reid_delman@geminiadventures.com

Ashley Arnold and Jeremy Duncan – Ashley is er feet. Help. The voices are coming toduh meet, pstop the schicken. No, really. We just jogged/trotted/Jeremy stayed with the wrecked Ashley, who limped through the last three miles shoeless.  Jeremy ate too many almonds and got some weird tongue problem. Also, the bees. From the flowers in the hair. They wanted to pollinate Jeremy’s red head. But, instead, got first! To his leg. The end. No, wait. We’re pretty sure we’re getting sick. Achy, throat hurting kind of sick. EEEk! THOUGH! We cannot wait for the view from the top tomorrow. OH! The patches of snow! And slush!

Hello Everyone!

To start off, if it was easy everyone would do it, right!  Didn’t get to do this last night because we finished 31 miles and the last 2 were in driving rain, 40 degree temps and blowing wind.  Got into camp, filled the stomach and fell asleep.  We went up to tree line twice and admired the breathtaking views.  Today we came back on the same route.  So 31 miles tree line twice but, and that is a big but, the sun was out all day and warm temps.  Made the trip back a bit more enjoyable.  Had my last freeze dried supper tonight and it was spectacular. 

Tomorrow is a short 19 up to 12,500ft to play in the snow and then back down to Copper.  We already have a plan for tomorrows food choices and beverage choices(like there is one!) In fact, we will most likely do the beer first.  The topics of discussion can get pretty weird when you are running 31 miles back to back.  We covered the typical superhero fights, favorite food combinations, last meal choices.  Yep, most centered around food.  You can only eat so many gels!  The nights have been filled with blissful 5-10 minute naps between moans and groans of the legs talking back to me.  The time out on the trails have been good for the mind.  It is always nice to unplug and let life slow down.  I kept thinking one foot in front of another.  The old fashioned way of travel!  Well that is enough babble from me.  Cant wait to scrub off the grime and drink a beer!

Miss you,

Mike

Griff and Big Red…

“Rappin’ up day 3”

Well, we’re at the point where we’ve eaten too many goo’s

I wish I wouldn’t have to see Mike and Ash’s poo’s.

We’ve ran up and down, through sun and rain,

I don’t know if we can handle any more pain.

But, with one more day left, and 19 miles to go,

I hope Ross’s scrote doesn’t show.

We love you and miss you, but not more than beer,

It’s been way too long since our fluffy pillow has been near.

The trails have been pretty, the miles have been long,

If you thought this was a good idea, you might be dead wrong.

But through all the pain, the ups and the down,

The beauty that surrounds us will ALWAYS abound.

We love you…see you soon,

Ash, Ross and Mike

Drew Bennett – Day 3 – Well…today was the day my body gave me the middle finger.  I guess I can’t blame it.  It started off in a bit of questionable manner.  With a few minutes to spare I decided to enjoy the luxury of an outhouse given some past experiences over the last couple of days. Seemed like a good idea until I heard a bunch of whooping and hollering and came out to find everyone gone.  I had missed the start!  I knew it was a risk, but one I was willing to take for the benefit of not having to use tree bark as a “natural solution” to the modern horror of toilet paper.  My body started as it has the last couple of days…like the tin man after a heavy rain.  And my incessant cough was a constant reminder that I do not belong at this altitude.  I immediately started to think of the comforts of home.  Only 50 more miles to go, 3 mountain tops and two times up and down the dreaded bike path.  I have continued on my quest to spot a wild animal but to no avail other than the occasional squirrel.  I yelled out SQUIRREL at one point like Dug the Dog but then realized that no one was around to hear me and laugh.  Oh well. I had a good laugh.  I find myself having more and more good laughs when its just me.  Is that a sign of going crazy? My strategy of walking the uphills and running the downhills has slowly degraded to a rather pathetic walk everything except the steep downhills.  Everytime I hit a downhill I judge if its long enough to be worth running and it also needs to be a particular pitch…say 5-6%.  Any less and I’m walking.  It would actually be kind of amusing to hear the arguments going on in my head.  The good news is that the views were absolutely spectacular.  Payback for 16.5 hours on the Pemi loop without a single view.  I even did a Sound of Music twirl through the fields for the camerman at 12,000 ft.  Amy and kids, as you can see I’m doing fine although one more step toward the sanitarium.  Can’t wait to come home and see you.  Jesse, nutrition has been great.  All joking aside I’ve been encouraged at the ability to continue to chug along albeit at a fairly slow place.  Will have some serious durability for Vermont 50!!

