In 2022, I attempted the Eiger 101(km) and DNF'd at mile 40. I had a lot of experience running and racing, but not in these kinds of mountains. I'm grateful for that first experience, despite the outcome, because I felt like it prepared me for UTMB in 2023. I had a very different strategy going into that one and had a really great race because of what I learned during my initial Eiger attempt.
When Roger started pushing for me and Megan to join him for the Eiger 250km this year, I had a lot of doubts about it. It was a huge jump in distance and elevation from anything I'd ever done before. And having a team rely on me to finish made me nervous. But YOLO or something.
As soon as I recovered from Boston this spring, I got very friendly with long, slow, verty miles. I did SCAR over Memorial Day weekend, a 70+ miles route with 18,000’ of climbing and two weeks after that, Brasstown Bald Triple which is 30ish miles and 8,000’ gain. I knew Eiger would be mostly hiking and these long days with my heavy pack would prove to be useful. Training for anything in the summer in Atlanta sucks and I was happy speed was not needed for this event.
Adam drove me to the airport Saturday afternoon and we said our goodbyes for 2 weeks. I dropped my checked bag and went to security. Unfortunately, 2 of my 90g Precision Gel packets were confiscated due to their size and I hoped this was not an omen for the rest of the trip.
I went to Ecco as is now my traditional pre-international flight routine for some prosecco and flatbread. Then I hung out at the gate until it was time to board. I saw on the seat map that no one was in the seat next to me, but that seemed crazy. But eventually, they closed the doors and no one was next to me! And I had an exit row. Economy luxury!
I watched a movie for a few hours during dinner service and then slept for a few hours, waking up before the breakfast service. Once on the ground, I walked right through passport control and collected my bag. We dropped it at the car and then Roger and I went into Zurich to kill some time before Megan's flight arrived.
Hers was delayed so we took our time getting breakfast, doing a little window shopping, and then having a light lunch. Eventually, we went back into the airport and waited for Megan. She was pretty tired from the delayed travel day and we chatted quietly on the way to the hotel in Roger's hometown of Thun. After dropping our bags, we met Roger's parents in town for dinner along the river.
Then we parted ways so Megan and I could get some sleep at our hotel. I got up a little early the following morning to do a short run in glorious 60° temps. It felt slow and clunky, but the movement was good after the travel.
Roger picked us up at our hotel and then we headed to Grindelwald, the start/finish town for Eiger 250. We made tentative plans to go up to the peak of First for the scenery and a meal, but it was 78 CHF (~$100) just for the gondola ride so we opted out. Instead, we picked up lunch from the local grocery store and did a little shopping. Once our apartment was ready, we drug all our bags in and relaxed a little before dinner at the hotel restaurant.
Tuesday, the three of us went for a short shakeout run together on the paved road that would be the final stretch of the race. My body still felt slow and clunky, but I knew this race was way more about endurance than speed. The weather was cool compared to home, albeit a bit humid with intermittent rain in the forecast.
We collected our bibs and stickers/bags for our drop bags that afternoon. Back at the apartment, we sorted all our gear needed for the next few days.
Each group also had to carry a first aid kit, an EXTRA GPS device (aside from our 3 watches and 3 smart phones), and a tracker. Roger carried our first aid kit, Megan carried the extra GPS device, and I carried the tracker.
There were 6 life bases along the course, at miles 35.6, 57.2, 86.5, 114.4, 132.5, 149.1. We were given large plastic bags to put our drop bag items in for each life base and then a large sticker that matched our bib number.
I filled mine with a restock of nutrition at each base along with extra batteries, contacts, wisps (for teeth cleaning), anti-chafe cream, and sunscreen. It was hard to gauge what time of day it would be, especially in the later bases, so I wanted to be prepared for any time of day.
I had a change of clothes at mile 57.2 and 114.4, with options depending on the weather. I didn't think I'd want to change my shoes, but I put an extra pair in for mile 114.4.
After we dropped our bags off, we sat around talking about our loose laid plans for the race. This is a unique event in that you cannot run it solo. You're required to compete in a team or 2 or 3. So it's in everyone's best interest to be honest about what they need, early and often.
