The Other Side of the Wall by Mario Reynoso

Author:Mario Reynoso
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Babelcube Inc.
Published: 2019-01-29T16:00:00+00:00

The following Tuesday morning I was taking my daughters to school, and on the way Camila asked me: “What does that sign say, papa?” “That is the speed limit. It says you can’t go faster than forty kilometers per hour.” “So why did you run one hundred on Saturday?” Why did I do it? I couldn’t answer her question. I signed up on an impulse and more than once had asked myself what I was doing. Why did I want to prove to myself that I could do it? To inspire others? For the feeling of crossing the finish line? Because I like recognition from others? To overcome my fears? To be healthy? To have a goal? But while I was thinking about this Camila answered her own question: “Oh, I know. You ran one hundred because you love running.” I sure hope so, Camilita.

CHAPTER 10

WESTERN STATES, ONE HUNDRED MILES IS POSSIBLE

First eighty kilometers, then two months later one hundred... what's next? Western States.

In 1955, Wendell T. Robie and five other riders rode their horses on the one-hundred mile trail known as the Western States, from Squaw Valley to Auburn in California, proving their horses could cover that distance in one day. After that Wendell created the Western States Trail Foundation and every year organized the Western States Trail Ride, also known as the Trevis Cup. One hundred miles in one day. In 1974, Gordy Ainsleigh, who had participated in and finished the Trevis Cup in 1971 and 1972, prepared to do it again, but his horse got injured. Gordy thought he might try to run it, so he invited a friend and took him to the Western States Trail, where they ran thirty miles of the route. Gordy asked his friend: “Do you think I can run one hundred miles?” And his friend answered: “I can’t believe you’d be so foolish. Not only do I think you can't do it, I don't think that anyone is capable of doing it.” And for Gordy, that is what made it more interesting.

Gordy had never run a marathon, and when he ran the one hundred miles in 1974, there were no bottles or the backpacks used today to carry the water necessary to hydrate runners during such a race. The temperature at the bottom of the Western States canyons is higher than forty degrees Celsius; Gordy only drank water from the rivers, and got extremely dehydrated. When he got to the bottom of the first canyon at mile 45, he saw a horse dying. The rider had ridden him into the river to drink, but the horse died of dehydration and fatigue. It was at that moment that Gordy understood that if a horse had died, then his life was at risk, and he thought about abandoning the run once he got out of the canyon. But when he climbed the mountain out of the canyon he decided to keep going. Later, when night fell, he decided he didn’t want any more

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