Yesterday I set off with my ~13 lb kit and complete ignorance about how hard it would be to finish the route solo. MCW and Presis section went pretty much to plan. 45 miles in 15 hours. Some stomach issues but nothing that prevented me from moving. Then going into the Pemi basically became my worst nightmare. It was cold and windy and I had the whole night ahead of me. My stomach started bothering me so much that I couldn't eat anything and I basically just walked the entire night in discomfort. However I was still moving and kept trying to fix my stomach with what i had. Finally towards the end of the night I figured out what was working and when the sun came out on day 2 i was able to run again. My splits started dropping, my pack was lighter, and after walking for so long my legs actually felt fresh. I was able to run again strong for the final 25 miles for a 33:10 hrs finish.
Austin Black set a super strong time to chase. I was always extremely impressed by it from a tar and after running the first couple sections with a full kit I was even more impressed.
I've been thinking about a WM100 effort for years and its still surreal to think I finally got it done. This was for sure the hardest route or race I have ever tackled. It's just insanely technical and steep trail over and over and over. Each section you could make an argument for why it's the toughest section. Pumped to finally be a WM100 finisher. For anyone looking for beta on the effort, I am going to release a full podcast breakdown on Run Mountain Peaks Podcast.