Ultraguy in the making

Sorry for the delay everyone. I had no connection at the last station.

Dwayne made the difficult decision to drop out at 81.5 miles (21h27s). His spirit could have finished but his feet are in very bad condition. He is quite upset, but I have assured him that no one is disappointed in him. He made a smart decision.

I don't want to leave you on a sad note. There is a funny nugget that I'd like to share with you.

Once Dwayne hobbled back to the car, he wanted dry clothes. It's 3:30 am so it's pitch black in the forrest. Dwayne warns us about full-frontal nudity. He's in the process of putting on the first pant leg when a car drives up with headlights on in the opposite direction. I run up behind him and say "don't worry, they can't see you. I've got you covered." Then I look up and realize that Dwayne's been flashing a woman in a car he thought was empty! She got the Full Monty.

Dwayne was completely mortified and the woman was beside herself. He got those pants on in record time and tried to apologize to the woman who was trying NOT to make eye contact. I was laughing so hard that I cried.

I want to thank Pam for coming out with us on this adventure. Even though the goal was not accomplished, we all had a good time overall.

Thanks for reading all my messages, and thank you to those of you who responded with your encouraging notes.

-Natalie

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I really wish I could be helping Dwayne right now. Instead I'm sitting dry and warm in the car, and feeling quite guilty about it. Pam went to stretch and didn't come back - I hope she's under the crew tent! This is crazy. I don't think I'm a fan of the state of Wisconsin and its crazy weather.

-Natalie

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Dwayne came back through Bluff and I've got Pam back with me for a bit. He was looking good, but his feet are sore and look totally gross. He's had some pretty bad blistering.

So now we've got some more waiting. Good night to those of you who have got to go to bed. I'll keep updating for you night owls though!

Ps: the firefly show is just amazing. One lady said it looked like runners lost in the bush. I thought it looked like Tinkerbell out of Peter Pan. Very cool.

-Natalie

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Well, Pam's left me to run in the woods with Dwayne. I'm paranoid that I won't be able to find the new aid stations in the dark without a navigator. I also don't have her to crunch the numbers and tell me when it's time to go watch for Dwayne. Seriously, Pam has been a Godsend on this trip.

Dwayne was very chipper at the last aid station. He's eating boiled salted potatoes like they're going out of style. He's peeing more too. Yay!

Wish me luck folks. It's dark and lonely out here in the forrest.

-Natalie

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What I had forgotten to put in my last report is that at 12 hours of running, Dwayne remembered to tell me that he hadn't pee'd since 2 hours out. Um, hello? It's been 10 hours sice you went and you forgot to tell me? Holy crap.

Right now, Pam and I are sitting in itermittent rain. We're calling it the Mike Booth Rain Shower. It rains for 75 seconds, it stops for 75 seconds. 75 on, 75 off. That's right Mike! Your ears are burning...

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The rain has stopped and it's cooler out. Dwayne has stopped vomiting and he even pee'd! I know this may sound like TMI to some of you, but when it comes to ultra-fuelling it's crucially important to be aware of these things.

Pam and I will meet Dwayne at the 100k mark next and that's when I start my solo-crewing-in-the-dark. I'm very aprehensive so wish me luck.

-Natalie

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That's my opinion, but hey, I'm the one sending the updates, right?

Dwayne was almost an hour behind schedule at the last station. He puked a couple of times, which he doesn't usually do on ultras. We think he's over-hydrated so he's dropped his water bottle and is drinking just Heed.

He's decided to keep going, but it has started to pour. There's also been some tornado alarms going off. I am NOT having a good time. I'm so glad that Pam is here to help me out - I'd be a basket case otherwise.

Stay tuned folks, it's going to be a very long night.

-Natalie

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We saw Dwayne through Ice Breaker. We're back waiting for him at Emma Carlin. The section he's passing right now is meadow/bog with pretty much no trees. He ate some salted boiled potatoes at the last station, and I hope they sit well in his tummy.

