This was undoubtedly the hardest thing I've ever done, and it wouldn't have been possible without the support of so so many people, both near and far. The pacers and crew brought me back from the brink over and over again in the second half of this run. So many of the steps I took were for them rather than any lofty time goal. Thank you to Chris Keiter, Will Peterson, Barry Howe, Dylan Flewelling, Scott Benerofe, Max Kiel, Josh Lombardo, and Luke Spooner. You all made this a blast.
The story of the run is a classic one. I had a great day for about 14 hours, and when the light started peaking through on the second day, things got very difficult. We battled for most of the next 9 hours, and the moral of the story was that if we were moving, we were moving fast enough. It can be debated whether I burned too many matches in the first 40 miles, but I fear this trail beats you up no matter how you execute a pace strategy.
I'm so proud to have broken the glass on 24 hours here--running this route makes me feel like a Mainer again. As much as I love this beautiful and rugged section of trail, my work on this route is done. It has been an honor to work alongside a number of others who have similarly worked on this project for years, and to share this final race through the wilderness with a handful of them. Thank you all for being a part of this journey.
I plan on uploading a fuller and more detailed trip report in the next few days as I process this run and will post it in the comments.