I’ve talked about competition before. An athlete has to be able to dig deep in order to succeed at any event, whether it’s purely recreational or if they’re going for the win. But add an unexpected variable, like inclement weather, and suddenly the competition goes not necessarily to the fittest, but to those with the most mental and emotional fortitude – the instinct to survive.
Yesterday’s Pike’s Peak 13 miler in Colorado tested the survival of friend, photographer, and Sol Adventure guide David Bassett, who was one of only 365 runners to reach the summit in unseasonably frigid conditions. of the 1,800 runners who started the race, only 761 finished. The rest of the participants were turned away at mile 10, forced to travel up to 21 miles round-trip in freezing hail and constant rain. Unprepared runners were treated for hypothermia, while experienced outdoorsman like David, whose yearly summits of Mt. Ranier and thrill seeking skiing at Vail had already exposed him to severe weather and tested his limits, persevered to the top.
David trains his body by running up Eagle Mountain in his backyard, so I’d expect him to be able to finish a 14-er. But what got him up Pike’s Peak yesterday?
You can read all the grueling details of David’s EPIC race on his blog: bucketsinlittleton.