On Friday, September 11th, at five o’clock in the morning, my oldest brother, John, started the Wasatch 100 mile trail run.  On Saturday, September 12th, nearly 35 hours later, he crossed the finish line.  He completed 100 miles.  100 miles!  Many people believe that the most grueling athletic event one can accomplish in a lifetime is a marathon.  A marathon is 26.2 miles.  John nearly ran 4 marathons straight. 

The course begins in Kaysville, traverses the Wasatch Mountains, and then ends at the Homestead in Midway.  This is not an easy course.  Runners climb to over 10,000 feet only to descend to 5,500.  And then, just to make sure that feat wasn’t a fluke, they do it again.  John’s cousin, Bard, paced John from mile 40 to 53.  I paced John from miles 53 to 75.  We started at 11:30 at night.  When we reached mile 75, it was after 8:00 in the morning.  The 22 miles I was with him was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.  I can’t imagine doing it after having just completed 53 miles.  Incredible.  At mile 75, my brother, Brad, took over.  He paced John through the final 25 miles.  Brad said he never seen a person more determined than John.  The fastest 10 miles John ran were the final 10 miles of the course.  That’s the sign of a man who refuses to lose.  Athletes are people that can physically accomplish tasks that an “average” person deems nearly impossible.  A person that can run 100 miles through the Rocky Mountains is more than an athlete, that person is insane.  Congratulations to John and to all runners that, not only finished, but even had the audacity to attempt the Wasatch 100.          

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