@cocodona250 Pacer Report: 001
The trip started with chaos. First, the airline lost my bag with all my
@rydrateco nutrition. Then our rental campervan started having electrical problems. Once the rental company “fixed” it, I was scrambling to track down gels and hydration powder before the 5am race start the next morning. Luckily, I had packed most of my running gear in my carry-on.
After package pickup and a short shakeout run with the
@distancetoemptypod crew, Trevor was ready. A few final details and an early night before the big day.
Race morning came after sleeping through a sandstorm in the van. As the sun came up, the mass start rolled out and we headed toward Crown King, 36.6 miles in - the first crew-access aid station.
We stopped at Bumble Bee, where crews wait until their runner passes a checkpoint before being released up the steep single lane mountain road. We got our pass to head up to CK, started the van… and every check engine light came on. The transmission was toast.
Panic set in. Trevor was expecting a full pack and clothing swap at Crown King, over an hour from Bumble Bee - we had to get to him.
Huge shoutout to
@marinas_trailrunning_quests husband and pacer
@chrisfleugel for saving us. We carpooled to Crown King and arrived seconds befor Trevor. I grabbed his new pack in one hand and gear in the other as I ran to catch him for a quick changeover before the next crew access 40 miles away at Whiskey Row.
After Crown King, we drove the van with a cooked transmission an hour just to empty it into a pickup truck so we could make it to the next stop. Fully expecting the van to break down on the highway, we somehow limped it in with luck on our side.
Whiskey Row. Pizza, a quick clothing swap, and Trevor was off into the night. After a quick stop at Watson Lake, we tried to catch a two hour nap sitting in the truck since we no longer had a camper van to crew out of.
Next stop:
@satisfyrunning Fain Ranch, where I finally lace up my shoes to start pacing.
To be continued in Pacer Report 002.