Wasatch Back 2010

I was on my third and last leg of the 2010 Wasatch Back. This leg consisted of 4 miles of unrelenting uphill on the infamous Ragnar. The very same hill for which the race series is named. The Ragnar is 8 miles long divided into two 4 mile legs.

Unfortunately, as I started this leg my legs were STIFF and DEAD. I’m not sure what went wrong but they had absolutely nothing in them. So I knew from the very beginning it was going to be grueling. But I started up the hill and walked when I had to. Pretty much everyone walks this hill and when you feel brave and it decreases from the 45 degree angle that it is on you run as best you can.

My main objective was to get the last 11 kills I needed to reach my goal of 40 kills total (each time you pass someone it’s a “kill”). Things were progressing quite well toward this goal. But soon enough came the sign that indicated I had one mile left before the hand-off. I still needed 3 more kills.

There was this guy that I had been hunting for most of the leg. He had passed me pretty early on but never made it much farther than that. I would periodically surge and narrow the distance to about 10-20 feet. But I didn’t want to necessarily pass him, not yet at least, I wasn’t sure if I did that I could hold on to it.

I had about a half-mile left and only 3 kills to go. I was exhausted and I wasn’t sure there were enough people to pass before I hit the hand-off. So I was worried but I decided I was going to leave it all on the road like I had told Kimberly to do just an hour before. I was glad I told her that, because now I felt like I needed to follow my own advice.

There came a brief flat stretch and I surged and passed the guy that had passed me earlier and I just kept going. I’m not sure where the energy came from, and don’t get me wrong it was taking everything I had to keep going.

I passed two other people and the girl high-fived me as I went by probably because it was quite obvious that I was really giving it all I had. I kept going past them about 100 yards and I was just so exhausted I started to walk and catch my breath. But then from way behind me I could hear that girl yelling “Don’t stop! Don’t give up! This is why you are here!” and a few other encouragements. It made me smile but I was grateful for her encouragement and so I picked it up again. Soon I had my final kill in my sights.

I kept it up and got my final kill about a hundred meters before the exchange chute. It was pretty epic for me. That’s one of the hardest efforts I have done in a race, but it was very worth it. I found the girl afterward and thanked her for her words. That’s what racing is all about.

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