Next update won't be for a while; it's a long way from Ice Breaker to Emma Carlin.

-Natalie

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This race is 2 out and backs of different lengths. Dwayne just passed the turn-around for the first part. He's hot!

Mr. Grumpy isn't so grumpy this time. He did complain that the pretzel sticks tasted like shit and that the water was piss-warm, but he's just bothered by the heat. His pace is in the 12-minute miles, and I know he wants to be faster than that. It's just coming on 12:30pm here so I hope the evening will bring some cool breezes.

We're back at Ice Breaker station - Dwayne should be back this way in about an hour and a half.

-Natalie

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Runners are coming through Ice Age looking down - it's uber-hot and humid right now, and it's still morning. Pam and I are skipping the next stop because it's only 3 miles away.

-Natalie

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Dwayne was looking good through Emma Carlin. We're now waiting for him at Ice Age. Expect fewer updates because the roaming is sucking my Blackberry dry.

-Natalie

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Pam and I schlepped all the gear from the first aid station parking lot to the crew area. We saw the first men run through, then the first women. We were glad Dwayne was not in that pack, since it would mean that he started out too fast.

Finally we spotted Dwayne coming through the station tent... We had the gear bag and the cooler at the ready. Dwayne just waived us off and that was that. Ha! He was through at 1:11:53 (9:42 pace).

So now we've driven to Emma Carlin crew stop. It's getting warm so we're ready with ice and beverage. This time we've got a picnic table right outside the car :-)

-Natalie

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Dwayne is off and running. I told him to make sure not to sprint off with the 100k runners :-)

The weather is nice - not too hot with almost no wind. The forecast is not so rosy, but we'll have to deal with the weather as it comes.

The first crew-accessible aid station is at 7.5 miles so off we go!
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Thanks so far for Natalie providing updates on the trip so far. In 8 hours, 10 minutes I will begin on a day long (or so) journey that has taken months, if not years of prep. I'm here in Wisconsin with my aptly named "2 Live Crew" Natalie & Pam who will fuel, motivate and run with me tomorrow.

Off to bed now after a quick shower, the drinks are mixed, the gels ready and the clothes laid out.

Next post from me will be in a day or so, but watch for tons of updates from Natalie and Pam.

D.

It is so windy in Wisconsin! And I thought Winnipeg was bad.

Our hotel in Fort Atkinson is quite nice. Free wireless Internet, yeah! Everywhere in the USA seems to have free wireless, watch for the photo documentary of "free wireless Internet" to come.

We're driving to La Grange as I type to pickup the race kit and visit the race expo (ha!) then out to do a short run on the race course. After that, dinner!

Breakfast in Minneapolis was a Désastre Gastronomique extraordinaire with IHOP as the breakfast place of choice. I was horrified by the menu but tried not to think about the likely un-veganness of my wheat-and-nut pancakes without butter. Pam thoroughly enjoyed her carrot cake pancakes though!! Needless to say I hope dinner is better than breakfast.

Stay tuned!

-Natalie


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... Now we have to find a vegan-friendly eatery that's open late.

-Natalie

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We're driving trough a Mother of a rain storm. So scarry. Can't see very far ahead of us on the highway, and cars are still moving at incredibly high speeds. We need your good vibes!

-Natalie

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We just passed the border! It was sooo funny.

The guard checked the trunk of the 2 cars ahead of us. I was expecting her to check ours too. This wouldn't be a problem except that there's a lot in our trunk and could take a while.

Anyway, we pull up and she asks for ID and the usual "where are you going and what are you doing there?" questions. Dwayne said we were going to Whitewater, WI for him to run a race. "A marathon?" she asked. "A little longer than that", said Dwayne. "A triathlon?", she asked. "More like a 100 mile race" says Dwayne. "REALLY?" she asks with huge eyes and a bit of a grin. "How long does that take? You do it all at once with no breaks?" It was hilarious. No trunk search. Just a "good luck" and a bit of a head shake.

Cheers everyone, stay tuned.
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