Random Places

“Never quit in the dark” I told another rider as she mentioned giving up at the Matfield Green aid station. “Is that your personal rule?” she asked. “It is THE golden rule of any ultra endurance event” was my response.

It was around 4am and we had all just been battling several miles of muddy wet gravel. Typically in races like this you need to rely on convenience stores along the route to resupply but since there were no other options in this area the organizers set up their own aid station. It couldn’t have come at a better time as I was at a low point. They key is I expected this and was mentally prepared. I had spent a lot of time pondering the entire race and trying to imagine how I would feel. I also knew that if I could get through until sunrise it would get better. Never quit in the dark, the dawn will bring a new day.

The previous stop was at a Casey’s General Store about 50 miles earlier. At that point all I wanted was a cold Coke and a salty snack. Sadly many of the 100+ riders who got there before me must have also wanted a Coke and they were sold out. A Mountain Dew would have to do (not bad but not what I was craving). I was able to find a nice bag of potato chips however.

The aid station was not just set up for the 250 riders of the 350 mile race but was also going to be for the 1500 or so riders in the 200 mile race starting Saturday morning. This meant it was very well stocked and I was able to get that cold Coke. They also had some lawn chairs set up. I knew it might be somewhat risky to get into a comfortable chair, I might not want to get back up and moving, but I needed the rest for a bit.

A rest, suggar and caffeine from the Coke and some more salty snacks did wonders. More importantly the sky was starting to brighten up, it wasn’t sunrise yet but the pre-dawn light bosted my mental state just as expected and I was off and riding again.

Up until this point those of us not at the leading edge of the race had seen a lot of wet roads but hadn’t actually seen any significant rain. That luck wasn’t going to last.