DNS, did not START.  Travel, lodging, meal planning – even bib pickup, but failed to START on race day.  GUTTED.

nicknamed ‘the Equality State’

Autumn hike on the Divide, late breakfast in Georgetown.  Barreled home, swapped out backpacks, dropped Ro at the kennel.  Hour-15 drive to Cheyenne, bib pickup deadline 5pm.  SUPER Saturday 😊Haven’t spent lotta time in Wyoming’s capitol city, never stayed overnight.  Hotel-splurged this trek, opting for a good nite’s sleep before Sunday’s inaugural Cheyenne Marathon.  Early 6am start.

‘though just a short drive from Colorado, Wyoming stands on its own.  Cowboy culture.  Cowboy boots, cowboy statues, cowboy museums, even a cowboy-ridden Bronc dons the state’s license plate.  Snapped Downtown shots of Cheyenne’s Wild West past.  State capitol though was a bust – under construction, who knew?  All signs pointed to a successful Wyoming x2 finish.

Alarm rang early.  Feverish all nite, not great sleeps – elevated temp would linger thru Tuesday.  Just PUSH through?  ARGH.  Run/not run, what to do?  Not STARTING, soooo much worse than DQ’ing/trying, coming up short.  Today: big MISS, runner FAIL.

Hotel check-out, early Colorado return.  Traffic-delayed downtown.  Street blocked, two runners slowly made their way across – shorts, headphones, eyes forward/focused/in the zone – that should’ve been ME.  STINGS, still stings — core of my soul 😡

Back-of-mind questions next race – after DQ’ing: will I finish or late-in-race drop again?  after DNS’ing: will I even show up?  Am I healthy enough to keep marathoning?  Should I skip my next flight & just stay home?  Have I aged out?  Do I now drop to Halves?  HEAD demons.

Week following, notta lotta running.  I’m a sore loser – or in this case, a sore ‘non-Starter’.

Maine next weekend.  Stephen just an hour-half away, will be good to see a friendly face 😊  Positive note?  New Denver doc/gastro specialist provided a full bag of meds, guidance/diet instructions.  Step closer.  Discovery, diagnosis, resolution.