Earlier this month as I followed Debbie’s race in Wales, I was filled with a mix of crazy emotions. It was rare for me to be so far away while she was tackling one of her big adventures. She was on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, more than 3,100 miles away in the United Kingdom. She ran the mountainous spine of Wales from Conwy on the north coast, to Cardiff on the south coast, as part of the Dragon’s Back Race.
She had never done a race this far away without our support. I faced the extra stress of thinking about her race while juggling my normal worries at work and my role as the sole parent to a couple of teenagers during their first week of the school year. If you are new to this blog, then you should know that in our household, she does the running and I do the writing.
For those reasons, we agreed that I would write her race report, but that it would take a few weeks. There were different ways that I could write about this, but the best for me was to interview her, take notes, and then retell the story. Since I wasn’t at the race, I needed to hear the details. We decided to build an outline and then cover each day in chronological order. I wanted to capture her feelings and emotions, so I’ve interspersed the story with some of those thoughts. I have also shared a bit about what was going on at home, and what we were thinking while tracking her. Note that she provided most of the photos. All are credited to her unless noted otherwise.
At breaks and lunch, I would check her progress with the live tracker on either my laptop browser or app. When I got up in the morning around 5:15 A.M., she was already three or four hours into each stage. It worked out that she was finishing each day between noon and 3:00 P.M. eastern time. On four of the days, including the final day, I was able to monitor her progress, estimate her finish time, and then view the live stream. There was no sound, but it was wonderful to see her cross the line. It was a huge relief and then I could go about the rest of my day. Typically in the hour or so after her finish, I would get a text message with a brief update. Seeing the race organizers’ daily news updates, photo galleries, video summaries, and other online content was a great way to stay connected to the race. It wasn’t just Debbie I was rooting for. I was cheering for all of the runners and interested in their progress.
While Shepard, Dahlia, and I were following her progress, I was posting about it on social media which generated lots of comments, support, and excitement. Over the course of the week, I only got a few text messages from Debbie. Her days were very full. On Day 5 of the race, she mistakenly “butt dialed” me. I yelled into the phone and was able to get her attention. We exchanged a brief word, but that was the only time I spoke with her during the race. While she was away, I stayed in touch with other family members and friends, including my parents and Debbie’s parents.
After one of the stages, I phoned Mrs. Schieffer, or Momma S. as I affectionately call her, to find out what she thought of this gnarly race. I asked her if she worried about Debbie and if she knew what made her tick.
I asked, “Where does her drive come from and why does she push herself so hard?”
I’ve asked Mrs. Schieffer the “worry question” before. She said that she does worry, but that she doesn’t dwell on the risks. Otherwise, it might worry her more. She knows that Debbie is fiercely independent and truly capable of doing amazing things. I’ve known Debbie’s mother for 24 years and she is also a tough cookie. She has spectated and crewed several times, so she has seen Debbie in rough shape.
She isn’t a runner herself, so it is difficult for her to comprehend how hard these races are. Unless you have run or hiked 50, 100, 200, or more miles across mountains in wicked conditions, you can only guess what it feels like. Other than Debbie’s parents, I probably know her best. I also have the perspective of someone who has done many adventures with her.
I still wanted her mom to explain it to me. I wanted to know if there was something in Debbie’s DNA or some experience in her childhood that sparked this desire and ability to dig so deep. Mrs. Schieffer said of Debbie, “She was a determined girl. She has the mindset that it takes. She pushes through pain like Paul (her father).”
She went on to say, “He has always done very physical work. Around the house, Debbie did too. She was always outside. Her superpower is her toughness. Also, she was spunky. She has two brothers (Paul and Tommy) and that probably played a role.”
When I sat down with Debbie last week after she returned home, I asked, “Why did you want to do the Dragon’s Back Race?”
She said that she always wanted to do a multi-day stage race. Doing research a few years ago, she learned about this one. When we were at Mt. Tammany 10 in 2022, race director Alex Papadopoulos mentioned it, and it intrigued her. She had been talking about running a stage race for a long time. She thought it would be fun to challenge herself in an event like this in a different country.
She told me, “I like to do hard things and go to places I’ve never been. This race checked all those boxes.” She said the multi-day desert races like Marathon des Sables were an option, but ultimately, she chose this one because the terrain looked interesting.
“Being in Wales intrigued me. It was not extreme regarding heat or elevation. Wales is on the same latitude and tends to have weather like New England. It wasn’t that hard to get there. It was a place I was somewhat familiar with,” she said.
First run in 1992, Dragon’s Back had a 20-year hiatus before returning in 2012. It started out small but has become quite a production, especially in the last few years. It has been held six times since 2012 including last year, this year, and it is planned again for 2024. I’ve never seen a race hyped more than this one. The race organizers understand marketing and they leverage that strength with excellent video, photo, and digital promotion.
