An Ultra Adventure: Conquering a 50-Miler and Supporting a 100-Mile Finish

Gysel Parajon(MM8995, DA3751, HF18751) – Fresh off of running a marathon in Nebraska the weekend prior, hurting my back not once but twice, (please don’t do what I do), I embarked on an epic journey to run my second 50-mile + race and join my partner while he ran his first 100-mile race in Cool, CA!
I ran conservatively on account of what I just mentioned, my semi-behaved gut, took long breaks at our crew station, and hoped I would run into my bf somewhere along the course, which I did a number of times and even speed-hiked together for a little while.
The course consisted of a double north loop and south loop for me and quadruple that for him. It was a warm day but definitely a lot cooler than what was originally forecasted, reaching a high in the mid-80s, and for a time was slightly overcast, which for me was amazing! The course was very well-marked and was a complete 180° for me from my experience at last year’s TRTER 56-miler. This course was not easy by any means but the change in elevation, from the mountains to the foothills, but with still a gain of 6700ft in total, made this a very different experience.
It was also very different because of all the wonderful people I met, from my partner’s friends who crewed us, to the volunteers, and Martin Sengo, the RD. On my last South loop the wonderful and amazing @rebecca__vitale who I had just met paced me to the finish! I don’t know if I could’ve finished, running in a different environment overnight, in what became a cold evening, and watching the sunrise without her. Thank you again! ❤️
After finishing I grabbed my jacket, my sleeping bag and dozed off for a bit until my bf came in to rest before his final South loop run. And then I passed out and woke up in time to replenish some fluids and see his finish! I am so proud of him!! What an amazing adventure. Thank you @auburntrailrunner, @coolmoon100_, the other runners, volunteers, and my partner @latomas for making this an unforgettable experience!!
Next up Broken Arrow, just the 11k, and the Rock Tahoe Half next week weekend! 😃