Story
I had the day off from work and went up to Hammond to run the Ultrahoctothon — four loops of the Challenge course. I’m four weeks out from the Mighty Mosquio 100, which has rolling hills, with trails, and mildly technical terrain, much like Hammond’s DEC trails and dirt roads. My plan to run a 100k race tomorrow got nixed, so a long run on my day off on such a similar course made perfect sense.
I had Covid last week and most likely had it while running the Tough Trail Challenge on the fourth, but at the time symptoms were so mild I thought it just a minor cold. I didn’t know the truth until evening the next day. I guess one of the upsides to Covid is that it all but eliminated my caffeine tolerance. After drinking a 16 oz can of maté I felt like Pheidippides the entire run, eating up hills and bouncing across those B3 roots through four laps. I did slow a little each loop but never felt tired or sore. At the end of the 36 miles I still had the energy for at least a few more loops, instead of yelling “Nike!” and dropping dead in the parking lot like Pheidippides. But the plan was for four and I had to pick up my kids in Dryden.
Logistics were simple. It felt so good cruising around shirtless, but it was cool and shady enough in the forest that I didn’t need to carry much stuff — just a small handheld with water and a belt with my phone and a couple gels. At the end of each loop I’d make an aid station stop at the car to dry off, refill my bottle, and guzzle loads of cold Gatorade.
I encountered loads of trail users throughout the day but no other Challengers that I’m aware of. And now it looks like @dennis-s and I might go toe-to-toe to win this QR sign when the Challenge ends 
