Conquering Patagonia's 100-Mile Ultra Marathon in Under 42 Hours

Today I'm going to be attempting to run 100 miles in under 42 hours in South America's hardest ultra marathon. I chose this race in Argentina because it's South America's largest trail running event. And the big goal that I've set for myself is to run a 100mile race on all seven continents. So far, I've run the Leadville 100 in North America. I ran 106 miles at UTMB block in Europe and 155 miles in the Sahara Desert during Marathon Desa in Africa. But back to this race that's going to start in just a few minutes. The Patagonia 100 is South America's hardest race because of the terrain. And now taking us to the water. The beginning was all fun and games, but this climb got serious fast.

This race takes place in the stunning Patagonia Mountains right outside the small town of San Martin de los Andes. And during the race, we have to climb 30,000 vertical feet. To put that in perspective, that's the equivalent of going from sea level to the top of Mount Everest while running 100 miles all in under 42 hours of trying this new thing called running fast. So sit back, relax, and join us for this 100 mile adventure that is sure to be a roller coaster, both literally and figuratively. I have pushed this race harder than I've ever pushed. Why? The wheels are coming off a little bit.

I cannot believe this happened. I was not mentally prepared for this. H. Let's do it. It's been a little bit of a chaotic start because everything from like the runner's guide that I got months ago to all the announcements that are happening now, it's all in Spanish. There's no English. So, I'm doing my best to guess and figure out where I should be. This might be where we say bye. No. I love you. Good luck crewing by yourself for the first time. Thank you. Good luck. I know you can do this. I love you. All right, I've made it to the start line.

I'm in the right corral, which might have been the biggest challenge of the entire thing with the language barrier. Just before the start, there was a speech that was in Spanish, so I couldn't understand it, but it felt incredibly powerful. It silenced the whole crowd. And now that we've translated it, I know why. Here's what he said. Ahead lie many hard hours for all of you, challenging yourselves in these mountains, facing the weather, the distance, fatigue, sleepiness, and those small pains that will accompany you on this journey. Thank you all for being here and to you for accepting the challenge. We all run for something.

Some run to run away, others for the joy of reaching their destination. Some run to compete and win. Some run for others, others run for their own sake. Run for yourselves. All right, my first 100 mileer south of the equator. A little dusty at the start. I might should HAVE BROUGHT A PUFF. I'M RUNNING, but somehow it still hasn't sunk in. And I'm about to do this for 100 miles. 42 hours starts now. Let's do this. One mile down, 99 more to go. And that might have been the flattest of the whole race.

This uh really stressed me out during my first race at Leadville, but just come to learn that the traffic jam is a part of basically every ultra at the beginning. Usually starts on a big wide road like we just did. Funnels onto a narrow single track and it just takes a while for everyone to get spread out. I think when I say thank you, it just gives away that I'm not from here. a river dare you just left the town behind to start our first big climb. They did not mess around at the beginning of this race. We are climbing 4,000 ft basically straight up to uh one of the tallest peaks on the entire course. Footing is uh loose tiny boulders which is going to get the military out here directing traffic.

Can I jump it? That will be way harder if we come across another one of those later in the race. My leg will not been that high. We've gotten a run way more these first few miles than I expected. When you looked at the elevation chart, it was a lot more intimidating. All right, 5K in to the first aid station. That was fun. Easy. Good start. Perfecto. 30 seconds at the first aid station to fill up a water bottle. We'll keep going. the first of 30,000 ft of downhill. I made a big deal in the intro about uh how much climbing we had to do, but

really in these races, it's the downhill that beats up your legs more than anything. The climbing is hard, unlike your breathing and your heart, but I feel like that's where I'm strongest. The legs break down after a lot of downhill. Would really love to keep my feet dry. I did it. That's beautiful. All right. Dry feet. Wow. I've never seen a group of people so willing to get their feet wet. As usual, while Nate is running for the next two days, I'll be taking you behind the scenes of what it looks like to crew. And this race is much different than the rest. It's going to be an adventure.

