First of all, I have to say that Meka is my hero! She ran the TOUGHEST leg of this year's R4R in one hour and never walked! This was 4.7 miles of uphill running with a total increase in altitude of almost 2200 feet! And this is from someone who had never run more than 6 miles before training for the R4R.
So, now for Dan and Jay's run. We knew it would be a tough leg with a pre-run rating of "brutal". The run started with a wonderful two-mile decent of nearly 1500 feet. But we both knew this foreshadowed what lay ahead. The further we ran downhill in miles 1 and 2, the more uphill running we would do in miles 3-5.
Of course, right before mile marker two, the sleeping giant that is Mount Mitchell reared its ugly head. The last three miles of our run was a climb to the top of the mountain, a height approaching 6000+ feet. We plugged on with the knowledge that no matter what we faced, it was nothing compared to what Meka, Megan and Jenny had just conquered.
Overall, this run was better than our first leg and we finished without difficulty. Now we can rest and prepare for our two night runs.
~Jay~
You are running with an impressive herd of buffalo! Congratulations on making it to the top of Mount Mitchell. I have never even driven there!
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