The Beast for Uncle Bert
This race is dedicated to my Uncle Bert. He physically left us last year, but heaven has been thoroughly enjoying having him around. He freely and often passed through my mind during this race. I felt as if I had a guardian. Uncle Bert, this one was for you. The Beast. Four years ago, Roger talked me into running this crazy race. All I had to do was run 50 miles during a blizzard. OMG! I was hooked. I loved the people. The camaraderie. The challenge. I’ve taken on the Beast several times, and thought it would be my first 100 miler. The Beast thought differently. It took me out with a case of kidney stones and a broken spirit. That probably explains why I was a basket case at the start. I knew what was in front of me and I didn’t believe that I could do it. That morning I looked on the website and found my projected finish time. 34 hours. 34 hours???? The race cut-off is 30 hours. I’m screwed. I got a text that saved me. It said in part