I was thinking so far the climb had been quite a bit uh easier than expected, but we're just doing all the vertical elevation in this one section. I wouldn't be surprised if this is 40° and loose dirt. Also, it is quite a bit hotter than I expected it to be. Uh, it's April, so this is the start of their fall coming out of summer. But I think I'll be grateful for the warm weather that we're having tonight as we're going through the mountains. Woo! So pretty. All right, 8 miles in. Just coming up on a station number two. Awa. Yes. This is my favorite race bib I've ever had because it has the entire elevation profile with all the aid station stops on the bib. So you can just flip it up and look at it. And I

wrote all the times that I was supposed to be different places by the eight station stops. This is where I am now. So halfway up the big climb. And it says I'm supposed to be here at 450. I'm not sure if I um drastically underestimated myself or if I wrote down the wrong thing, but somehow I'm an hour ahead of pace uh 8 miles into the race, which seems wrong. Well, here we go. I was about to say I really expected these climbs to be steeper, but they're starting. And now the real climbing begins. All right, this is the first race that I've ever crewed all by myself, which I'm a little nervous about because in the past I've always had a nice big crew that helps crew me and crew Nate. So, this feels weird. The other crazy thing

is there are only two aid stations that I'm allowed to crew Nate. The first one won't be until 1:00 a.m. tonight if all goes as planned. And then the second one will be 300 p.m. tomorrow. Look at this. Absolutely stunning. These red trees are incredible. Look at the moss on these guys. This is called old man's beard. You can guess why. Come on, D. Come on. This is so exciting. The first and second place runners are coming through right now and they are coming from the top of a ski resort. This trail is wild.

It's getting steep now. That's a chair lift behind me. And uh we just keep going up. I'm just now seeing where the top is. This is actually pretty crazy. Very crazy. That's where I'm going. And this is where I am. Let's go. Okay. Okay, so even though I'm not allowed to cinade outside of those two designated places, I am getting a little behind the scenes access. I am currently at the third aid station of the race. 22 km in where Nate should be coming next. I can't help him. I can't touch him. I can't do anything. But I do get to see him. And you get to see him. Very exciting. The beginning was all fun and

games, but this climb got serious fast. It's one of those that's so steep your heels aren't even touching the ground. JUST UH REALLY STRETCHING OUT the calves and achilles. We are a little over 2 and 1/2 hours into the race and honestly it feels like it's been 15 minutes. That's the way it always goes for me. There's just always this adrenaline and excitement. It usually lasts a few hours and it's all super fun and I film way too much and I use way too much energy like I am now. But uh still feeling good so far. This is almost impossible to see in the camera, but just check out where these people are coming from.

Hopefully that translates to the peak. Not 100% sure, but I have to believe I'm standing on top of the first peak on the elevation profile. 10 and a half miles in. What an incredible view. So, usually during these races, I end up like playing mind games with myself to keep myself going. And sometimes it's different strategies, you know, like sometimes I'm hard on myself, sometimes I'm like, "Yeah, you got this." The last race I ran was Moab 240. And so I keep telling myself like, "Yeah, you're 10 miles in, only 90 more to go. You ran 90 mi after running 160 mi in 240." But I'm scared that's a really dangerous mindset to have because I think 100 miles is going to be hard no matter what. And I

was not feeling good at mile 100 of Moab. Wow. I think the back side of the mountain might be even prettier. Look at those red trees down in the valley. Back down the other side. Time to beat up the quads. Woohoo. Nice work. Yeah, girls. They've got an app where you can track your runners. And Nate's currently says he's 21 minutes away and that he's 150th overall in the rankings. That's pretty sweet. There are some really steep climbs in descents, but in between there are some beautiful trails. And also that is 13.1 miles. So one half marathon down, several more to go.

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combo gives you a steadier boost and less of a crash. And of course, the lemonade iced tea has all the other things we know and love about Element, like electrolytes, potassium, and magnesium for optimal absorption, and no fake colors, added sugars, or any of those dodge ingredients. Plus, it tastes amazing. You need to try this. So, if you click our link in the description below or go to drinkelement.com/caraandnate, you'll get a free 8count sample pack of Element's most popular drink mix flavors with any purchase. Enjoy. I think it's him. Look at him go. Y Oh, great to see you so soon. Me. I'm so excited. How are you?

