Well this one went much better than the last, although I learned that 70 degrees can still be pretty hot when it's early May and you are just emerging from a Wisconsin winter. We had a smooth first 20 miles, which is mostly road with a few scattered trail loops mixed in. We were able to get water at Indian Lake at mile 14 and pretty much just pushed through the first 50k to Cross Plains for our first and only fuel stop. This was a quick refuel at the Kwik Trip right near the IAT headquarters which makes a self-supported trip very feasible.
Sadly things began to unwind in the second half as the heat started to get to us (mostly me) and we slowed down a bit. We ran when we could, walked when we couldn't but kept pushing on through. We were able to cool off a bit at Badger Prairie for our last water stop, again making it very easy to do this without much support this time of year. It was a beautiful day and one of the first warm days this spring in Wisconsin, so there were lots of folks out enjoying the trail, probably wondering why two guys were trudging along looking so miserable. In the end, after endlessly making sure my phone was recording the trip, we made it the 64 miles to the trailhead at Brooklyn in 13:18, almost an hour faster than last August. As hard as it was, I'm always so inspired by my younger brother and truly grateful to have him with me on so many of these adventures the last few years. He pulls me when I struggle and I return the favor when I can. This was our last big effort as we ramp up to run 200 miles around Lake Tahoe in June and it was exactly what we needed!
Drew (and Doug) Watson