Chris and Kari:  We began the morning with the fresh dew glistening off Glen’s sculpted Grecian calves.  Chris was enthralled.  He almost couldn’t leave the starting line.  Feel the Pink!! Our packs were still heavy, but the sun, the sun, the glorious sun was (finally) shining overhead.  Pleasant compensation for 12 hours of near-freezing rain overnight.  So we ran, and hiked and hiked some more, chillin’ and just enjoying the day.  We practiced integrating to Nine.  Feel the Pink!!  Chris kinda failed, but tried real hard.  Kari stayed in the front to force universal harmony.  A big responsibility.  Now I am very tired.  We are getting punished by Reid for enjoying ourselves so much; we have to start 53 minutes ahead of everyone else tomorrow.  (Which is 0-dark-thirty).  Chris: The upside of an early start is I’ll be deep into a rare Porterhouse steak 53 minutes sooner than I had hoped.  (And beer. Glorious beer.)  We’re having a great time… the runners and the support crew are both excellent and a lot of fun.  Must bring a whiskey on the next one of these…  J  Wildflowers are excellent.  Sun is bright and warm.  Life is good.  Feel the Pink Steph…feel the pink.

Michellenburg Day 3:  Today I ran solo as the other Texan left CO this morning, so it was me, but not to worry since bike guy, Mark, stayed closely behind encouraging and making sure I did not make a wrong turn.  After a rainy night and a leaking tent, I thawed out this morning because for the first time being in CO it did not rain!!!  Anyways, today was 31.8 again and the time limit was 13 hours.  I got it done in 12 hrs and 50ish minutes...I was close to being out, but I put my head down the last ten miles and pushed as much as possible.  The down hill hurts with my knee, and thus for once I prefer uphills.  Everyone was real supportive with my getting the last few miles in on time.  More food out of a bag.  I cant wait for real food tomorrow.  81 official miles and only 19 tomorrow!  This has been incredible and I cant believe its going to be over after the 8 hour journey tomorrow.  Flying out of Denver tomorrow and back to warm Texas.  This morning it was 40ish when we woke.  Oh how I miss the 90s.  See you all soon!

Day 2:

Chris and Kari: (Chris): Four score and seven miles ago we set out on our favorite asphalt bike path (again) from Frisco.  Our destination was the Jefferson Creek campground, 32 miles distant, along the Colorado Trail.    Today was the queen stage at 32 miles and 7000’ of gain.  Kari and I were looking forward to a long day on the trail, taking it easy and mellow, staying in the flow, and discussing future running trips.  It seems every trip leads to ideas for 10 more.  (Kari): Adventures beget adventures! So we ran, and then we hiked, and then ran some more, and laughed, and then hiked, and laughed a lot, and hiked and hiked…into, of course, another hail storm above treeline.  Did I mention our packs weighed a ton?? They still do, even though Kari has been eating more than she thought humanly possible in order to lighten the load on her back.  And then we ran more, this time downhill, finally.  And we laughed more.  All was good.  Until...with a mile to go, Chris had a moment.  More than a moment.  A whole mile.  Of complete disintegration.  To Three.  In the worst way.  (Chris): I didn’t disintegrate…(Kari): Oh yes, he totally did!  Don’t believe a word he says. (Chris):  I was actually integrating to a Nine.  It was a beautiful moment of enlightenment.  (Kari): Integrating to Nine!!! Please.  He doesn’t even know what that means.  But now he says that, as justification for all his emerging Three tendencies.  Tomorrow is going to be hell.  (Chris): Ok, other than that, it was a very pleasant day… perfect day on the trail (in the hail, rain, sun, wind, and locusts).  Tomorrow we backtrack, 32 miles back to Frisco.  Please deliver one supreme pizza to campsite 45 (and one veggie for Kari). 