The course is not marked and you have to use one of your GPS devices to follow the route. There were a few stretches in which markers were added, specifically on the snow field up to Lötschenpass and a few other random places. But for the most part, you are on your own to navigate from the GPX file.
Aside from the enormous distance and elevation gain/loss, I was most concerned about the lack of sleep. Knowing I've struggled with it over just single nights made me worried that I'd be holding the team up. Our plan was to get through the first night and try to get past the second life base at mile 57.2 before even thinking about sleep.
I cooked some pasta for us for dinner and we sat around the table trying to fill up one more time before our long journey.
Then it was time to get some sleep! Roger planned to get up early as he wanted more time for his routine, but Megan and I slept until 6am. We ate breakfast (I had a sweet bread from the bakery), drank espresso, and did our last minute gear check.
Our apartment was only a couple blocks from the race start so we walked over there around 7am for the 8am start. The 250km distance only had 88 teams total so less than 200 people were at the start. Had I not been standing among Eiger's enormous shadow and carrying a ridiculously heavy pack, the start line vibes echoed those of a low-key ultra. Very, very different from UTMB.
In an event of this magnitude there is even more of a sense of camaraderie as we all know the physical and mental challenges it takes. And while there are a few participants that are getting it done in crazy fast times, the rest of us are out there to simply finish.
Start to Kanderstag - Mile 0.0 - Mile 35.6 | 15,797’ elapsed | 8:00am Wednesday - 10:14pm Wednesday
As evidenced by the elevation gain, the first 35.6 miles are beastly. There are 3 main passes in this stretch, Eigergletscher, Sefinnafurga, and Hohturli along with their corresponding descents.
I love climbing and this was something that didn't change from start to finish. Descents and their corresponding impact on my body added up over time and the climbs became my happy place.
We ran a short road section down to the base of the trail, the field spreading out a little to give us room to enter single file through some narrow sections. I felt OK in the beginning. Not great, but not bad either. Part of me wished I'd felt a little peppier, but I knew it was a long, long race and the more I could stay in the middle both physically and mentally, the better.
The weather was pretty moody for that first climb, but we had clear enough views of the valley as we rose higher. At one point, we got stuck behind a caravan that was moving too slow for our liking and had to scramble around them to pass. I was holding onto the back of our train so it stressed me a little to try to cover all our moves, but I was also grateful that Megan and Roger took turns pushing the pace to get us to the first checkpoint with plenty of time.
The checkpoints were a little aggressive in the beginning, but then really loosened up by the second day. We felt reasonably confident that once we got to Stechelberg at 23km that we'd be fine.
Roger's dad took the gondola up to the top of Eigergletscher and waited for us to come rolling by, snapping photos and giving us high fives. We were all so cheery at this point and it was fun to see him, albeit just for a short time.
The descent into Stechelberg allowed for some actual running and the clouds began to lift as we arrived in the valley.
We walked through a town and along a river for what felt like a few kilometers before we finally arrived at the checkpoint.
We maneuvered around some bikers and hikers in the next section as we made our way out of the valley. It was super steep and very, very warm.
Luckily, it started to become cloudy again that afternoon and once we were back up a few thousand feet higher, it cooled off. We stopped at a hut to refill our bottles and went through a very lovely section of wide alpine valley with plenty of grazing cows.
As we got closer to the Sefinnafurga pass, we all decided it was time to put on our rain jackets. It was misting slightly and the wind was picking up.
This was the first of many passes in which stairs and fixed ropes were needed to cross the summit. I believe this was a summit in which there was about a mile worth of scree field that we had to descend as well. I was just happy it was still daylight!
Shortly thereafter we made our way up to the Hohturli summit. This was even steeper and higher than the prior summit and footing was a little dicey in the wet conditions. We paused a few extra moments at the top to prepare for the descent. It was less than ideal descending, but after a couple miles, the trail gave way to a much more runnable section. It was here that we came upon Oeschinen Lake, an insanely beautiful backdrop for our first sunset.
We had been making checklists going into the life base so as to not forget anything. Food, immediately. Charge devices. Refill packs.
