Sunday, June 25, 2017

Western States 100 miles for Shavi - June 24-25, 2017 - 26:09 hours

This was the year with weird weather. Lot of snow on the course and then lot of sun and heat later in the course. Shavi did great in that weather, still finishing 15 mins faster than his last PR. Lot of drop outs that year. Having not trained to run in snow on the trails made it a hard race. He slipped various times but thankfully returned to the finish line safe. He started with his sleeve cuffs on and then went on to a shirt with holes that could let his skin breathe more.

Brandon and Whitney crewed him along with Alicia and Keith. Both the runner ladies were pregnant but still they crewed him in that heat. Brandon and Keith paced Shavi this year.

I saw him at Michigan Bluff and Foresthill with W. Our friend Sandeep and his bro-in-law Rahul traveled all the way from bay area to see Shavi at finish line. They came only for a few minutes all the way. I did not bring Waaris with me this time at the finish line as it would have been quite early to wake him up when he was with A & C and take him all the way to Auburn. Sleepless nights for everyone involved and a whole big crew, endless endurance and training on the runner's part plus the determination and will power - is what a 100-mile race is about.