Ashley Arnold – I started off with wet clothes. Became delirious at about mile 23 and then Jeremy and I decided we were lost. About to run into what looked like a snowstorm we decided the best option was to turn around and run a half mile backwards, stop, run backwards again, go forward, then just wait and hope someone would show up and we’d know we were still on track. By the time we heard Glen’s angelic voice descending from the mist, I was sure I was done. I couldn’t comprehend much and my legs were tight from the cold, making the steep descent terribly painful. Sound dramatic yet? Well, it gets better. With every step, Jeremy (on his 28^th birthday) witnessed my mental breakdown and hyperventilation as I fell down on the trail. Lips purple, I stumbled into camp, apologizing to Jeremy for going loco during the last 6 miles. Then! THEN! I shivered compulsively with hypothermia in a wet sleeping bag. Great. Worst 30 miles of my LIFE! YES! We do it BACKWARDS tomorrow! I can’t WAIT! No really. I can’t.

Drew Bennett – Day 2 – Ok I need to make this short because its pouring rain and freezing!  I can’t type so well because my hands are shaking uncontrollably.  So much fun!  As I’m sure you read above today was an interesting day – 31 miles.  It took me 9 hrs.  Nothing to write home about but I’m happy because I’m surviving for the moment but I am definitely significantly more sore tonight than I was last night.  Favorite hallucination of the day?  An elderly woman walking through the woods in a dress at about 12,000 feet.  Likely, huh?  I saw an interesting paw print in the mud.  It looked like a mountain lion but had claws coming out of the toes and I’m told that typically mountain lion prints don’t show the claws.  So maybe it was a bear!  Needless to say we didn’t run into each other.  On the positive side, I am being scared less and less by the black stumps in the woods.  Yesterday I kept thinking they were wild animals and today I was able to put that to rest.  Wouldn’t it be funny if a bear actually DID sit on the side of the trail and struck a pose like a stump.  He have me for sure.  As I walked by he’d say “Hey how ya’ doin’” And then chomp.  Amy and kids….once again I am safe and having the time of my life….which means every moment is painful and I can’t wait for it to be over but I’m sure  when it’s all said and done I will say “THAT…WAS….AWESOME”.  I love you guys more than anything! Jesse,  better execution today.  I held back a bit and gave up some time but finished stronger than yesterday despite the longer distance.  Having trouble with the powerbars though…took me 45 minutes of constant chewing to eat one today and had to switch to gels early!    

Michellenburg – Day 2…..hey everybody, we stayed on the right path today so we went 31.8 total!  I got to run through sunflowers – so pretty.  We had two ascents, so it was crazy today.  They both rocked.  We got to the last one at 25ish and felt great.  We were above the tree line , about 12,200ft up.  Unfortunately it started to rain for the third or so time today and we froze….when I got back to camp I was freezing and not in the mood to eat, but everyone here is awesome and so helpful.  My body will eventually thaw out tonight, so we can rock tomorrow.  (No worries mom – I am okay J )  Still miss Dr. Pepper.  I have to go warm-up now.  Adios – another 31.8 tomorrow!

