a goal that cannot be done by oneself. The journey was worth every blister, every fall, every 2am wakeup call, every sleep deprived family event that I did and would not miss. With less than 1 mile to the finish line in downtown Leadville, I began to weep uncontrollably. We did it. As my runner crossed the finish line almost exactly 27 hours after he started, the sun began to rise over the mountains.

Guess what ... I am running next year. Come join me. The truth is that I am an ordinary athlete that was asked to pace an elite runner 50 miles back to the town of Leadville. There is NO WAY I could have done this on my own.

If you believe that you can’t do it, come by Rogue Running on September 24^th at 6:30pm for free beer and to hear about the new Ultra Running Team that is being put together to run next year’s Leadville Trail 100. I did it and am doing it again. This time, I am going the whole 100. More info here.