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Claudette Henson's avatar

What a challenge, Julie! I did not realize how carefully you had to consider each step.

Makes me think about how life gets complicated sometimes, and we have to slow down and think about how to proceed when all we want to do is just run.

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Julie B. Hughes's avatar

I didn't realize it either until I was there! LOL, you're so wise, Claudette! I agree—sometimes, we need to slow down and not be in such a hurry. This was hard for me on the trail when I just wanted to GO!GO!GO! Thank you for reading along.

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Gary Spangler's avatar

You’re keeping us in “suspenders” as my grandfather would say. Instead of suspense!

A great account!

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Julie B. Hughes's avatar

Thank you so much Gary for reading along! It's been fun to write this all out and now edit it a bit for better reading pleasure! HA!

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Gary Spangler's avatar

A tale worth telling!

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Ruth Stroud's avatar

Nicely run and written, Julie! I look forward to future posts from the trail.

I just read a quote in a new cookbook that may apply to running as well. It’s from the Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke: “That something is difficult must be one more reason for us to do it.”

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Julie B. Hughes's avatar

Good morning Ruth! I'm so happy you're following along. :) Thank you so much for this great quote. It resonates.

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Margaret O'Brien's avatar

Julie, I’m more than impressed by your stamina and determination, and your ability to bring it all together in writing without being able to take notes!

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Julie B. Hughes's avatar

Hi Margaret, Thank you so much for reading along. It's been so fun to write about my experience. I credit the lack of sleep after the race that allowed me to write as much as I could remember about that day. I brought my notebook and pen to the hotel and was jotting it all down before I got back home.

Thanks again for being here with me.

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Clark Rose's avatar

Jules, tough course you chose

Thanks for bringing us along

Even restroom breaks‼️

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Julie B. Hughes's avatar

HA! Thank you, Clark. I've been asked many times "Where do you go to the bathroom" or something along those lines...I figured I would put it in writing. Sometimes a porta-potty isn't available. I was happy when I needed to go on the towpath a porta-potty was available. :) Thank you for reading along.

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Julie Rains's avatar

I love reading about your race, Julie. I am intrigued by trail runners, who I often see while hiking. How do they not fall? How do they cover so much terrain so quickly? I've seen folks cover in 15 minutes what took me an hour or more! It's cool to see you learn on the fly like this, all while covering 50 miles. Way to go!

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Julie B. Hughes's avatar

Thank you so much, Julie, for reading along. :) I asked the same questions when I heard the lead women runner won the race in just under 6 hours! That's SO FAST!

I look forward to running another ultra and with more trails. I love being in the woods.

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Renate Jacobsohn's avatar

wow, wonderful

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Julie B. Hughes's avatar

thank you for reading along Renate. It was great to see you and write together. :) Thank you.

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Linda McLachlan's avatar

Ooohhh... the foreshadowing with the gloves. This is a page turner! Go Julie!!

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Julie B. Hughes's avatar

You made my day Linda! :) I was happy Jeff got me some new gloves for Christmas with the encouragement to NOT use them as TP in my future races. I told him I would do my best. :)

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Linda McLachlan's avatar

Yes, definitely no gloves for TP! Hahahaha

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Julie B. Hughes's avatar

The kicker...I carried tissues with me but I didn't want to take the time to unzip my vest, open the ziplock bag, and pull them out! (lesson learned)

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Rebecca Holden's avatar

'What was I afraid of?'

'I laughed as my voice rang out through the woods'

'I kept my chin up.'

'I prayed.'

'I listened.'

'I would not fall.'

Goosepimpling words, Julie. Faith, confidence, a go-getter's mindset - all of these things are just shining through.

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