It has been 3 days since I was tapped out and I still haven’t stopped thinking about Barkley.
I was told that I would be a changed man. I believed what I was told, I just didn’t understand.
I see things a little differently. Certain areas of my life have come into greater focus.
The Barkley has changed me.
I thought I knew “hard”.
Nothing could have prepared me for what the Barkley so freely dished out.
The endless climbs.
The quad busting descents.
Bad Thing & Big Hell lived up to their names.
I wanted to quit, but knew the only way back was to continue forward.
Coming up Rough Ridge, the proverbial straw that broke my back.
Who would have thought 400’ would be so hard?
When I asked Laz to tap me out, he asked “Why?”; didn’t I want to continue?
“I’ve had all I could handle.”
No truer words.
The post “run” shower re-energized me, much like the descents gave my legs fresh life.
Maybe I could have made it to the top of Bird.
The walk up the road back to my camp reconfirmed my decision to drop.
It was the right choice.
Sitting around the fire until 4am sat night/sun morning was a highlight.
I learned that even the little I thought I knew, was nothing.
I want to go back.
265 days.
Thomas Armbruster