The six-day 232-mile (380km) course with 57,087 feet (17,400m) of vertical gain features the crazy rugged terrain between Conwy and Cardiff. These are the distances and amount of climbing assuming you make no wrong turns and follow the recommended route. The organizers make it a point to say that “this is not a trail race.” They refer to it as a “mountain race.” There are very few defined trails. You must navigate on your own as there are no markings. The recommended route, which on the map is highlighted in yellow. Each runner used a combination of GPS watch/device, the Avenza map on a smartphone, and regular old paper maps.
There are sections called mandatory routes and they are highlighted in orange. These are required because of private property requirements or safety reasons. Through the course of the day, you must hit checkpoints in the order that they are numbered. The recommended route is typically the most sensible way to go. To register at a checkpoint, you had to get within a foot of the orienteering flag that housed a transponder which would connect with the GPS device fastened to your pack.
Debbie did a lot of research before registering. She said the information about the race was very thorough. Several times, she contacted the organizers directly via live chat. They responded promptly. She didn’t sign up until after doing a Zoom call with Alex to learn more about his experience when he finished the race in 2021. She contemplated it all winter and finally signed up in March. She said that she held off for a while because she was worried about what I would think. It wasn’t an ideal time of year to be away from the family and from work. She is the Bolton Center Middle School Cross Country coach, and our kids are students at Bolton High School. Everything was kicking off the last week of August and first week of September, right when she had to travel to Wales, but she believed it would work just fine.
Her build-up to Dragon’s Back Race didn’t go as planned, but it in the end it worked out. The original plan included training for and then doing the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100. She expected to recover from Massanutten and then carry that fitness through the summer with a couple of longer back-to-back training runs.
What she didn’t anticipate was an ankle injury suffered in late April that persisted through May. Massanutten was May 20th. She had to quit at 38 miles because she couldn’t put any weight on her leg. I remember her hobbling into an aid station and realizing there was no way she could continue. She didn’t run for two weeks but she rode her bike, walked, and got some therapeutic massage on the troublesome ankle. She also used a muscle stimulator, stretched, and did self-massage. She kept a positive attitude, but I was worried and wanted her to pull out of Dragon’s Back. I encouraged her to ask about a deferral, but she was confident that this wasn’t a chronic injury and was something she could overcome.
She said, “I was able to get enough miles in during the summer and I did several FKT’s on Ascutney, which helped me gain confidence.”
Some of those miles came in the form of cross training. She made a few White Mountain hiking and trail running trips. She did one trip with Shepard and one trip with Dahlia; they climbed several 4,000 footers during those adventures. She commuted to work by bicycle at least once a week. She also did nine of the 10 Winding Trails Summer Tri Series events. Winding Trails is an off-road sprint triathlon that combines swimming, mountain biking, and trail running. This gave her some good intensity training.
Mt. Ascutney in Windsor, Vermont has become her favorite training grounds. The 3,144-foot mountain is technical and rocky. It has steep climbs like those that she faced in Wales. In early August, I joined her on the second of her big training runs. She went back a few weeks later and did an even tougher workout, setting the Ascutney All 5 Trails Up & Down Fastest Known Time (FKT). This took her 10.5 hours, which was about the time she would be on her feet for each of the six stages at the Dragon’s Back Race.
Debbie said, “The last training run two and half weeks out was 13,000 feet of elevation gain in 30 miles on rough terrain and in foul weather. The ankle felt fine and the effort gave me a high sense of confidence.”
In the end, she said that she relied on her long, strong, and deep base from 24 years of ultrarunning. Of Dragon’s Back, she said, “This type of race has to do a lot more with mental strength and body care.”
She considered the logistics and getting all the right gear was as big a challenge as the training. “It was worrisome because there were things I didn’t understand,” she said. For example, they required a “tick removing kit.”
She said, “We live in the state where Lyme Disease was invented and we don’t own a tick removing kit. We have one now.”
Other required items included a special blister kit, and specific waterproof bags. She was worried about an ULTRA TRAIL Mt. FUJI type situation where she could get disqualified for missing a key piece of gear. When she did that race, the organizers were brutally strict and forced many of the top runners to stop when they failed gear checks mid-race. She was also worried about traveling to Conwy, failing pre-race inspection, and having to go out and find what she needed. She wanted to make sure she had everything so there wasn’t this feeling of anxiety the day. Some of the item names were confusing because they are called something different in the United States. She went through the list multiple times, placed orders at REI, visited CVS, and arranged Amazon deliveries. Alex was also helpful while she was preparing for the trip. She checked in with him several times.
She said, “I was emotional at departure. I was going to be away from everyone and that was hard, but it is good to go and do things that you want to achieve and do them on your own. It was hard to leave the comfort of the daily routine of being a mom and being a spouse.”
