I grew a purple sunflower!

The friends we call family. ❤️

We had so much support from my family this weekend. It was awesome to see all of them!

Ed has decided to call it a night. He just couldn't get his aging body to do what it once did. His mind was writing checks his body couldn't cash, and he just didn't have the will to keep pushing. He's content, though, because now he knows. He fully enjoyed his day out on the course, running with everyone, and chatting with friends new and old. As always, Back 40 Timing has put on an incredible event and we're looking forward to hanging out and supporting everyone who is still out there racing today. But for now, we'll listen to the rain on the roof of the camper, and nap!

He's going to miss this so much!

Ed was able to grab a last minute entry to Last Man Standing 2026, so here we are! And there they go!!

All matchy matchy!

The almost perfect ending to a rough day... I could really use some alcohol right now, but we'll just pretend...mmm...these sure are tasty!

My co-worker gave me these cute li'l dried tomatoes, so I put them on my gluten-free bagel with vegan cream cheese, kalamata olives, and a drizzle of olive oil. It tasted even better than I thought it would!

(I'm not happy that I'm developing all these dietary issues as I age, but I'm figuring out how to continue to eat yummy foods!)

My first pink sunflowers! They're so pretty!

We ended up taking a different route than we planned, but that's okay. It was a nice night for a run, no matter where our feet carried us!

I did it! I knew I needed to try it again, and I was so happy to have Ed's help today to get myself around the Welch-Dickey Loop. It was definitely challenging, but he encouraged me to push through when it was scary. I still had a few moments of panic traipsing up and across all those ledges, but seriously it was non-stop breathtaking views!

The trail takes you up Welch Mountain first, then you descend for a bit, cross a ridge, scramble up to the ledges on Dickey Mountain, traverse along more ledges across the side of the mountain, and finally drop down into the woods for the final mile.

My legs are going to be talking to me tomorrow. They're a li'l bit grumpy right now. But it feels so good to have conquered my fears!

King of his domain!

Laurie joined me tonight for a walk up the hill! 

She even climbed the tower! I volunteered to stay on the ground and take pictures. 😉 

I made it up the hill just in time! 

'There's always a sunrise and always a sunset and it's up to you to choose to be there for it,' said my mother. 'Put yourself in the way of beauty.' - Cheryl Strayed

It was a beautiful afternoon for George & I to go for a run/hike. It was so peaceful out in the woods! 

We did some trail cleanup along the way. Why is it so hard for some people to 'leave no trace'? I bet I was a sight running down the trail with a beer bottle in each hand. 🤣 Fortunately we found them shortly before we got back to the car!

It's been a while, but I'm finally back in the game.

Houston took a walk in the woods with us this evening. The dogs were running all over the place exploring, but he stayed right with us. He's such a funny cat!

Dark Dahlia (& light, for contrast)

This was one of the sunflowers that the critters bent over and munched on, but it decided to keep going and bloom the most perfect li'l bloom! I feel like there's a metaphor here...

He's such a big helper!

I'm crying, even as I'm sitting here realizing it's been 8 years. The pain just never goes away. I miss her so much.

Not me getting judged at the Micky D's drive-thru by a...bunny?!

It's late, I'm starving, and I don't want to wash dishes. So there!

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we have made the best friends through this sport. Today we went back up to Waterville Valley to hang out with them while celebrating the final finishers as they crossed the line. It was a great time filled with so many stories of adventures and so much laughter!

"I carried a watermelon."

Sometimes it doesn't matter how prepared we are, things can still go wrong. Very wrong. Ed stopped his race at the South Moat Mountain aid station, which is the turnaround point for the Jigger Johnson 100. Actually, he hadn't been "racing" for many hours, but rather just trying to survive and get there. The Whites will do that to you. There is no margin for error out there. He has no regrets about walking off the course. It was the only choice. 

When he was contemplating racing Jigger again after last year, he realized that many would see it as a questionable decision. He kept coming back to the fact that he enjoys the process and is willing to put in the work. It's a big challenge, but "Why not try?"

Looking at it from this side, the outcome is different than what we had envisioned, but I'm still so proud of him for doing it. We've adventured and learned so much together this past year. Once he's healed from these wounds - he'll use all that fitness he built to conquer another goal. I have no doubt. 

We are so grateful for everyone's help today. We couldn't have done this alone. Erin, Mindy, Jen, Greg, Bobi Jo, Jim - you all are the very best kind of humans! We felt so much support from everyone out there. The ultra running community is incredible!

We can never thank Mindy enough for helping him make his way to the aid station, and keeping his spirits up. He had fallen several times during the night, was disoriented, and ended up hiking The Moats more than once. He was a hot mess when she and Greg found him. Greg decided quickly that he should continue on ahead of them, and that Mindy should stay with Ed. They literally saved his life. Those mountains don't mess around. This picture that she took at the top of North Most Mountain is gorgeous, but also shows how much Ed was struggling. Regardless, he just kept putting one foot in front of the other. True grit.

Today is the start of the Higher Johnson 100! These intrepid souls are heading out to attempt to run approximately 108 miles through the White Mountain National Forest. Good luck to all the runners, but especially Ed(of course), and Conor and Lexie, both of whom are chasing the male and female course records. It's gonna be so fun to watch them over the next couple days!