Day 1:

Drew Bennett – Post After Day 1 – Today started much like any other ill conceived event I’ve tried…50 degrees, pouring rain, thunder and lightning.  10 of us stood under the cover of a tent close to the main building while Reid beckoned us to come to the starting line.  We debated starting from the tent, but then reluctantly yielded to the weather and set out into the driving rain to stand by our fearless leader as he started the clock.  Today would be 19.5 miles.  Hmmm.  So much for basing a race strategy on last year’s race which was short.  This year’s race is shaping up to be meaningfully longer than last year’s…which already was probably too long for me to complete.  But I digress!  I also was a bit concerned because I seemed to suffer from the altitude as I climbed the steps to the reception area of the hotel the previous night.  As I huffed and puffed I had to take a moment to compose myself before giving the gentleman behind the desk my name. So nothing like a little inclement weather and threat of altitude sickness to get you going.  It was nice also knowing that my boss was probably seething at home because one of our biggest holdings (and one of my recommendations) was down 17% for the day.  But at least I’m 1000s of miles away and currently in an undisclosed location.  Reid is putting on a tremendous show with a great route (although I have to take issue with the 5 miles of bike trail at the end…probably the longest 5 miles of my life).  Scenery is spectacular (it actually ended up clearing for most of the race).  And none of the stumps that I mistook for a dangerous animal ended up being real.  My favorite scare came from a pine branch full of red needles lying in the path.  For a moment I thought it was a fox waiting to spring at me.  That said there is certainly wildlife out there as there were two enormous piles of fecal matter in the trail.  The two participants ahead of me at the time claimed it wasn’t them so it must be that of a dangerous animal…it was green.  Amy and kids….I am having a blast and totally safe. I love you all dearly.  Jesse, the race plan has a few kinks as far as my ability to execute.  I couldn’t get the trail mix down and my HR is through the roof…walking at a slight incline is 145 beats.  I spent a good part of the day pushing the upper limits without really trying.  Trying to be disciplined though.  Off to eat my crushed potato chips and Ramen noodles.  And hoping a little more time will help me acclimate and get ride of this incessant altitude cough.  Peace out.

 Ashley Arnold and Jeremy Duncan - Everyone: Today we ran on the Colorado Trail. And that’s awesome, because as least we will get to see some of it. And then, of course, pine over the fact we won’t get to see the rest in a few weeks. But we felt great, aside from rolling ankles and sliding down freezing slush following some fresh snow this morning. Eating uncooked macaroni and cheese for dinner and then drinking soupy faux cheese water, made life even more delicious. But Jeremy is wearing women’s pants. And I look like a thug. Thankfully our gear is satisfactory, given the fact we’ve only used any of it… never! Jeremy likes Helly Hanson shoes. And I like my new buff from OR.

THANKS PAULA! Allison, I (Ashley) wish I had a click! A bird is pecking our feet, while Glen is taking pictures. The run was great. Tomorrow we have 32 miles.  This week will top us out at 118 high… granted we don’t get eaten! Mfidsahf as;dfkj!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Chris and Kari:  Today found us (actually, only Chris) pondering the quest for enlightenment along the trail.  We did not find any, but it hailed a little.  And rained a little (a lot!) too.  We are convinced that even just one more day of carrying our hellaciously heavy packs will feel sufficiently Sisyphean to guarantee, if not enlightenment, at least a few transcendent lumbar vertebrae. Have we said that this adventure “racing” thing involves carrying WAY too much stuff?  It is a lot of fun though!  Tip for those planning this in the future:  bring liquor (Chris recommends a nice Balvenie 10yr Doublewood Single Malt… it goes well with freeze dried Beef Stew).  Kari is very very busy eating everything that she can so that she does not have to carry it again tomorrow.  Tomorrow is the first of two back-to-back 32 mile runs, each with around 7000’ of gain.  Viva la suffering.  The crew taking care of us is awesome!  The racers are also awesome!  There are only 10 of us, so not only do we feel like a slightly wacky and warm little family, but we are (almost) guaranteed our first top-10 finish.  So long as Chris does not get us lost (again) and Kari does not buckle under the sheer massiveness of her pack.  Chris: It was only a 0.5 mile detour to see the new hospital.  Quite nice.    Hello to Susan, Michael, and Katie and all the Idiots J