I feel great. You look so good coming down that thing. Your hair blowing in the wind. It's ridiculous. I don't know what to do. Hello. Hi, Nate. Pleasure to meet you. Uh, we are currently live on the streaming of the race. Uh, can you tell us a bit of how was it so far? It's been absolutely beautiful. Yeah, the views at the top were absolutely incredible. Is this downhill worse than Hopas or a bit better?

I think it's steeper. Hope you have a fantastic night, which is gracias. It's funny because I kind of expected the whole thing to just be like relatively steep. But it really goes in waves. Like one minute I'm running this beautiful trail on like kind of like this perfect flat to downhill and then the next second I'm climbing like the steepest thing I've ever been on before. There are times when my heel is not touching the ground. Yeah, the last 5 miles was pretty brutal on the quads cuz we just ran straight downhill. But uh I'm feeling great. Yay. It's warm. That's great news.

Hopefully that means it's going to be warm tonight. I don't know if I'm allowed to touch you, but I just want to say good job. I feel so wrong not helping Nate, like filling up his bottles, giving him his snacks, holding his bag. I'm just off the hook until 1:00 a.m. We got potatoes and empanadas. It's too early to be eating this much, but like real poop. That's going to hurt at some point, but not yet. I was supposed to be here, according to my time, at 7:02.

Oh gosh. It's 5:35. Epic. Okay, we'll see what happens. I love you. I'll see you later. So, I probably should have mentioned this before now, but before the race started, I'll put together a spreadsheet with my best guesstimate on my finish time. I think it came out to something like 38 hours in total. So, the race started at 2:00 p.m. on Friday. I'll run through tonight and then if all goes as planned, I'll finish early Sunday morning, I think, right before 4:00 a.m. But anything could happen. Wow. Heading right up there. You subscribing? Yeah. Good night. Thank you so much. Bye-bye. Okay. Turns out you can't drive to the next two aid stations. My friends kicked me out, but that was amazing. I'm so glad they let me come. And the next time I see Nate

will be when I can crew. It's actually not that far away at this rate that he's going. If he doesn't slow down, I'm gonna see him really soon. Let's go. This is uh basically my life for the next two days. Climb up a mountain and then try not to fall down it on the other side. Oh, it's very hard to appreciate how steep this is right now. This is crazy. So, I wanted to share something that I recently learned that is fascinating and it kind of explains what all these crazy people are doing here. So, stick with me. I recently watched this podcast with this amazing woman who is like a brain

expert and she talked about this thing called AMCC and it's a part of the brain that they refer to as the willpower hub. And the section of the podcast was called why doing hard things literally grows your brain. So apparently when you do things that are hard for you, it grows this AMCC. So they found that athletes and people who consistently push themselves have a bigger AMCC than the average person who's more sedentary. The internet actually says that this region of the brain is activated by micro sucks, which I just love that term. I was like doing things that people typically don't like to do like training really hard, dieting, or just like challenging mental work. I just

realized I'm laying in like I just touched one of my hand and you do hard things. It's basically like your baseline for challenge is raised. And I thought this was interesting because a while back Nate shared his theory on comfort zones and how when your comfort zone is small, doing something like running 100 miles or climbing to the top of a 14 or mountain just feels completely out of reach. But the more small things you do outside of your comfort zone, your comfort zone grows and then maybe that thing doesn't feel as crazy anymore. And I think that's exactly what's happened to all of these runners here. Like you don't go from zero to 100 miles and it's really easy to look at them and think like

they're absolutely psycho, which they are, but it just makes it make a lot of sense and makes me want to do more micro sucks. You should listen to the podcast and I hope that this explanation or this video makes you want to do something hard. I think I'm going to get out of this poop now. This is the poop I was literally laying on. It's almost hard to stomp. It's so steep. But look at this. Since I've got some time to kill, I'm going to go get a coffee and watch night's tracking. Wow, look at that. Like a postcard.