Traveling to the race venue was another part of the adventure. After I dropped her off at Bradley International Airport, she flew Aer Lingus direct do Dublin. From there she took a taxi to the port where she boarded a ferry. The boat ride took 4.5 hours as she crossed the Irish Sea to Holy Head in Wales. She took a shuttle bus from the ferry to the train station. She took a train to a town near Conwy. The final leg of the trip was a short taxi ride to the Airbnb that she rented for the two nights before the race start. She arrived early afternoon on the Saturday prior to the race, which started on Monday.
She said there were about 330 starters including about 65 women. Only 87 of them, including 18 women, finished the full course. The runners were housed in about 40 tents with eight people per tent. Women could choose to be in a co-ed tent and or an all female tent. Debbie’s tent was #9. Every runner was required to have identical dry bags/duffels sourced through the organizers. The 59-liter big bag had a 33-pound weight limit, and the smaller drop bag had a 5.5 pound weight limit. There were no straps, only a handle, so these were a pain to carry.
Each day, you would check in your bags before the start. The big bag would be waiting for you in your tent. The small bag would be taken to one of the two Support Stations on the course, and then after you accessed it, it would be transported to the finish line. The small bag would have your food for the day, extra socks, spare shoes, and any other gear that you might want while on the course. Debbie said that each night, when you collected your bag, a staff member would walk you to your tent like a concierge.
The runners were predominantly from the United Kingdom. There were some foreigners, including 15 Americans. Alyssa Clark and Debbie were the only two Americans to finish the full course. Alyssa had a fantastic race, finishing second female and seventh overall.
For the first time in its history, the race organizers created a shorter event called the Hatchling. Everyone started the full course, but rather than being forced to drop out with a DNF, anyone who missed an intermediate time cut, or the end-of-day time cut, would automatically be given the option to start the next day and do a shortened version of the race. Hatchling runners weren’t in the standings for a “Dragon.” Hatchling runners were given the option to do the first half or the second half of each stage. They could either run to the Support Station and then get shuttled to the finish, or get shuttled to the Support Station and run to the finish.
Debbie got a lot of questions from the locals. “You came over just for this?” they would ask. She would reply, “Have you seen the marketing? How could you not hear about it?”
She thinks there is a huge disadvantage if you don’t live in Wales or spend time on the course. Most of the runners she met had been on the course before. They did “recces” or reconnaissance runs. She noted that there are many shortcuts you can make and are allowed to take, but she didn’t know any of these. She soon realized that without the insider knowledge and with the strong competition, just finishing all the days would be her focus. Her biggest worry was navigation. The course is not flagged, but it ended up being just fine. I think one of her strengths is being able to show up at a race without specific course preparation and still find a way to get it done. When she finished Hardrock Endurance Run in 2017, she had never set foot on the course, but she wasn’t intimidated.
It turned out that we had better information at home. Her days were full and there was little time for her to track her own progress. Her 100% focus was on her running and recovery. She said, “You have no idea what is going on around you especially because everyone starts at separate times.” All runners started between 6:00 A.M and 9:00 A.M. but the later you start, the less time you had on the course. For those of us at home, we had access to the wonderful Dragon’s Back Race website and social media channels.
“Each day you come in to the finish, your focus is to get washed up and changed up,” said Debbie. Most evenings that would involve going to a water source like a brook, stream, or river. Each day the campsite had one of these. They had trough sinks to wash your dishes and fill your bottles, but you were not supposed to wash your bodies in them. She said she would wash her face and hands but went to the stream to rinse her full body.
Before 6:00 P.M. they served “chips” or French Fries as we call them in the USA. Once back at her tent following each day’s finish, she would set up her bedding (she brought a sleeping pad and a sleeping bag) wash up, and change into her evening clothes. Then she would get some dinner. While eating, she would collect her Dragon Mail. The organizers printed out comments and messages that were posted on each runner’s discussion board. These comments were visible to the public and Debbie found them to be motivational. She looked forward to getting her Dragon Mail at the end of the day.
Once dinner was finished, you had to wash your own dishes and utensils, which you provided. The race had strong sustainable principles that it adhered too and is a member of 1% for the Planet. Note: our family business, HORST Engineering, is also a member. Then you needed to get your pack ready for next day. This involved filling your hydration vest with water, food, and making sure your required gear was still packed. Debbie also had to charge her GPS watch and iPhone, which were both mandatory items. The organizers provided charging stations to help with this task, but she also brought a couple of Anker battery packs.
