Ghost Town Ultra

Brishen and I were volunteers for the Ghost Town Ultra Marathon in Hillsboro yesterday. We went to a volunteers' meeting and nice dinner on Saturday night. We were fed tons of yummy carbs along with the runners, even though we wouldn't be working it off quite like they were the next day. They gave away lots of door prizes, but I warned Brishen that we are not a lucky family. Toward the end of the drawings for prizes, Brishen's name was called. He won that hat you see him wearing in the picture with the Ghost Town info embroidered on it. He's luckier than I am, I guess.

Sunday morning came (barely), and the alarm woke me up at 3am so that we could make it to Hillsboro by 5am. We were volunteers at aid stations 2/6. Brishen's main job was to make sure the runners didn't miss the turn off for our station. My main job was checking off runners who came through the station and making sure they got the beverages and snacks they needed and could find their gear drop bags. I refilled many a water bottle.

The day started out horribly cold, from a Las Cruces resident stand point (it was actually the warmest day ever for this race). It took forever for the sun to make it over the mountain and to reach us in the "holler" below. I even wore my warmest jacket--the one that I only wear when no one sees me or when I am somewhere seriously cold. Once the sun reached us, it was a beautiful day. There were lots of times of harried activity and other times of long stretches between runners. Brishen timed the distance between the last runner to leave us on the way out (10-mile point) and the first runner to make it back to us on the way back (28.5-mile point). It was only 1 hour and 40 minutes.

The runners were so inspiring!!! The race was 38.5 miles long, and it was far from being a street race. Much of the course is over rocky mountain trails. There is lots of elevation gain, places to cross a creek, javelina to watch for, and so much rock and debris washed over the trail from last year's monsoons. The first two finishers only took 5 hours and 20 minutes to run the entire way. Their last mile was run in 5 and a half minutes--that's AFTER already running 37.5 other miles. Crazy!

Brishen and I really loved volunteering and plan to do it again next year. I would really love to be a participant. There were about 10 walkers, and I know that I could do it, too, if only I had the time to train. Someday for sure!!