I got a bowl of pasta and ate a few bites before attending to my other things. Then I ate intermittently as I sat there. I had some sparkling apple drink, the first of many, many liters of that consumed.
Eventually, we were all ready with our semi-charged devices, full bellies, and refilled packs. They had a mandatory gear check before leaving and we had to show our smartphone, puffy jacket, rain jacket, and emergency blanket. I gave the volunteer my drop bag back with all my extras.
Then I went to the bathroom one last time and discovered I started my period. Cool cool cool. I had some tampons on my pack, but wanted to keep those for later if needed so I tried to find my JUST DROPPED drop bag. Wasted like 3 minutes and eventually just used what I had on me. Ugh. I apologized to Megan and Roger for the extra delay and we finally exited Kanderstag.
Kanderstag to Jeizinen - Mile 35.6 - Mile 57.2 | 22,461’ total | 10:14pm Wednesday - 9:01am Thursday
We walked through Kanderstag, the town dark and quiet and a very light rain falling. We went the wrong way in town for a few minutes before righting ourselves and began a gentle climb.
After a few miles, we came to a section that became tricky to navigate. Eventually, we found the correct trail, but not before going back and forth a few times on the wrong one. The rain started coming down heavier and we were climbing.
I was pretty nervous about going into the cold, dark rain over one of the highest passes at the apex of night. I had all the required gear, but this was only reassuring if we were moving. If something happened to one of us, it could be dangerous. We kept climbing and I could feel the exposure as we rose above the trees. It was better than I thought and I just hoped that it would continue that way up and over the pass.
At one point in this climb, I needed to pee and Roger stopped for a breather. I went ahead so they could just catch up to me. It was dark so I was only about 20 paces ahead. I stood up there for a minute or two and wondered why they weren't coming, but figured they just needed more of a break. But then Megan called out for me to come back to them.
Roger said he wasn't able to keep going and was going to go back to Kanderstag. Nothing was acutely wrong, but he just didn't feel like he could continue. We tried to reassure him and encouraged him to keep going, but he was adamant that he was done. After reassuring us that he'd make it back to the life base okay, Megan and I gave him hugs and we parted ways.
I felt this sense of nervous call of duty here. Megan had never DNF'd a race. And she had to have a partner to finish this one. So I had to keep my shit together for another 130ish miles. Easy peasy?
Well, the next section tested me for sure. As we got closer to the summit, the trail gave way to scree fields and then to snow fields. The blinking beacons marked where we were to aim for across snow and rocks. It was still raining and the wind had picked up considerably. Past the snow fields, we climbed hands over feet on wet boulders in the middle of the night. I was wobbly and scared, but took it one step at a time.
The wind got too intense and we pulled into a tiny alcove to put on our rain pants, blowing like kites as soon as we pulled them from our packs. It was immediately warmer with them on and I started to feel better once we found solid footing on a trail again.
We weren't expecting anything at the summit, but like a mountain oasis, the hut atop the pass was open, warm, and best of all, serving food. I had a bowl of soup and asked Megan to set her timer for 5 minutes to let me sleep on a bench. I don't think I fell asleep, but it felt good to fully relax for a few minutes.
We left the pass right near the first light and made a beautiful descent into the morning. The light and food revived me and I was happy as we made our way into Jeizinen.
This was set up in the middle of a town with a couple of tents and a barn-like structure for sleeping. We were going to try to get to at least 100k before our first real sleep, so we just refueled here. I had some potatoes and cheese and picked at some other food. This was one of two spots that I had a change of clothes. Putting on dry shorts, shirt, sports bra, and socks felt so good.
We handed back our drop bags and headed into the second day.
Jeizinen to Belalp - Mile 57.2 - Mile 86.5 | 30,646’ total | 9:01am Thursday - 11:54pm Thursday
The descent from Jeizinen to the low point of the course was dusty, hot, and exposed. Scrubby plants lined the trail and there was very little shade. We could see the town below us for miles, but progress was very, very slow.
There was a river path that we'd planned to sleep next to, thinking it might be a little cooler and shaded next to the water.
