Beyond the Lunatic Fringe- Travels with Robert

Wow, the day was perfect. We met at 6:30 am in front of the Motel 6 in Beatty,Nv. There were about 20 folks mostly from the Santa Mountain Goats or friends of goats. We drove the 5-6 miles to the start of the run. We had 4 cars which followed us through the course which acted as sag wagons and support vehicles.

Some people were doing the whole Death Valley marathon course,me included. We started in the high desert and climbed 2500 feet in the first 13 miles which were run on a dirt road. Many folks drove part of the way and ran the rest.

As I was looking at the sky all I kept thinnking was that sky is impossibly blue. God must have photoshopped that color. The weather was a little cold at first maybe in the high 40's or low 50's but that's what you want for a run like this, it warmed up through the balance of the day but never got blazing hot.

I just felt great! I suppose it may be I had a big breakfast,eggs,potatoes,biscuit and coffee and I had my Camaelback with 3 leters of Ultra Fuel a high carbohydrate fluid (diluted). By the time we got to the high Point I had caught almost everyone despite the fact that I was just powerhiking all the hills. I stopped to refill my camelback at the top and then continued on and only stopped once for a bathroom break the rest of the day. I just felt really strong and ended up finishing over an hour ahead of my projected time. 4 hrs and 56 min.

It was very beautiful.I am counting on photos from others but I should post them soon. Next run is in 2 weeks, 45 minutes east of San Juan Capistrano. The old goat 50K in the Cleveland National Forest.