Waking up was the most difficult part of the day (Sore & very VERY cold). All runners woke up at 4 AM to watch the AMAZING sunrise! As the sun came up, we had clear views of Mt. Whitney, Katchachunga and Lohtse. Katchachunga is covered in ice so at sunrise the mountain actually glows a lovely pink color. After sunrise, all runners gathered in the hut for breakfast, which included potato, porridge, hard-boiled eggs and toast. After breakfast we began the out and back course of 20 miles. The start of the run was near impossible. Running at 12,000ft left me feeling breathless and the cold was unbearable. As my body began to wake up, I finally got back in tune with my running. This was my favorite race yet because the majority of the race consisted of rolling hills. The scenery was gorgeous and I felt like singing ... Riccooolllaaaa!!!! While I was running through the shaded forest I noticed something black on the ground. As I got closer I realized it was a cobra! Cobras don’t have rattlers so I was so thankful to be cautious of my surroundings. Too afraid to run around it, I called for help and a local kicked it in the bush. I guess that’s one was to get rid of it… Lol. I was averaging a very good pace and completed at 4 hours and 3 minutes taking 12th place overall and 6th female. After the long run (and lots of stretching) I took a shower, which consisted of a cold bucket of water in the same room as the toilet (hole in the ground). Afterwards I jumped into my sleeping bag and relaxed until dinner. Everyone has been feeling the altitude and everyone is starting to feel a bit tired. I faced some nausea however I did not need a drip, which a couple of runners did unfortunately. After dinner I went straight to bed (7pm) since tomorrow was the Mt. Everest Challenge.
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