Once we arrived at that section, we realized it was very, very warm. The few shady spots didn't offer much space for sleeping, but we were running out of real estate. It was less than ideal, but we threw a few sticks out of the way and set a 1 hour timer to sleep.
I don't think either of us got more than a few minutes, if that. It was too warm, too daylight, and people kept going by. Getting going again on this long, boring stretch was pretty terrible. Our only solace was laughing at the impending photos that were to come of this less-than-ideal backdrop from the official race photographer.
We were playing leap frog with a few teams as each group would stop for various reasons, ourselves included. I was feeling pretty low on calories and dreaming of Popsicles and slushies. A far cry from being bundled up the evening before! Luckily, we came upon a hut and I was relieved Megan was up for stopping to enjoy a large glass of Coke. It was cold and (Swiss) huge and worth every bit of the 4.50 CHF I paid for it.
I was in MUCH better spirits after this and the late afternoon seemed so much happier. Sleep seemed inevitable though so I asked Megan what she thought about trying to get a little sleep at sundown. We could use the light as much as possible and then I could try to sleep for 20 minutes or so.
It was in this section that the error of life base distances began to show. We arrived at the Finnen (mile 77) checkpoint which had some food and water, but no drop bags. And there was a translation error in which we ended up not getting any hot food. I was feeling too defeated to try at that point and so we trudged away, bellies only full of sparkling apple juice and non-alcoholic beer.
Once night came, there was a bit of panic in Megan's voice about time and I decided to forgo my sleep plan and push for the next aid station. I already was being a huge pain in the ass stopping so much for everything else! I did actually feel much better once the sun went down and we started climbing again.
A few miles from the actual stop we were able to see the lights of the town. However, it was impossible to perceive distance properly in the night and we seemed to go up and down for quite some way. The last mile of navigating this section was ridiculous. The GPS put us through a grassy field about 30 meters from a proper road. The only way we knew we were only the correct path was that we could see where the grass had been trampled by runners before us.
Finally, the hut came into view and we exhaled deeply as we crossed the threshold. A very nice volunteer acted as our concierge, walking us through everything we might need. Drop bags, food, drinks, bathrooms, sleeping quarters.
We had agreed to eat, repack, and then go try to use the life base to sleep an hour. The goal was to be ready to hit the trail within a few minutes of waking. The volunteer asked us if we wanted a pizza. We both exclaimed yes!! And when she asked if we wanted to share one, we looked at each other and said no!! We're running 177 miles, we are definitely not sharing a pizza.
While our pizzas were being made (!!) we took care of restocking our packs, charging devices, etc. These long sections meant we had to be so diligent in the life bases to not overlook anything. We ate pizza in relative silence and then pulled our sleep sacks out for the bunks.
The room was dark, but very hot. And everyone was on different schedules with alarms going off and headlamps switching off and on, snoring, and tossing and turning on noisy mattresses. I crawled halfway into my sack and promptly passed out. Fearing I'd miss the alarm, I woke up 3-4 times before gently shaking Megan and telling her it was time to go.
We donned our puffy jackets as was very cold leaving the hut and hiked out into the night.
Belalp to Bellwald - Mile 86.5 - Mile 114.4 | 39,691’ total | 11:54pm Thursday - Friday 4:21pm
This is the section I went to the well. It started out innocently enough as the descent into Bitsch was relatively good. We only had to wear our headlamps for a couple hours and I figured we'd get excited about approaching the 100 mile mark.
There was a weird little fitness trail at the bottom of the descent which maybe was not strange in daylight, but seemed odd in the middle of the night. We giggled as we exited that area into a ski lift village. I sensed we were about to climb again and wanted to try to eat something before we started. My stomach wasn't feeling great here and I had to choke down nutrition.
The next few hours were pretty rough for me. We went through this odd memorial garden next to a church and felt like we were trespassing. It was right after that when I had a mental low. My breathing was extremely labored and thoughts of not being able to do it raced through my head on repeat. We spent a lot of time looking for the trail here as well and my stupid Garmin was worthless. I felt extra guilty that I was leading us the wrong way and was in such a sorry state of being.
