Getting up for a run like this is difficult when you're waking up from a dream where you had a really good reason to cancel the run and sleep in, but I was out at the clock by 6 regardless. It was about 39 F so as much as I didn't want to, I brought along my hat. For my first attempt at this I'd brought half a pumpkin pie as my sustenance, so to continue the tradition I brought along a massive brownie cookie in a pie tin, taped to my back because I didn't think it would fit in my pocket. As I got going down main street I resorted to using my backup socks as gloves to keep my hands warm, and honestly that moment of coinciding absurdity was one of the best points of the day.
Was fully warmed up by the time I summited Champlain, really enjoyed the descent to Fabbri. The Blackwoods campsite water has been turned on for the season but didn't grab any as it felt like a grey area whether that counted against unsupported guidelines. My water throughout came from particularly tasty looking streams, held in a 20 fl oz Smartwater bottle and filtered through a Sawyer mini. Attempted to keep the pace up heading all the way up to the amphitheater trail, most of those trails leading up are nice and quick. Started digging into my cookie on the ascent to Cedar Swamp, the same place I ate my pie on the last attempt. Was quite pleased to find that it was significantly more calorie dense and actually tasted good.
My right calf started tightening and hurting on the descent which really worried me, it abated within 10 miles without much problem. Set my sights on Sargent and pushed until the summit, the landscape up there is just so beautifully open and rocky, plus found one last patch of snow next to Sargent Mountain Pond
In my planning I'd decided that I'd push to hit 26.2 in 6 hours so I had plenty of time for the last couple big climbs, and as I descended Penobscot I realized just how well I had paced that. After pushing on the bubble divide I hit 26.2 in 5:59:40, which I'm more proud of than the FKT and also was probably mostly luck.
Stopped for a few minutes to help a confused hiker on top of Pemetic, he was lovely and apologetic for pausing my run. Felt good pushing to the end, knees were hurting a normal amount on the downhills but otherwise I was really surprised with how well they held up.
This just all went pretty perfectly, I definitely could have pushed harder but I wouldn't have enjoyed it all nearly as much. Shoutout to Jeremy, Tony, and Dylan for setting a fantastic route.