Rocky Road Endurance Runs

When Brady decided that he was going to run from Fallbrook to our house, I assumed it was something he thought he would do far off in the future, or honestly, hoped he would give up on the idea. I would drive home and notice all the spots in the road where he would be a bug on a windshield if a driver made a mistake. I noticed every hill and every weird cliff that would have me in the fetal position. I hoped he would change his mind and decide it was a bad idea. When he came up with an exact date, I swallowed hard, prayed, and asked how I could help.

So on February 10 he set out on his grand adventure. He rocked it... big time. That created the need for something more. Something big. In came the idea for Rocky Road Endurance Runs in Coto de Caza, CA. RR is put on by Charlie Alewine, our favorite race director. The 100 mile option was all Brady had in mind.

We went to Orange County for the pre-race dinner on Friday night and spent the night at my Uncle's house. After a fitful night of sleep we made our way to the start of the race. I was very excited for Brady to get going. I know the anticipation can really drive you crazy before the race.

Before long we met up with our Jester friend Ed and the race began. I nervously stood around thinking of Brady and hoping the race would go well.


Soon our friend Rudy arrived. It was nice to have him to talk to before his race (the half marathon) began. It was cold, but everyone seemed to be in high spirits as the different races began (Rocky Road includes a 100 mile, 50 mile, marathon, and half marathon). Rudy’s race started and I was back to hanging out and helping out the volunteers at the start/finish. Rudy would go on to kill the competition and become the Rocky Road Half Marathon Champion.


Brady came through at mile 15 looking good (2 hours 30 minutes). He changed out his hand-held water bottle and was off again for miles 15 - 30.

At mile 30 Ed and Brady were back and smiling. They asked for sun screen, refills of water, and grabbed a snack or two. I told Brady I was going to leave and see the kids. They had stayed with my Uncle Lewis in Orange. He gave me a scared look and seemed unsure about me leaving. I called and Colby decided he didn’t want me to pick them up. It was best as sitting out there was not exciting and there was little we could do to help. I decided lunch and coffee was necessary, so I drove until I found a Starbucks that just happened to be right next to a Panda Express. I called Martha (Jester’s wife) to get her order and the couple of Maniacs at her aid station. I took the food to them at the 5 mile aid station and hung out until I saw Brady and Ed fly through for mile 40.


Brady and Ed at mile 40

At some point I went back to the start/finish to wait for Brady to arrive for mile 45.
I was talking to our friend Ryan and the kids on the phone when an absolutely amazing thing happened. Up walked Brady’s friend and fellow Marine, Manny and his girlfriend Cami. I was so happy to see them. He wanted to run with Brady! So we jumped in the car and drove out to about mile 46 - 47 and Manny got out to run. Brady’s reaction was priceless. He was so excited and touched that Manny was there. It was very special to witness. What we didn’t know is that Brady had been praying for strength and help from God when Manny showed up. God is good. All the time!

When Manny and Brady came in for mile 60, Brady was hurting and tired. His feet were throbbing, so we changed out his shoes from the Brooks to the Nikes. Manny decided to run one more lap with him (15miles), and I knew he was going to need me after that. I told Cami that I was going to bed in the car and try to get some sleep before they came back in. It was cold by this point. I would guess it was about 7:30.

At 8:00 pm I closed my eyes and did my best to sleep. I was having a hard time turning off my brain and relaxing. I was worried about Brady and worried about being out there with him. I hoped to be what he needed me to be.

At about 11:45 Brady and Manny came in at mile 75. Brady was not looking good. Manny said he was moving very slowly and had taken a nap on the concrete at mile 67.5. We took his shoes off and realized he had horrible blisters between his big and second toes. I asked the cook if he had something sharp for the blisters. Not only did he bring over scissors, he gloved up and took care of them himself. We got his socks back on, some soup in his belly, said goodbye to Manny and Cami, and we took off for miles 75 - 90. Soon after we started Brady said to me, “I don’t think I can do this.” I told him he was not allowed to think that way for even a second. It didn’t matter if he had to crawl, we were finishing this.


Brady and Manny - Mile 75

The miles clicked by slowly. Brady was in pain, exhausted, and doubting himself. There were many times that I would look up at him and realized he was actually sleeping while we walked. At mile 79 we found a park bench and Brady took a nap. It was a very creepy feeling to sit out in the dark in the middle of the night. Bull frogs seemed to be my only companion. After a few minutes another runner came up. He talked a bit and took off again. After my alarm went off I woke Brady up and we set off again. We trudged up the path ever so slowly until we reached the fire station and the last time Brady would have to go up that far. This was mile 82.5. After a potty break and a letter from a child that the volunteer read to Brady, we took off again. I tried to encourage Brady and help him realize it was a huge accomplishment to be done with the 15 mile loops. He would make his way to mile 90 and then a shorter 10 mile loop to finish.

As time went on, I was panicking a little. I was scheduled to volunteer at 7:00 and I also needed to pick the kids up before then. The round trip to Uncle Lewis’ house would take me an hour. I knew it would be close. Brady shuffled through the miles and kept doing the math and realizing time was slipping away. The other thought pounding in my head was that I was going to have to leave Brady alone again. I wasn’t sure how that would work. He was an exhausted mess.

As we arrived at mile 90, we decided that he would take a nap and between that and the sun rising, he thought he would feel good enough to finish on his own. Before jumping in my car I asked our friend Ryan Launder to help Brady remember to get up after 20 minutes.

I raced to Orange to pick the kids up. My plan was to grab them up and race back. Mimi had other plans. As soon as I walked in, she starts asking for breakfast. 20 agonizing minutes later, we were on the road.

Meanwhile, what was going on at RR was not what I expected. Brady did not take a nap. Instead, he left mile 90 right after I did. Ryan was another angel from Heaven and decided to shuffle with him. When the kids and I arrived at mile 95, I was completely amazed to see Brady moving rather well and Ryan by his side! Colby set off with them for the last 5 miles. Mimi and I went down to the finish to await their arrival and to volunteer for Charlie.


Mile 95

Colby called me at 8:00 and told me that Brady wasn’t doing well. I sent him a picture of the buckle and told him to ‘come get this’.


The following texts followed:

9:03 am
Colby: 2.5 to go. Dad is hurting bad.
Me: What hurts? Can I do anything?
Colby: Calves and he said he’ll be fine.
Me: Love you Brady. You are steps from being done!
Brady (through Colby): Thanks. Love you. See you soon.

9:19 am
Me: Believe in you!
Colby: less than a mile to go. Ryan is really entertaining him.

9:30
Less than .5 to go.

Less than 10 minutes later, I saw the most amazing thing. Brady was running. Hard. After 99.5 miles, he was running up the last small hill to the finish. Ryan, Colby, and Mimi were by his side. It was beautiful. Brady crossed the finish in tears and fell into the arms of Rob, the other race director. For about 2 minutes he stayed there, seemingly unable to move. Charlie got him a chair and Rob carefully sat him down. Colby put his buckle on his leg.



Brady did it. 100 miles. 27 hours, 26 minutes. 1 buckle. 4 pacers. One amazing journey. His heart and drive amazed me. His tenacity inspired me. He is my hero!