(Chip and Audrey catching a few more moments horizontally before the start)The Elk Mountain Grand Traverse is becoming a widespread event in the Mulliken/DuRoss clan. The weather this year was a bit more forgiving, but not much. The 30mph winds, zero visibility on the passes, and snow the ENTIRE time presented enough challenge. Almost fourteen hours after our midnight start, all four of us finished and swore we would never do the race again. We questioned why we paid to do such a thing. However, only a few beers and hours later we were already making plans for next year. The human memory is so "resilient".
The "Sisters of Soul" took their second stab at the race. While it was tough to beat our first place finish from last year, it felt gratifying to finish at all, and inspiring to see so many tough women in the field this year. We overcame quite a few obstacles, both small and large, to finish with a similar time to last year, but a fourth place finish(13hours and 45 minutes). How lucky am I to be able to experience something like this with my sister!
Team "Psychrophile" (Definition: a bacteria that thrives in very cold temperatures) showed an awesome performance. They also overcame a demoralizing obstacle that you will have to call about to get more details. Nonetheless, they kept their attitudes up and finished well within their projected goal. Chad ran a tight ship, and Chip found a new source of motivation in keeping up and pushing himself for the team(12hours and 12 minutes).
(The haggard bunch on Sunday, about to part ways in Colorado)
"Winning isn't always finishing first. Sometimes winning is just finishing."---Manuel Diotte
