Wasatch Back Marathon and the beauty of hard things

They were the last two runners to cross the finish line in a little over eight hours and 30 minutes. Nelson and his crew stayed, despite the official warnings that the race cut-off was six hours, to give them an official finish time and a medal. Listening to them rave about a nearly nine-hour race experience reminded Nelson why he decided to create races in the first place.

And as I accepted my second-place ribbon (age 40-44 division) for my worst time ever, six hours and 59 minutes, I remembered why I continue to put myself in situations I'm not sure I can handle.

The streak isn't anything to be proud of if it's made up of tasks I know I can accomplish before I even start.

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Email: adonaldson@desnews.com