At one point, I slid slowly down to sit and reached my absolute low point. Megan gave me a pep talk and promised we'd baby step it for a while. I really didn't want to let her down and picked my crumbled mess of self off the ground and moved forward. It took an hour or so, but by the time we reached Riederalp, I started to come around.
I knew I needed to eat some real food. Riederalp is a ski village and has a small, but fully stocked grocery store. It felt both really cool and really strange to enter a grocery store during a race to buy provisions. We both got sandwiches and sat on a nearby curb wolfing them down. It was a bluebird day and with the Alps all around us, I was pretty smitten with the moment. A complete 180 from the hours prior. Ah, ultrarunning….
I've been fortunate until now to not have blister issues in races. But the early wet feet and length of time of this one changed my luck. After our sandwich stop, I had to stop and do some foot surgery on a bench. It was wasting more time than helping so I just slapped some tape on it and hoped for the best.
The next section was arguably one of the most beautiful parts of the course, but we were not in a state of mind to truly appreciate it. The course runs alongside the Aletsch Glacier, the largest glacier in the Alps at 14 miles long. For miles, we ran with it to our left, it's vastness and age reminding us of how small we are and how we exist for just a blip of time.
We came across a restaurant where we were able to fill our bottles in a bathroom and wash our hands. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror for the first time in days. Oof.
There was a nice wide path for the next few miles. A guy asked us if we were the 3 Snails with Ambition as we ambled down the path and then cheered us on. I can only assume he was crew for another team and had the tracker pulled up. It gave us a little much-needed life in this section.
Because the footing was finally easy, we weren't really paying much attention to the ground. Unfortunately, Megan caught her foot and trekking pole in a hole used for runoff and hit the ground hard. She stayed down and I rushed to her side, attempting to assess her wounds. Rolled ankle, tweaked knee (on a formerly tweaked knee), bloody (but superficial) knee. Maybe worst of all though was that one of her poles snapped and was unusable. We tried to fix it with medical tape, but it was too wobbly to be supportive so she just shoved it in her pack.
There were an annoying number of bikers out on the trails and families walking 6 abroad. We had to navigate around all of them, frustrated for all the extra work at this point in the race.
Luckily, we got some relief once we reached the Tälligrattunnel. It's a 1km tunnel and offered us respite from the heat and sun. I was almost cold by the time we exited.
The relief didn't last long though because the most ridiculous section of the course awaited us. I dubbed it the chutes and ladders section. It was a very steep and rocky descent that bottomed out with a bunch of climbing over boulders on metal ladders. The only good news was that it was dry and daylight.
It was in this section that Megan was getting nervous about the seemingly extra miles on the course. We sat down in the shade to review my spreadsheet, the course, and do some math. Turns out that when I compiled my spreadsheet to get prepared weeks ago, they hadn't updated the 2025 course yet to the website. The bad news was that we had many more miles to go until the next aid station. The good news was that we were right on track mileage-wise and had way more time than we thought.
We both were in better spirits after that, but still had to contend with the warm, technical mess of the afternoon. As we came to the Aspi-Titter suspension bridge, we had to wait for a family to finish their photo op before we could cross. I nibbled on a granola bar while giving the stink eye.
At long last, we made the descent into Bellwald where the hot, small gym awaited us like a Ritz-Carlton. I immediately needed to tend to my feet and beelined to the medic after I ordered food. The medic took a really long time on my feet, but even still, I didn't really feel like they were going to survive to the end. I really needed fresh socks every 5 miles and dry shoes, but taped feet was as good as it was going to get.
Megan wondered what the heck happened since it took so long. The only good news was that my pasta soup was finally cool enough to eat quickly. It was really good and I went back for seconds while I changed into my final clothes and repacked. I had shoes here, but didn't want to chance it despite all my foot problems since the extra pair was carbon-plated and smaller sized.
Bellwald to Oberwald - Mile 114.4 - Mile 132.5 | 43,851’ total | Friday 4:21pm - Saturday 2:02am
Food, fresh clothes, and heading into the night put me in a much happier place leaving Bellwald. Also, this section was super short compared to the other ones so it seemed so much more manageable. And the first few miles were pretty flat so we made good time. We decided to try for sleep again at sundown, assuming that at least one of us needed it. Megan said she was finally starting to feel sleepy and I was looking forward to even a few minutes of a dirt nap.
