It was smoky, hot, and without a breeze on Mt Margaret today. Just when it seemed like a good time to pat ourselves on the back for toughing it out... along came the ultra distance runners.
The Bigfoot 200 is an annual 206.5 mile race (with 42,000 feet of elevation gain) that starts at Mt Saint Helens and finishes in Randle, WA. Most participants complete the course in 4.5 days or less. I looked it up afterwards, and you can actually track the runners in real time. They are 38 hours in right now and it looks like most of them are resting for a few hours between the 75 and 125 mile markers (a couple of the leaders are running by headlamp over extremely uneven terrain!). By the time you read this, the guy in the lead may already be finished if he keeps ups his current pace.
Talk about tough!