1. 2007's most memorable moment on the trail...
Unquestionably this comes from my first 50 miler, the Stone Cat 50 Mile Trail Race. Although finishing the race was great, the most memorable moment was when I completed the second lap of the race. As I neared the end of the second lap I got a boost knowing that I would be seeing Emma soon and that by this point she would have finished the marathon, I was anxious to find out how she had done. The excitement caused me to pick up the pace a bit, and pick off a runner who I'd been trailing for a while, and I knew that passing this runner in particular would make Jamie very happy. When I turned the last corner at the end of the lap I saw Emma and Jamie waiting for me and I could tell right away that Emma had done well in her race. She ran with me for the last hundred yards of that lap and told me she was the first woman finisher of the marathon. I was so proud of her and so happy for her. My excitement over her achievement and my desire to make her proud of me carried me through the second half of the race, I couldn't have done it without her.
2. Best new trail I discovered in 2007...
The "O" Trail at Bradbury Mountain State Park. I've been running at the park for a few years, but last summer Emma and I stumbled across a new trail, and we stumbled all the way through it. Running this crazy technical single-track you feel like Jackie Chan jumping from rock to rock over roots and fallen trees, around insane hairpin turns, through streams... it's a blast.
3. My best performance of the year...
Escarpment. I did better than I thought I could and came away from it feeling great.
4. I don't know how I previously survived without...
My Inov-8 Roclite 315's. These shoes helped get me through my first 50k, my first Escarpment, my first 50 miler, and tons of other great trail runs.
5. The person I would most like to meet on the trail in 2008...
Emma, at mile 70 of the Vermont 100.
Emma, consider yourself tagged.
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