Stunning. It feels really weird ordering a coffee after sunset, but I think I might need it. And this is the cutest little coffee shop ever. I love it here. Anyway, so Nate and I had never heard of this race before. And when he discovered it online, we went to YouTube and typed in Patagonia 100, expecting there to be a bunch of videos that we could watch and like see what it's about. And there wasn't a single one in English. And then just anything else online about it is in Spanish, which obviously is an Argentinian race. Makes total sense. But like this race is so cool and it's in the best place. Like San Martin de Sandies is this awesome little town right on the water. And then the run is in the Patagonia Mountains. I just feel

like why don't more people know about this? And so I'm really hoping that like our video can share it with a bunch of people who don't speak Spanish either and make this race even bigger than it already is. 20 miles in, one of the way there. And we're just hiking straight up this beautiful stream. Also, since we're chatting, I just thought I'd share some feelings. This is Nate's fifth ultra race and it's been the weirdest day because in a way this is starting to feel normal. Still like crazy and scary and awesome, but I don't know like all week it's just been coming up and we're like it's happening but like we've done this four times. Just because it's semi-normal doesn't mean

that it's like guaranteed or not scary because every race is so different and there's so many variables. Anything can happen. Thankfully, Nate's made it through all those variables each time. But you just never know. Like, it's it's what makes it wild and exciting. If you knew you were going to finish, like, what's the fun in that? I see a little ants all the way up there. Got a good sandline from today. All right, night one officially begins. Could not have asked for a better start to this race. My body's felt amazing.

Well, as good as it could. It's a little beat up after 20 m. The weather has been absolutely perfect, which I was prepared for the worst. I was scared this was going to be another UTMB situation with rain and snow. The weather in Patagonia can be Oh my gosh, that scared me so bad. There's two horses in the woods down there. The weather in uh Patagonia can be really crazy. The first day we landed here, I went on a run to uh Mount Fitzroy base camp, and this is what it looked like. This is crazy. So, I could not be more grateful to still be running in a t-shirt right now. Six hours in. Just coming up on aid station number four.

Gracias. Great news. Nate is 2 hours ahead of his pace chart still, which is amazing because when it gets hard at some point, he'll have a lot of wiggle room there and it doesn't have to get stressful cuz there are cut offs. Oh, and it's also really good for me because that means I get to see him at 11:00 p.m. instead of 1:00 a.m. and I got to leave pretty soon. But before I do, I thought I would show you what the aid station's going to be like because it's going to be a little crazy once we get there. Nate has made my job very easy because we packed this bag together with everything that he needs. I'm going to put all of his snacks in there and then he's got element to go in his bottle, plus I don't even know what this

is, like super high carb calorie stuff to go in his other bottle. Then he's got all his gels, all the things that he eats while he's running in between the aid stations. So, we'll fill him up with that first. Then we have a lot of just in case things like he's going into the night, so I'm going to see if he wants his jacket. I'm going to plug in his phone and his watch to make sure he has those. There's an optional waist belt lamp. Um, he's got a headlamp, but sometimes he likes this so he can see his feet, but he told me he probably doesn't want this because it's heavy. Extra bottle just in case. New batteries for his headlamp and his GoPro. These bags are like just in case stuff like

this is all hand warmers, medicine. Hopefully, he doesn't need these things. And these are just various other snacks in case for some reason he runs out or feels like he needs more. Extra undies, extra socks, extra shirt, extra shorts. I can see how if he's like really sweaty from the day, he might want to put on these dry clothes going into the night when on all your sweat freezes and you get super cold. One of the most important things is he might want to change his shoes because foot health during an ultra is everything. Like if he's stepped in a puddle and his feet are wet, he's going to need these.

These are for Nate, not me. I got him some celebratory locally made IPAs for when he gets done. All right, 26.2 Two miles in, first marathon's done. Just running with uh me, myself, and I out here. One thing that makes this race different than any race I've ever done is it's the first one that hasn't given me a GPX file to put on my watch so that I have the navigation going on my wrist and I know exactly where I'm going and what's happening. And I was a little worried about navigating at night because that's been tricky in past races. But I have to say this is the most wellm marked course I've ever run in my entire life. They've got reflectors like every 30 ft. And then you're just looking out for these

these white flags. So that's nice. I feel like sometimes navigation can be stressful and make you second guess yourself. So it's kind of nice just running not having to think about that. Just look for the next reflector. See, awa. If it was cold, this would be the best aid station ever. I've been sitting here for the last hour doing nothing but refreshing Nate's location. And it's finally time to go see him. Yay. All right. Just left aid station number five, which means I get to see Car. It's very lively. I'm going to start getting all his stuff out so I'm ready when he arrives. Oh my gosh, this is so exciting. We're in a giant gymnasium. So many people here. I

love the energy. I love everyone's excitement and rush and I love crying. I thought you might not be here. I know. Me, too. I think I'm 4 and 1/2 hours early. I mean, I think like we shouldn't give myself a pat on the back for that. We should just give myself like really bad math and bad estimating. I think you did it on purpose. I have been going hard. Oh, this is going to feel good. This is the first time that I've said down the whole race.

