Spokes

Checking in. The day before the big event in Carson City. Best race bibs ever! Laying in bed the night before the race I could feel my left hamstring pulsating with a throbbing pain. Like a dull toothache, the hamstring injury I sustained in May would not let go. It made no difference to stress about it however, as I was resolved to toe the line and see how the race unfolded. My running mentor and friend Jason Romero told me to just focus on each aid station and have the goal of completing the race while adjusting to pain one step at a time. 102 Miles and 20K feet of climbing in less than 35 hours. That was the goal. Elevation Profile of Tahoe Rim Trail 100 Earlier that evening, I had run through the race plan with Julie and Laura, covering each segment of the race and things I would need along the way. While 100 miles of planning can be daunting, I knew once I passed along the plan to Julie, all I would have to do is focus on running. I had a light dinner consisting of a

Hearing what sounded like a crashing tree I looked behind me to see him falling in what seemed like slow motion towards the ground. His trekking poles splayed out and he hit the ground, knuckles first, spraying fresh blood on the dirty trail. “Crap man! Are you okay? Do you want me to grab the first aid kit,” I yelled out in genuine concern mixed with a little bit of shock. “Ha! First aid? Shut up man and just keep running. I don’t need babied,” he hollered back with a joking tone. We were only 8 miles in to a 50K run when he went down behind me. This was my first time guiding for Jason Romero, a legally blind and accomplished ultrarunner who I met a little over a year ago. In 2017, I heard Jason give a keynote address at a regional Goodwill luncheon and fundraiser. He spoke about his degenerative eye disease diagnosis in his teens which eventually left him legally blind. Now in his 40’s, Jason has accomplished a host of ultrarunning feats including being the first an