We went through some beautiful sections here with giants fields of fireweed that were absolutely stunning in the evening light. There were a couple of big, tall waterfalls here as well and I scooped up some water in case I ran low through the night. Megan asked if it were silty and it wasn't, but then I got paranoid about drinking it this close to the end so I moved it to my reserve spot.
It took a bit of searching to find a good spot for a dirt nap for both of us, but eventually, we came on a wide clearing. I was in charge of the alarm and set it for 30 minutes. Megan was asleep before I even snuggled under my coat. I passed out promptly too though. We rose like zombies 30 minutes later, stuffing our nap gear back in our bags.
Then it was back to moving. My stupid feet were still giving me grief and I had to pull over on a very narrow stretch to perform very unsanitary surgery with a safety pin on the ball of my foot. One of the pairs we'd been leap-frogging with came by and offered tape. Megan remembered she had loose wool shortly after and that was the best remedy. It helped to absorb some of the wetness and offered a little cusion.
It was there that I just kind of accepted my foot was going to be in pain for the next however many miles and blisters were a temporary condition. Something in me just switched to accept the pain and keep going. It burned with every step, but I could step and it mostly took away from any other malfunctions I was having. It was silly, but I was repeating over and over in my mind you are braver than you think, you are stronger than you believe.
Going down into Oberwald was another trick of lights in the dark. It seemed to take an eternity, but we finally reached what we eventually dubbed “raclette gym”. The smell of cheese was overwhelming as we walked in. This is where Megan was unable to get her bag because it went to the wrong place. We tried to pilfer Roger's drop bag, but there wasn't much to pilfer.
The volunteers took the tracker here to charge it while we did whatever we needed to do. We had some potatoes and cheese. This didn't feel like enough, but I was finding eating at 2am difficult. Luckily, I thought of coffee and had them make me some with a ton of milk and sugar. I normally drink it black, but figured I needed whatever calories I could get would be helpful. I had a banana too and then went to put my feet up on the wall for 5 minutes.
I'd later mention to Megan how much I loved the decrepit state of everyone at the life bases. A bunch of filthy people who were walking around without their shoes and socks, eating and sleeping at unnatural hours, and then somehow finding the strength to walk out into the next void. I loved every part of this.
I changed my contacts here and brushed with a wisp, hoping for a little creature comfort revival. Then it was time to get the tracker back and carry on.
Oberwald to Guttannen - Mile 132.5 - Mile 149.1 | 47,139’ total | Saturday 2:02am - Saturday 11:31am
This was my Grand Col Ferret of this course. I knew if I made it up Grimselpass that I'd finish. I had been envisioning it for months. After Roger and I DNF'd the 101 in 2022, we took a road trip and came up Grimselpass in a car. We had a cappuccino next to the lake and it was lovely and idyllic. My vision for the race was that I'd climb Grimselpass on foot and enjoy a cappuccino once again. I wasn't even really thinking of time of day, it was more of a vision board kind of thing.
In any case, we began the most delightful climb of the whole race. Delightful because I was finally feeling good and got to pull Megan along a bit. She was sleepy and loopy and we talked absolute nonsense for miles. She recited poetry to me and we sang childhood songs. We decided on a 5 minute trail nap for her since she was becoming more delirious by the moment. The good news is that she passed right out. The bad news was that she fell asleep in a pile of ants and sprang up after 5 minutes shrieking and slapping her backside wildly.
Things calmed down briefly after that and we continued hiking into a beautiful sunrise. We had an insane vantage point of all the mountains around us and the light was hitting so perfectly. My body still hurt and it was still hard as hell, but I definitely appreciated being in that moment right then and right there.
As fate would have it the cafe was just opening as we got to the top of the pass. We stopped in for a cappuccino and a croissant. I was pretty happy for a woman who was 3 days and 137 miles into the hardest adventure of her life.
Megan got pretty chilly leaving the café and then started weaving really, really badly on the rocky descent. I asked her a couple times if she wanted to sleep and then I basically demanded she stop when she nearly veered off the edge. She just said OK and slid down the rock next to her, pack still on, and was asleep as she touched the ground.