33 miles on the dot. Third of the way through. This course is actually nice because if you look at the elevation profile, it's actually like three climbs in the sense. You're so sweaty. Yeah, I know. I put this on thinking I was going to get cold and I don't think I needed it. In Nate's last four ultras, his goal has always just been to finish. So, he usually just keeps a nice easy pace and as long as he crosses the finish line before cutoff, he was happy. However, with how fast he's been going up to this point, I was starting to think that this race was different. And he wasn't going to hold back. So, we'll see how this goes.

Oh my gosh, look at that. Nate, that is so much dirt. What you just saw in my shoes, I'm afraid, is probably what's in my lungs right now. Ah, it's dirty. Hey, first race with the tats. got cold, but I think I can go climb the mountain. This thing is the best. We're here and I start climbing. I ran for 9 hours with no music, no conversation, no nothing. And it went by so fast. I still feel like the race has just started. Wow. Nate, I mean, my legs don't feel like the race just started. I'm trying this new thing called running fast.

The faster I run, the faster it's over. Sorry, my mustache is like snot and dust. It's disgusting. It's stiffened up quite a bit. It is exactly 11:00. I love you. See you tomorrow. See you. Supposed to be three. Who knows? All right. Eight more hours of the darkness. Definitely getting colder. Mike should have put the long pants on. Well, that was fun. I was a little nervous about solo crew life, but the fact that he stayed for 20 minutes made it a little easier. Didn't feel too rushed. There's just so much pressure at

these eight stations cuz you got to be quick and you got to be right and prepared because if he leaves that station without something essential. All right, just a little midnight check-in. 38 miles in and I just made it to whatever the aid station is after I saw Cara. So, I just uh looked at my bib with the course on it at the last aid station and turns out I was not 4 and 1/2 hours ahead when I saw Cara. I was looking at the wrong one. I was 3 and 1 half hours ahead though. Yeah, I lost a little bit of time on that section. But 3 hours and 15 minutes ahead of pace at the current moment. I've got this goal that's been rolling around in my head

because the beginning of the race has gone so well that I don't really want to say out loud because I know it's going to get harder and I might not hit the goal. But I'll just tell you if I could finish on Saturday. So by 11:59 it' be 4 hours faster than I was supposed to finish and that would be a massive win. That is my we'll call it my stretch goal because there's still a lot of race left. Well, that's day one for me. I'm going to end it by having some leftover gold pizza and going to sleep. Um, at this rate, I should see Nate around 1:00 at the next eight station where I can crew.

Made it to eight station number seven. That section was way harder than it looked on the elevation profile. Definitely slowed down a little bit. It's also 1:40 in the morning. Typically around this time during an ultra, Nick gets to pick up pacers for the rest of the race where he at least makes a friend to stick with. They usually give him a boost and keep him from falling asleep. But this race doesn't allow any pacers, so he'll be doing the whole rest of the race alone and with very few people to talk to. I am fully expecting this next section to be the hardest of the entire race. It looks super steep on the elevation

profile. And everyone at the aid stations have been warning us how cold it's going to be. We're climbing straight up to an exposed pass and Colorado pass, which is kind of fun. So far so good. Body's still holding up. Don't feel too tired yet. I did take a caffeine pill back at the last aid station. So hopefully that'll get me through the climb. We made it. Made it to the summit. 46 mi in. And uh life is all about expectations. That felt easy compared to the last section. Also, I'm in a long sleeve t-shirt standing on a mountain top. You got to go again. Better not

answer anybody's face. Now we start the quad burner down. Shoot. Gosh, stabbed my rock in the foot. By far the highlight of tonight has been I've had three conversations in Spanglish. So that's been uh entertaining. It's been nice to uh to talk to some people. All right, 49 miles in. 3:55 in the morning. Just made it to base station number eight. Almost didn't recognize you without the yellow jacket. Set a good pace. Thank you. This is my second race in a row doing this. I left my poles back at the aid station. Thankfully, I'm only about a quarter of a mile away from it.

