Solo Wasatch Back Run

Rachel Carson trail x 5:

Mark Sanderson and Leon Deitlaf completed their solo run of the 175 mile WBR course in approximately 45 hours. They started around 12:30am Friday and finished at about 9:30 Saturday evening. By the time they arrived, all of the runners were gone and the course cleaned up. We had closed off lower Main Street in Park City for the finish with chute, balloons, banners, etc., but for their arrival there was only a sidewalk with no crowds, announcers or cheers They finished in front of the Prime Steak House, running through a yellow caution tape held by my 7-year-old twin nephews. Mark's and Leon's families, Dan's, Tanner's and my families, and a few mildly curious onlookers at the steak house were the only people to see them complete the run. I don't know exactly what I expected, but their finish was one of the best moments I've ever seen in sports. We had received reports that Mark, in particular, was really struggling, even hallucinating at the top of Ragnar, leg 34. We saw them at exchange 35, where their families who were providing support were obviously very concerned about their condition. Dan and Tanner met them at the roundabout and ran down Main Street with them. When they crossed the finish line, they turned and quietly hugged each other. Then they hugged wives and family, and thanked us for giving them the opportunity. Leon told us it had been fun but they would never do it again. Mark apologized to Dan for taking so long and making us wait for them. Dan, who is about as sentimental as you and Dee, had tears in his eyes. I went home and pulled out George Sheehan's book, "Going the Distance," in which he writes about his final days dying of prostate cancer. There he makes the point that every victory is fleeting. None lasts beyond the moment. Afterward, process again begins of trying train to get back to the pinnacle. Most never get there again. And as we age, only with tremendous effort can we achieve a level that is something less than we once were. Those thoughts fit the occassion. I'll hold image of Mak and Leon embracing in my mind forever, but they found their limits and likely will never go their again. As Mark said, for the first 125 miles or so of their run, when runners along the course told them they were nuts, he thought they weren't. The last 50 miles or so of their run, he agreed with them. Fortunately for us, they were just crazy enought to show all of us who saw them stuggle down Main Street what human beings are capable of.