Story Time: Describe a run where you worried you weren't going to make it back

Freshman at UMass, a walk-on to the cross country team. No one around to run with on an "easy" day. Looking to do 8 - 10 miles in the woods of Western Mass, always a pleasant prospect.

Junior John McGrail shows up, he's gonna run 10 "medium". McGrail sizes me up, announces "Stevie, I don't know if you can stick with me. Do you know the Derderian's route by heart already?"

I assure him I do (I don't). I know I'm in for a hard 10, and I'm determined to stick with John. We ease it out along the Amherst streets, and he smiles as he tells me, "I ain't gonna wait for you". This is a guy who would run 28:47 on the track at the Penn Relays.

The streets give way to the rolling hills of the pioneer valley and McGrail disappears ahead of me into the woods. I've run the route maybe 4 times, but I soon lose the thread. What's more, the heavy leather Adidas trainers issued to us by the team are blistering me.

Long story short, I booked about 17 miles before finding my way back to Curry Hicks Cage to shower. I was toast! It was another notch on the road to becoming a guy who would contribute a couple wins and a few points to the program at UMass.

For decades now, I have dreamed variants of getting lost running Derderians route. Sometimes in underground caves, rolling through the hills of the Pioneer Valley. Primal stuff about the enticing, ancient landscape in the Valley that I grew up in.

Not Really a Brojo wrote:

Did a first year 50K maybe 8 years ago in Virginia that is no longer held (I think they only had it 2 years)...

.

Viriginia doesn't exist anymore? It was only around for 2 years?

3 of them.

1) Decided to run up Mt Washington in NH at 3:30 pm after not having eaten since the day before. Didn't bring food or water or anything. Just my camera. Got up in under 2 hours on the trail. Didn't have my wallet but Thank god for America. Saltines and ketchup and relish at the top in the cafe and a water fountain. Made it down in 2 hrs.

2) Running around Mohican SP in OH. Some guy with a shotgun and his dog just watching me as I ran right past his house.

3) A full day long hike/run near Akko, Haifa, and Mt. Carmel in Israel in jeans. Minimum 20 miles. As the sun was going down I got to the top of this mountain but needed to get down to catch a ride and find my relative. Basically had to run down the trail in the dark w/ meager light from my phone to make sure I didn't catch my foot on some roots with loud, scary animal noises around me.

Sub_4/0_or_bust wrote:

“Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired. When you were younger the mind could make you dance all night, and the body was never tired... You've always got to make the mind take over and keep going.”

Source?

I was running in iten, and one night I couldnt sleep so I went for a jog

Was running on the same route until I realize I might took a wrong turn and everything looks so different at night!

With no phone with me, no lights, and all the crazy bug noises I was thinking I might run into some wild animal and die....

3hrs later somehow walked myself back trying to go back the same way I came

Winner!

Karl Hungus wrote:

I kept pushing.

I kep climbin'

Racehorse wrote:

Sub_4/0_or_bust wrote:

“Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired. When you were younger the mind could make you dance all night, and the body was never tired... You've always got to make the mind take over and keep going.”

Source?

general george patton, I believe.

January 13, 2001: 19-mile trail run, no water and getting dehydrated but randomly encountered a beautiful woman from my climbing gym who gave me the last 0.7 liters of her water bottle. A mile later I realized an animal had entered the trail behind me and was closing in. I spent the next 15 or so minutes negotiating my hide from a distance of 2-10 meters with a healthy adult male mountain lion, in dimming light and light rain. I escaped unscathed due at least in part due to not breaking eye contact the entire time.

Of course there have been several near-misses with traffic that could have taken me out, some apparently intentional.

This summer, during my long run of 16 miles I didn’t think I would make it back. The humidity was terrible in the Midwest this summer. This 16 miler was intended to practice fueling during the run to mimic the marathon. Knowing there were water fountains on this route, I found it perfect. By Mile 4, I knew it wasn’t safe to run in the conditions but relied on the drinking fountain at Mile 6. The problem: drinking fountain didn’t work. I tough it out as I’m 2 miles from turning back around. I make it but I knew I was in trouble. To make matters worse, the path is out in the middle of nowhere along country roads. I don’t take my phone along because it leaves the option of calling my gf to pick me up if I am hurting and need a ride. So, “toughing” it out dug me a nice hole. I make it to Mile 12 and am fighting for shade or cloud cover but none. Light headedness sets in and I don’t feel in control of my body. I’m walking but start trying to run to get back faster but it makes it worse and I realize that creating abrupt ups and downs in exertion and HR will put me in danger faster. 2 miles out, I am no longer sweating. Scary moments of lightheadness set in, I wasn’t in control of my body. I knew I’d go down for good soon. I made it back, had water in my car luckily but I paid for it that day and the rest of the next day. Headache, weakness, and unable to articulate thoughts fully and any sentences I spoke. Scary day, but it taught me a lesson at least.