Hopefully, they're still there. Just adding an extra half mile. 4:20 in the morning and I just crossed 50 miles. I could never have dreamed the first half of the race would have gone as well as it has. Still feeling good. See how long it lasts. A few minutes later. I'd like to change my answer. That was by far the hardest climb. The wheels are coming off a little bit. Hopefully I can get to the next aid station in a decent amount of time. Have a nice little reset. But I am not moving quickly. I just had my slowest mile. That didn't include a stop at Nade Station, which was 34 minutes. Honestly,

like I'm moving a little slow, but it was just that hard. That was crazy. Woo! Aid station number nine. I needed this because that section took longer than expected. I ran out of water almost an hour ago. I just really fell apart on that section. But we're going to drink a bunch and then it should start getting light outside in about an hour. So, I've almost made it through the first night. Wow. I don't know if this is going to help or hurt, but it's desperate times. I'm always so cold when I first leave the eight stations. Turned out that section wasn't as bad as I thought it was. It's the first section I've lost

time on, but I only lost 15 minutes. And now we have a nice long mostly downhill section. Oo, I got to get my body turned back up. Didn't cross this water without getting my feet wet. So, let me focus. All right, it's 60 mi in. It is 7:45 in the morning. I'm not sure if you can tell on the camera, but it is starting to get a little light outside. So, I'm celebrating with uh my morning coffee in the form of a caffeine pill. Feeling quite a bit better. I've ran most of this section. Let's go. That is a beautiful sight. Sun's coming up over the mountains. We are 66 miles in and just made it to the 10th aid station. Leaving aid station 10. really struggling to eat solid food,

but I had two cups of Coke, which has some calories and sodium. I'd say I'm like a four out of 10 right now. I'm pushing it really hard, but I've only got to run four more miles until I get to see Carrie again. Didn't sleep great, but that's to be expected. But what the heck? Nate got faster overnight. He's now 4 hours ahead of his pace chart instead of 2 and 1/2. Can't wait to hear how his night went. I can see the aid station. I'm almost 5 hours early. I really hope Car's been tracking me and she's here. I'll survive if she's not, but it'll be sad not to see her.

The assistant is not here. Oh, okay. Or maybe she is. So, I haven't seen her yet. Okay. If she was here, where is the assistant? The house is over there. The tiny house. Okay. Thank you so much. Sounds like a beat. Cara, just double checking. I hope she snuck in without being noticed. It's been 45 minutes. I thought I could survive without seeing Cara. It might have been bad not to have my rain pants cuz I think it's supposed to rain tonight. But then I realized that she has my flashlights.

I have two dead ones. So there's no way I can leave until I see her. So just trying to get a little rest. Uh, I just feel horrible because I know she's gonna feel bad. I know she's doing her best. Gracias. Byebye. Bravo. What a beautiful morning. I made it to Nour. I missed him. Okay. Oh no. Oh my gosh. They took off running. They took off running when I got here. He wasn't supposed to be here. Oh my gosh. None. How long have you been here? 50 minutes. What? You weren't supposed to be here till 11. I know. I got here. What happened? I am so I knew you were going to feel bad. Don't feel bad. I was How in the world?

I was dying. I'm very broken. Oh no. I have pushed this race harder than I've ever pushed. Why? What are you doing? cuz I just want to see what happens. I was feeling good at the start of the race and I felt like after Moab 240 that maybe I have a little more in me than I thought during a 100 mile race and this course is very similar to UTMB. So I kind of like am able to compete with myself. I just wanted to go out and see what I could do and I am about to push it to the limit. Since the start of this race, I'd been keeping track of Nate's ranking just for fun and he had no idea what place he was in. He'd been close to the top 100 for a while and at this point he was officially in 89th place. This wasn't

his goal. He wasn't trying to race, but I knew if I told him he would push himself even harder than he already was, which made me a little nervous, so I decided to wait a little longer to fill him in. Oh my gosh, the dirt line on your leg is so good. This is what you call multitasking. Megan overwall style. He's holding up. Huh? It's getting colder. I was about to take off. You think? Leave them on. Yes. Okay. It's going to get cold. Rain is coming.

