The Rub By Brian Williams
Beaverhead 100K — July 11, 2020
miles faster than what is safe to prevent injury but if I did not take that chance I might as well drop from the race. My Garmin for the month of February had “It is easy to go down into hell … ; but to climb me walking 24 miles and March was only slightly back again, to retrace one’s steps to the upper air – better with a combination walk/running of 83 miles. there is the rub … ” — Virgil Aeneid During the month of April, Covid-19 started really shutting things down, giving me more free time than I have ever had. I got my miles up to 179 for the In January this year, I found myself in a bit of a month. I also started running hole. Literally, I stepped in a stairs for elevation training. hole during the Village Creek Once a week I would enter the 25K and severely sprained tallest building in Memphis my upper and lower ankle. To and run/hike to the top floor compound my injury, I kept and back down two times and running and finished the last then go outside and run two 12 miles of the race on a bad miles. Then I would go back foot. By the end of February inside and repeat that first set I was out of shape, heavy, two more times. It worked out even for me, still injured, and to be 204 flights of stairs and facing the problem of how and 6 miles every Thursday. On if I would be able to right the May 1, I joined 19,000 other ship. You see, in December a people in the Great Virtual few friends and I had signed Race Across Tennessee 1000K. up for the Beaverhead 100K I do not like virtual races, but on the Continental Divide I figured that I had to get the Trail (CDT) on the Montana/ miles anyway, and this might Idaho state line. This race had give me motivation since I over 11,000 feet of climbing knew a bunch of friends were 17,000 feet of descent and involved. It worked. In May I was known for a 3 mile-longran 250 miles in the middle of scree field. The scree field The author at the finish line of the Beaverhead the day and hiked another 100 was between miles 51 and 100K. in the afternoons. Then June 56 at the highest point of the hit and I got kidney stones. There is a lot that goes race. It also ran alongside a 1,000-foot drop down to into that story but I eventually had to have surgery a lake formed from snow melt. I wanted to go on this and training was uncomfortable for the entire month. “racecation” and run more than anything. It was time to I still got 175 miles of running in the midday heat buckle down and make a plan. and 100 miles of hiking in the evening. I finished the 1000K in 66 days and it was now time to taper I had been going to the foot doctor already but I for the race. I didn’t know if I had done enough, added some physical therapy. The second thing I did but I had done what I could and was ready for the was start working on my core while I could not run. Continental Divide Trail. I also changed my diet and almost went completely vegetarian and put away my peanut M&Ms. As Sean Hilsdon, Graham Benson, Stephen Whatley the days progressed, I slowly started gaining core and I flew into Spokane WA the Wednesday before strength, range of motion in my foot, and the pounds started coming off. I slowly started hiking and adding the race. We traveled east a few hours each day and eventually made it to the prerace meeting in Salmon short runs back into the routine. I knew I had to build 12
