The Buckle

Naresh and I mostly power walked the last 40 miles of his Rocky Raccoon.  His official time was 28:58.  My official time was 14hrs of hell!!  Well, for me at least, a kind of a hell.  I REALLY dislike power walking.  To me, walking is a time to gather myself, a reset, a break from running,  Not a means to finish a race.  But, when you agree to pace somebody you are giving yourself to that person and therefore are tasked with getting that person to the finish by whatever means necessary within the rules.  So, we power walked, because that's what Naresh had to do to get it done.  It wasn't pretty.  There were highs and lows as usual and thankfully my lows weren't too low.  I don't believe Naresh had any serious thoughts of DNFing at any time, at least that never came out of his mouth.  In the end all that matters is the finish line.  The blisters will heal.  The aches and pains and disagreements will be forgotten.  The bottom line is that there is very little that can be compared to finishing an ultra, especially a 100 mile run.  It was my finish too.  I have no buckle to show for my efforts or the previous 4 times I've done this, but I've got the memories and the satisfaction of knowing I've helped a friend(s) get the buckle.  And that makes it all worth it.