Oh, legs are going to take a minute to loosen up. Love you so much. Thanks again. I love you so much. See you at midnight. You got this. I'm letting him go. I cannot believe this happened. I feel awful. I mean, I hate to make excuses, but according to the app this morning, he was supposed to make it to the previous aid station at 10:15, but somehow he got to this one at 10:15, and they're 4 miles apart. I just don't understand. I thought I was early. Just had no idea he had been there for 45 minutes waiting on me. I just can't believe that happened.

All right, an hour and 20 minutes later, I'm finally leaving the aid station. Honestly, uh it was a really nice break. Feels so good to have a fresh pair of socks on, have my teeth brushed, got all the flashlights I need. And uh from here, I have a nice easy section before the hard work begins. That was a long time to sit there. It's going to take a minute to get my legs working again. How beautiful is this? 74 miles in. One more marathon to go. Legs are coming back a little bit. At least on this flat, beautiful trail. Oh, I had done so good. 75 miles of dry feet. And now it looks like the trail goes into the lake. I guess I'm doing

it. I was not mentally prepared for this. All right, I may have found a way around. It's definitely adding time, but I'm just so scarred after having wet feet for so long at Moab. I can't see where this ends, though. I think I just got to go for it. All right, it does kind of feel good. At least for now. Yeah, I uh I don't think there's any way I was making it. Everybody's loving it. It does feel so good on your legs. This might be exactly what I need it. My whole body was almost wet. If I would have kept my feet dry during this race, it would have been the first time ever. So, can't break the streak.

Woo! Now that my feet are wet, I'm kind of sad that's over. Just when you think your shoes are starting to dry, they send you back in. This section has been completely flat, but also one of the slowest cuz you're either in the water or you're ducking through all these trees. I have to give it to the race directors. This is a ah very interesting course design. All right, time to go climb the most intimidating mountain on the whole course in wet shoes with little rocks inside. I tried for like 10 minutes at that aid station to get the rocks out, but because they're wet, they just stick

everywhere. All my socks and my shoes. It's rough. I made it to Nate's next aid station with my new friends and they made me a mate. I'm feeling very Argentinian right now. Everyone here, and I mean everyone, brings a mate cup and a mate straw everywhere they go. And they're constantly drinking it. It's such a vibe. That means let's go, girls. That's my favorite. Gracias. 80 miles in, 20 to go. I've now been awake for 31 hours and this is the first time that I'm having trouble holding my eyes open. I'm way more tired right now than I was last night in the dark. I think I might have gone out a little too

hard. I lost 10 minutes on the last section and I don't feel like I'm making up any on this one, but uh we'll see. It's going to be close. Maybe I'll get a second wind. I like these people. That was exciting. Made it to the aid station. A third of the way up. This is not a fashion statement. just soaking wet from earlier. So, trying to dry it out before night. So, it turns out there is a glitch in the app right now. It said he was supposed to be at this aid station like an hour ago, but turns out it's going to be like 3 more hours. But, I'm glad I'm here. This is one more time than I

thought I was going to see him. So, I'm going to wait it out. And honestly, this makes me feel better about this morning. I thought I was probably just crazy and reading all the tracking wrong, but I'm thinking that maybe I'm not. Regardless, I hate that I was late, but this makes me feel a little less bad about myself. Uh, so Nathan, enjoy this insane climb you're about to do, and I'll be waiting at the bottom for you. All right, now we have four miles straight up, 4 miles, straight back down, and then it's basically all downhill from there. Kind of looks like it on the elevation profile, but those

little wiggles in there are a lot bigger than they look. making progress. Also, it looks like we're about to get wet. Quite a bit chillier up here. Probably halfway up. Waiting really isn't so bad. This aid station has such a good crew. Like, everyone has instruments and horns and bells. It's really fun watching the runners come in and how excited they are just to be here, but then also have this awesome welcome party. So, I'll be entertained for a while. This is it. That's the summit. We came from the lake all the way down there in the valley.

I feel very emotional for some reason right now. I know it's not, but it feels like it's all downhill from here. I never thought I'd cry getting to the top of a mountain. That's ridiculous. My body doesn't know what's going on. This is quick, too. An hour and a half, an hour and 15 minutes, maybe. All right, 4 miles down the other side. While I was waiting at this aid station, I noticed a lot of runners coming through. Like way more than 100. Then I learned there were two other races that started last night going on at the same time. A 110k and a 70k, which explains all these people coming in hot.