Big Red and Griff…Well, we made it to Copper this morning.  The red rocket coughed a bit, but we survived and made it 10 minutes before the cut-off.  As we pulled up, it started to hail and rain tons….crazy stuff.  We started around noon today and finished our first 20 miles about 6 hours later.  Unbelievable views!!  I think we topped off at around 12,400 ft and then back down to Frisco for camp tonight.  So far no chaffage….a bit of a back-ache from our gargantuan packs, but all in all a successful day.  We are currently munching on space food, staying warm by a glowing fire, and contemplating life.  Mike still smells real bad, Ash is still the sexiest gal I’ve ever saw (even with bats in the cave and crazy ass blisters)  And we’re planning our early retirement!!  Can’t wait Griff…can we piggy-back onto you retirement??  Thanks again for all your help and prayers, and good thoughts.  Love ya lots…have the beer cold on Sunday!!  Here’s to the unknown and the adventure in life.

Miss ya and wish you were here.

Ross, Ash, and Frankie Fruit Cup Jones

Hello to everyone!

Well I met Ross and Ash at 6 this morning in Golden.  We got out of town about 5 minutes and the red rocket gets a little hot.  Long story short we barely made it to the start.  I guess that is normal for us though!  So now to the race.  Get to Copper and the start with a downpour and cold temps.  The best piece of equipment for today, a $3 poncho!  That thing saved me.  Climbed 5k today on a 19 mile section.  Went above treeline to roughly 12,500 feet.  Walked up most of the ups and ran every flat and down section.  We all stuck together and made it to camp with 2 hrs before cutoff time.  The section today was sooo beautiful.  Some views that stopped me in my tracks.  It was snowing on top but we made it over the saddle and down without trouble.  Dinner was pretty good for freeze dried food.  The thing I miss the most,  BEER!  Dang that is the hardest part of this thing so far.  Tomorrow is a BIG day.  But I will leave that fun until I finish it.  Just want everyone to know how much fun we are having!  Miss and love you!  There is definitely something to say about getting out of your comfort zone and taking on a challenge! 

p.s. that pack feels like it weighs 100lbs after 19 miles.  Cant wait to strap in on again tomorrow morning!

Take care,

Mike

Michellenburg’s humor:  So everyone, we took the wrong turn around mile 5 and went all the way to the summit!!!  Then we kept going over ice patches seeing no one, all the way to Breckenridge….it sucked, but was crazy, beautiful, and an experience.  We were so worried about being disqualified but we were not!  So anyways after going, about maybe an extra ten miles today, we ran out of trail, and had to go down a jeep path, which ran out, so then we went down the ski lifts by foot, called Peak 9.  When we made it all the way down we jogged through the town until people could tell us how to get to the Bike Trail.  We had to get to this because it would take us to Frisco, and along the way pass a check point, which is required to stay in the race.  So we made the check point, and finally made it to camp…We were hours behind everyone, but we did it!  What a great feeling.  I made it in 7:23…woohoo – the cut-off was 8hrs.  The last few miles I did on my own so I had to talk to myself to just keep myself breathing well, so I sang some Wade Bowen and then quoted a little beautiful scripture that my small group has been discussing – yeah small group, I miss you all.  I hope tonight went well for you girls.  My shoulders are so sore from the pack, but well worth it.  We take off again at 7am for 31.8 miles and will make it to 12,300 feet I think.  Today, going off course, we went to 12,500 and it hurt.  They did penalize us for going down that ski lift since it was off course, but at least we get to stay in the race.  I am cold here and so glad I made it.  There are only ten of us in the race with the same number for support and check points.  Yeah for another adventure tomorrow…everyone is awesome.  Will report back tomorrow.  Praise the Lord for this experience!!!  See you all – and I miss Dr. Pepper so badly!!!