Race Summary: OMG! Is there any O2 available?!?!?

That's the thought I had many of times during what is dubbed Arizona's most difficult trail Marathon. Fvckers weren't kidding. Hell, it's as if they require you to smoke a pack of cigarettes at each aid station.

We start north of Flagstaff, slight above 8,100' above sea level. We will eventually max out above 8,600' above sea level wondering why in the hell we would subject ourselves to oxygen depravation!

It's cold at the start. Gawd awful cold. Only a few of us brave he full distance. The majority of folks here have functioning brain cells and chose the shorter distances.

Familiar faces abound. Mike F from YouTube. Several others from the AZ trail pack are here for the shorter distances. Fortunately my ignorance and my glee to seeing others keep me from fully appreciating the torture I'm about to endure.

Mistake 1. I get caught up in the crowd and go out waaaay to fast! By mile 1 I try and dial it back some. By mile 2 I note the markers are off somewhat. By mile 3 I identify a jersey up ahead that I latch onto that will be my pacer for the next 18 miles and become my FB friend before it's over.
This is a beautiful trail. Two loops of a sudo figure eight configuration to fvck with the temptation to stop he shenanigans and get to a lower altitude. The back upper course feature Ash trees near an opening where the vistas are "breathtaking!" See what I did there? Pun intended.

First real walking began as we started up a climb above 8,400' above see level after the beautiful Ash trees on a true single track. Heart racing to fuel muscles, while lungs are working overtime to extract whatever O2 they can from the thin air.

I eat like I've never eaten before and eat through my food and course food by mile 20. I'm beat down and so want to stop. I've picked up another new FB friend that I'm now struggling to keep in my view. But we've all had four plus hours to chat and get to know each other before we DIE!

Somewhere during the last accent up to over 8,600' I mentally zone out and don't remember much of the journey. There was pain. A lot of pain. There was moment my whole body was trying to shut down. There was the moment I ran up on the few taking pictures on the trail. It was the most horrible beautiful experiences I've had in a spell.

Near the end I'm in full sprint because I want the torture to stop, but I want the experience to last forever. Talk about a contradiction. However, they don't call this Arizona's toughest trail Marathon for kicks and giggles. Nope. It is the toughest and I survived it! Here I come Javelina Jundred. I see you. I'm coming for that buckle!

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