One half marathon left to go. Sun's setting on day two. Let's take in the views one more time. Now that I feel like I'm actually going to finish, I can finally fully enjoy them. I can't believe it. Second to last aid station. Oh. I just spent everything inside my body. Surprise. I was just crying. Are you okay? I cried when I got to the top of the mountain. I cried when I got here. Oh, nay. Are you okay? Yeah. You're 4 hours ahead of your pace. Yeah. You're 88 and 12 miles in.

Yeah. I think I might finish 88 and 1/2. Yeah. Well, watch this. 90 and a half. That's bad news. I'm so proud of you. You're crushing it. You're doing so good. All right, I got You're doing it. I've done this before, but I just went so hard. Oh yeah. Like what's happening here? I think maybe it was all those like little rocks. Just like rubbed your skin raw. There are a lot of things about ultra running. That's disgusting. But they also make you use these reusable cups.

This has had Coke soup. I'll just fill this up with Coke after and just eat the little soupy jug. That is so crap. All right, I'm gonna go run the fast 11 and 12 miles and I will see you tightened up. You're almost there. A Dela WGO baby's got to lose. I love you. Oh my gosh. I have never ever seen Nate like that in a race before. Ever. After seeing how emotional Nate was at this aid station and with how close he was to the finish line, I decided this was finally a good time to tell him my little secret. You're in the top 100. Yeah. Overall, all right. You got to keep it that way.

98. Let's go. It's actually crazy. It is crazy. All right. Now, I got to And that's exactly how I thought he would react. I love you. Exactly 10 miles to the finish line. I am still not over what just happened with Nate at that aid station. I have seen that man cry three times. We've been together since 2007. Finally eating a meal, by the way. So Nate had no idea I was at that aid station and I was excited to surprise him and I'm watching him coming down the mountain crying and I just I didn't know what to do. But it makes me really

happy. Like I love when he can feel something so deeply that it brings him to tears cuz it just doesn't happen that often. So proud of him. It's seeming like he's hit his limit again. I think UTMB was extremely hard terrain and weather with this race. Like he's put himself in this situation. He's pushed himself this hard on purpose. You're the best. Last aid station. Wow. What energy? Yeah. All right. Six more miles to the finish line. Technically, there is one more aid station, but I don't plan on stopping.

Uh, that was so fun. Me and this other guy got together and we're treating it like we were the number one runners in the race. I bet we passed 50 people in those 5 miles. We were absolutely flying. Six more miles than the dark. I got Nate two pizzas to go with his beers when he gets home. 5K to go. You know what Annie Glaze would say? Your mom can run 5K. Let's go. Your mom can run a 5K. I can see the town down in the valley. And I can even hear the finish line from here. It feels so close. Oh my gosh, that scared me so bad. I saw two eyes coming towards me. Puff baba.

Finish lines are one of the best places on the entire planet. I'm so excited. Remember, we made it back to town and the finish line is less than a kilometer away. Oh, so close. Wow, what an adventure. True to the intro. A roller coaster. I think that is the hardest I've ever pushed my body in my entire life. The first half was so much fun and the second half hurt so bad. I finished in 31 hours and 45 minutes and my watch ran 102 miles. To put that in perspective, UTMv was 39 hours. So I cut almost 7 hours of a 100 mile race with the exact same vertical elevation game. I hurt so bad.

Congratulations on your first solo crew. I can't believe he did it so fast. I'm not going to be able to walk for days. That is number four of the seven continents. I run my next race in six weeks in Australia. My first ever backyard last man standing race. There's no end. You just go until one person can't go anymore. We won't think about that right now. Looks like you're marching in a marching band. We have a problem. And it's not just Nate's post race hair. Obviously, he's getting another leg tat, but the problem is this is the Colorado Trail and this is the Patagonia 100. They're

the exact same. Give us your tattoo ideas. Maybe we'll choose yours to permanently coin like. Also, this is the aftermath of a Ultra. I have a very important question to ask. Okay. Can you lose my pole? These things have to slide here and it's just so hard.