The day started out like any other Mantario day - sleep deprived and wet feet in the first mile. Trail conditions were pretty wet and overgrown, with lots of less runnable sections as a result. Mosquitoes and ticks were having a moment and we made sure that they got well fed. Weather was great with only some brief rain on the second afternoon.
Big thanks to Justin Davey who came out to run the first 2 laps. This guy is an animal! He’d never set foot on the trail before and went straight for a double. Unreal fortitude. We had stashed a drop bag at the north trailhead for resupply the day before and had a similar situation on the south end in Justin's vehicle.
I ended up doing the last lap solo and got to experience my first taste of fatigue hallucinations and I think I understand them a bit better. I wasn’t seeing green aliens or anything, but I did have to actively correct my mind’s interpretation of what I was seeing and hearing. I was just more likely to make mistakes about deer shaped trees or people shaped rocks. I kept thinking I could hear some people talking just ahead of me but couldn’t make out what they were saying. I was taken off guard when I made it to Hemenway campsite and ran into my wife, Joanna, who had come out to surprise me on the last 10 km of the trail. Initially mistaking her for a significantly more realistic hallucination, I wasn't convinced that she was truly there until I reached out and petted her face.