Water War

3:00 am arrived and I packed up boiled chicken, an egg, and a gallon of water and headed down to the barn.  It was shockingly quiet and only a few support people remained.  After asking around, I found that they had departed for the river.  Now, Vermont had a HUGE snow season and it has been raining cats and dogs all week.  They had to travel down the river, in the water.  Once they got to another spot they had to sit in a pond for 5 minutes.  Patrick said that was rough and between the river and the pond he spent a great deal of time underwater.  They then had to go through the water again, up a muddy hill, and then had to carry a lit candle around a big field.  If your candle blew out then you had to start over.  Finish that and then you do it six more times.  That was the final blow.  Patrick knew that after those seven total rounds then he would have to get back in to the river and he knew his feet were D.O.N.E.  At 4:30 am my walkie talkie start beeping and I heard Patrick's voice saying "Are you there?"  When I answered, he said, "I'm done."  "Done, Done?" I said.  "Yes, you have no idea.  I will explain what it is like out here later."  My response, "There is no shame in that."  In that moment, I loved him even more.

Funny enough, the ABC crew interviewed him and gave him a ride back.  He came in to the Lodge looking strong and feeling great except for the feet.  He took a shower and stuck by his decision to drop. He told me that when the checkpoint person called down to Andy, one of the race founders, to say that Patrick had dropped, Andy said, "NO!  He can't quit!"  Sorry, Andy. Game over.

We slept a couple of hours and then checked on some friends before breakfast.  We just learned that a Navy SEAL has also dropped.  This race is not a joke.  You cannot know what is ahead of you nor can you prepare for everything you will face.  I respect and admire everyone who started this race at 6 pm last night.  It isn't for the weak.

I am proud of Patrick.  I know he is disappointed, but he is walking away having learned a lot!  He is already talking about what to do next year and who to round up to participate.  I love that about him. He may be done today, but he is not done with this race.  Thank you for all of our friends who have sent messages, prayed for him, and helped him train.  It means so much.  We will continue to post about this race while we are here.

Until then...