Day 11. So much to cover, so little time.... so lets get down to business
*Disclaimer. I am tired. If something doesn't make sense, I am sorry ;) *
The day again started before the sun was up. Because really, who needs sleep?
The crew started today just north of Kelso. #partywiththevarty (aka David) and Lindsay were back for more fun this am! The picture above shows the # of days with the # of fingers they are holding up.... in case you missed that trend ;). David was up again for 3 legs. Because he can. Superstar! Lindsay, I found out today, had only met Chantal for the first time yesterday... and I guess Chantal is still happy as Lindsay signed up for more time with her today. Lindsay had heard about the run from another pacer (Steve on team Running Free), and she started following along on the website. There Lindsay learned that Chantal was a paramedic (just like herself), they were both ultrarunners, moms, AND THEN found out yesterday that both of their husbands are firefighters (who also used to be paramedics). Ummm... talk about coincidences! Chantal loved meeting Lindsay yesterday and was super excited to see her cheery face again this am.
Lindsay had a few requests for definitions, so here you go:
-FKT: Fastest Known Time. This is the fastest time recorded that a person has run a certain trail. There are rules, of course, which you can find here. The times are often posted on forums, peoples blogs etc so sometimes you have to do some digging to find out info.
-AspireBruceCelerity: This will have to come from Chantal later. She is in bed and i don't want to wake her ;)
-There also is some really great symbolism and stories behind the shirt that Robin designed for the run/ the logo. That will have to come later too :)
Ok, back to the day...
Leg 2 was Laura and David. Laura is another wicked lady who is also planning her own FKT in the Adirondaks this fall! While out on the trail, in what is starting to become a trend with our ever-so-popular Chantal, a new friend shows up... with treats!!! Scott and his son are friends with David, heard about Chantal's adventure, and decided to come and cheer for themselves. According to Scott, he wanted to show his son what it really means to #runlikeagirl. What a great guy! He brought the crew Tims coffee, and even brought in some McDonalds to help motivate Chantal ;)
Pictured above (L to R): Chantal, Scott's son and Scott, Laura and David. Below: running for McDonalds
Today also had a LOT of shuffling around.... apparently us country bumpkins were not prepared for Bruce Trail roadside parking on the side of a 4-lane highway... which resulted in a few aid-station switch-ups. Nothing like last-minute panicked calls from your crew trying to re-arrange the afternoons plans... but I'm getting ahead of myself now...
Appleby line was NOT closed to traffic today so Chantal didn't have to do the reroute. Hooray.
Leg 3 was solo David. Here's some pics from David, in no particular order:
Above: Laura, Chantal and David on a suspension bridge
Above: Chantal and Lindsay in front of an old restored kiln that was used to make quick lime which was used to make cement. You learn something new every day :)
Above: Are they sick of each other yet?
At some point this morning Chantal ran into this group of hikers. The hikers actually waited around to see Chantal when they heard she was coming through. Here is a quick video taken by Scott that shows Chantal sharing what she is doing with the group:
Leg 4 was Craig, and just before he was set to leave, I received a call from him, informing me that the parking lot that was marked on his map, in fact, no longer exists and we needed to re-plan our aid station. Also, the next parking lot after that was on Guelph line, which would be a zoo at 5pm. Awesome. After some quick calls and strategizing (is that a word?), we decided to cut Craig's leg short (the distance, not his actual leg.... haha I'm so funny. Or tired. Either way...). This would not be such a big deal, if it didn't mean asking our next pacers to come a whole hour earlier. EEK. Luckily, after me calling Nyki and Jennifer in a panic, they both said 'no problem' and jumped in the car/ train in order to get there early for us. Seriously. Chantal has the BEST. FRIENDS. EVER.
At the aid station, some more people stopped by to see what was going on- and they have a wonderful story too! The support team wasn't 100% sure of their names (sorry, we're all tired), but what they told us is that they are a father and son (pictured below) out doing the Bruce for their dad/ grandpa, "because he always talked about it but never got a chance to." I'm getting weepy over here! Chantal has met so many people doing incredible things while on her journey. How fortunate she is to have met them all.
Just as the girls are set to take off, I get a text from another friend, Lori. Lori is an ultrarunner, is friends with Jennifer, and wanted to jump in and help out. What a gem! She knows the local trails, so jumped in her car and met up with the girls shortly after.
These girls kept Chantals' spirits up by singing a 'special' version of Ghetto Superstar (Nyki... care to expand on this one??), gave road-side foot massages, and shared lots of stories. Chantal finished strong, like a champ, and motored in with her friends. There was a brief discussion as to whether she should go out for another hour, or call it a day. End-of-day decisions can be so difficult, and there were a lot of options to weigh. Chantal had bad heat rash today, and didn't have restful sleep at all last night. The team agreed to call it a day at 9:30, and was able to then head to Jennifer's house to sleep in REAL BEDS and have showers. Oh and do laundry. Thanks for the reminder Blaire ;)
And lets give a shout-out to Blaire. She re-arranged her day so that she could come out and crew for Chantal. She helped move vans, set up aid stations, keep Alan, Craig and Cait calm ;) as well as a million other things. Here's to you Blaire, we couldn't have got through today without you!
Today's Fun Facts:
kms completed: 73
kms completed so far: 749
finished on Kerns road near City View Park (just north of Waterdown), map 9
pacers: David, Lindsay, Laura, Craig, Jennifer, Nyki, Lori
support crew: Craig, Alan, Blair the almighty
hrs of sleep: you don't want to know
... and the most exciting fun fact.... we are on MAP 9! Down to the SINGLE DIGITS folks!
IMPORTANT NOTE
Well friends, as we head into the FINAL DAYS I will be headed down to join the crew. That's right, I'm packing up the kids (well, one of them, thanks to my darling hubby for watching the other) and headed down to the big smoke. What does this mean for you? Well.... I'm going to do my best to find a Starbucks that's open late to get a blog post to you lovely folks, but I can't guarantee it. I will be on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as much as I can, and I will try to do a Facebook live of the finish!
Currently our plan is 5am start tmrw, do a solid long day, maybe sleep a few hrs, then get up early Thursday am to finish Thursday aft/ eve. Ohhhh I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it!
So, if you want to follow along, follow on social, watch her SPOT tracker here, or send smoke signals. I can't guarantee you we will be able to answer those... or understand them. Have I mentioned I am tired yet?
FINALLY- we would LOVE to see you at the finish in Niagara, or anywhere along the way Thursday. We are a bit short for pacers Thursday, and we really would love a huge tribe out to support her to the finish. If you can help, please email me at aspirebrucecelerity@gmail.com
That's it for me! Eeeeeek too excited to sleep!