A few runners came by here and made sure we were okay as they passed. Yes, yes, just a little trail nap. I woke her up in about 10 minutes and then the combination of daylight and the nap seemed to revive her.
Unfortunately this descent was pretty awful for both of us. It was pretty technical and we were exhausted. And the sun was relentless even in the early morning. I felt fried. We didn't have that far to go distance-wise, but it just seemed to take forever.
As we got away from the rocks, we wove through some little villages and connector trails. We had to pull out the GPS again to make sure we were going the correct way. At least there was some shade in these lower sections. I was getting sleepy again and actually did a little bit of jogging here and there to try to stay awake.
At long last, we finally arrived at the last life base, hungry and exhausted. It was a billion degrees inside the little schoolhouse and every seat seemed to be taken in the tiny room they had set up for eating. Luckily a very nice volunteer offered to bring me a bowl of spaghetti to the porch where it was cooler and less crowded.
I sat among a crew of French people on the porch, back against a wall and my legs propped up on my pack. I ate the spaghetti as fast as I could, swatting away flies with every bite. Then I set the bowl to the side and promptly fell asleep very, very deeply. I awoke what felt like a lifetime later (it was about 30 minutes) and freaked out that I'd been sleeping for hours. Megan was now on the porch with me after having consumed a few bowls of pasta herself.
I ate a little bit more from the snack table and got my life together to make the final push. THE FINAL PUSH. I couldn't believe I was actually doing this.
Guttannen to Finish - Mile 149.1 - Mile 170.7 | 52,306’ total | Saturday 11:31am - Saturday 10:16pm
The section out of Guttannen was pretty pleasant. A good bit of road, easy trail, long stretches through big meadows. It started raining and we stopped a few times for ponchos, jackets, and to check the forecast for the rest of the afternoon. We didn't want to put ourselves on the climb up to Gross Scheidegg with a potential for lightening. But it looked pretty scattered so we hoped it would clear up by the time we made our ascent.
I was feeling pretty okay all things considered on this final section. The adrenaline of being near the finish likely giving me whatever oomph I needed. Eating and drinking was the worst here though. I did have to make us stop at least twice so I could suck down a gel. My mouth hurt so bad. I had huge sores all over my tongue.
The rain gave way to a very humid afternoon of climbing through a park-like area dodging buses and tourists. It felt very surreal to be amid these normal people drinking wine on patios as we marched by, reduced to very primal states of being.
As we played leap frog with runners late that afternoon in the valley, we came across one that had bought a huge hunk of cheese from one of the local farmers. It was comical how big it was so when he basically forced us to take some, we pulled off huge chunks with our dirty hands with no remorse. He and his son passed us shortly thereafter on the climb, but it wouldn't be the last time we saw them.
I thought we'd never see the building atop Gross Schiedegg come into view, but once we did, I started to get really excited. We sat one last time on a rock next to a house in this section, taking a pause to eat. We watched kids chase each other near a stream and appreciated this really lovely Saturday evening moment.
At the top of the climb our cheese friend had just bought some drinks from the shop and essentially forced a cold sparkling water on us. My warm water flasks were keeping me alive, but the cold water revived me for the descent.
And we were going down. The final descent. We were going to the finish line. I was really doing this thing.
Megan immediately went into afterburner mode and drug my happy carcass down the mountain. We were both chatty now, exclaiming how lucky we were to be going down at sunset and oh my gosh look at Eiger right now and oh my gosh did you see that flash of lightning?
Once we finally hit the pavement, I found some shuffling legs. I knew this stretch was going to be so long so I didn't want to push too early. But then the more people started cheering from their windows and porches, the more I tamped down any feeling of slowing.
It was so special coming into Grindelwald with people in the streets, in restaurants, from hotel balconies cheering us on. I definitely would have cried if I had anything left inside of me. As we rounded the final corners, I really couldn't believe it was happening.
We did it.
86 hours, 16 minutes, 42 seconds.
170-something miles. 50,000’‐something feet of elevation gain and descent.
What an adventure.
