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2009 Massanutten Trails 100

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* '''Later stages.''' From the second dawn to the final aid station at 97 miles are uneventful. Not quite a death march, but a steady movement, with occasional runs where possible. My feet have been cold and wet for about 28 hours, which is a mixed blessing. The cold keeps them numb and prevents swelling, but I know that they are undergoing some significant damage, and I refuse to look at them. Sleep deprivation creates a few odd minor hallucinations, but experience means I don't take them serious. One of our group sees a complete aid station, along with tent, tables, and people, which is the most frustrating hallucination, as it gets our hopes up.
* '''Final section.''' The last five miles, from Elizabeth Furnace at mile 97 (it's 102 miles total) is remarkably nasty. This is a climb up and then a descent to the finish, but five miles at the pace we are making takes forever. Luckily, about two miles out we are joined by a few runners who want to finish as a large group. They join us a the point where the trail flattens out and becomes runnable, with a number of stream crossings to numb the feet. I am really glad I had the group, as the last section leaves you feeling you are at the finish for a long time. I cross the finish line with 9 other runners and a pacer, which appears on the MMT web site as a video.
* '''Aftermath.''' My feet took way too much damage on MMT. I have over a dozen blisters, one of them about four square inches. If I had normal skin, I would shrug this off as some temporary suffering, but with RDEB, each blister is likely to cause permanent scaring. When RDEB scars, the scars are far weaker than the original skin, making further blistering more likely. I won't know for some time if my decision to continue the MMT was a catastrophic mistake or not. (I actually have "non-Hallopeau-Siemens Recessive Dystrophic [[Epidermolysis Bullosa]]" for those with a medical interest.)
'''My Tips for MMT100'''

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