Most evenings, she would try to be a little social, but she found it hard. She would have liked to have gotten to know more people, but by the time you completed all your evening tasks, it was time for bed. Lots of people knew each other already. She did make a few friends, including one volunteer by the name of Collette. She said that the volunteers were awesome. Many of them were helping out in exchange for access and discounts towards a future edition of the race. Volunteers have a two-year window to register. Helping was another way of scouting/preparing for the event. Volunteers played different roles including cook staff, tent assemblers, equipment break down, Support Station helpers, and information table aids.
Debbie said that during the day there was only a small number of people that she ran with because they had the same pace. She recounted a guy named Will because he was easy to identify with his red dragon mohawk haircut. She mainly socialized with the people in her tent, but even that not much because they all went to sleep as soon as they could, which was by 9:00 P.M. on most nights.
In addition to her UltrAspire Zygos 4.0 hydration vest, she brought several other key pieces of gear. She used two pairs of running shoes. One pair of Altra Olympus 4.0 shoes and one pair of Olympus 5.0 shoes. She used Black Diamond Distance Z Trekking Poles. Having sunglasses and a hat was important because the Welsh mountains have no trees. Runners were exposed to the record heat and humidity.
She brought six different kits for each day. It was extremely important to have a fresh sports bra, shorts, shirt, and socks, which she also changed a few times at Support Stations.
It was 90 degrees Fahrenheit in the valleys and the late summer sun was baking hot. She said there was only a slight breeze on a few occasions and it was fantastic. It never rained, but one night there were some sprinkles. She said it was so warm that it didn’t even get you wet. For this reason, the organizers extended a special rule starting on Day 2 where runners were allowed to stop, rest, and cool off without the time (maximum 30 minutes) affecting their results. If you review the results, you will see a “bonus” adjustment. This is the actual time that the runner paused at the Support Station. This meant that the end of day cutoff was shifted to 10:30 P.M. (from 10:00 P.M) on Days 2, 3, and 4. On Day’s 5 and 6, they allowed two of these 30 minute pauses and the cutoff was pushed to 11:00 P.M.
Debbie didn’t want us to be fixated on her times and placings. She said not to worry. She was 100% focused on finishing and it didn’t matter to her if she was 9th or 10th woman or 2nd or 3rd in her age group. So many people had to drop out that she didn’t want to risk not finishing over going for a better result.
She repeated, “Finishing is what counts.”
One adventure compares with Dragon’s Back more than others. In 2020, Debbie and I did the entire New England Trail (NET) end-to-end with a bonus section from Monadnock. Debbie says this was different from what she just did in Wales. She considered the NET to be harder because of the sleep deprivation and the fact that we were carrying a lot more weight. We had to take care of ourselves, whereas at Dragon’s Back, she had a lot of support from the race organizes and volunteers.
She said it was nice to be catered to. All you had to do was worry about the running and getting from one point to the next. When recounting the race, she kept referring back to the trails. She said they were “hardly trails” and that the Welsh don’t maintain their tracks like we do in the USA. She said most were sheep paths. Many sections were overgrown with ferns, dotted with tufts of grass, and there were many rocks. She said the stone walls in Wales were stunning and a real nice part of the landscape.
She said that the food served at night was very good. They had amazing vegan and vegetarian meals (no meat was served at all). In addition to the chips, options included pasta with lentil sauce, salad, cole slaw, rice and korma, and soup. A different dessert was served each night.
Breakfast was baked beans, hash browns, tofu scramble, a waffle or roll, oatmeal, and fruit. There was a tent specifically for tea and it was available in the morning and in the evening.
Each runner had to bring food that they consumed during the day. She did shopping in advance and brought everything with her on the trip. This included Go Macro Bars, Pro Bars, Brami Beans, soy jerky, UnTapped maple syrup, and fruit gummies. On a few occasions when passing through a town, she bought potato chips and lemonade. She wishes that she brought more savory foods. Because of her travel logistics and the limit on what she could carry, she had fewer options to prepare her day food compared with the local runners.
She was well under the max weight. Every morning, they had a gear check and asked you to produce three things from your pack, such as waterproof pants, gloves, and a headlight. Only after you passed gear check would you be able hand in your drop bag and evening bag.
Day One | Monday 04 September 2023 | Conwy Castle to Nant Gwynant | 30.5 miles (49km) | 12,467 feet (3,800m)
“After the first day, I realized, I’m not racing this race,” said Debbie.
A mass start at the Conwy Castle was at 6:00 A.M. You had to run through the gift shop on your way out of the castle. Then the runners ran along the castle walls that circle the town. They did a neutral loop around the perimeter, then ran on to a town road, and then headed out into the mountains. The runners’ official time didn’t start until after they completed the castle walls loop.
There were lots of hills and fields. It went up a lot. There were amazing stone walls and she saw her first of many sheep on the course. She cut her finger on some barbed wire. There was a lot of fencing. Any time the runners passed through agricultural fields, there were many gates and stiles. The gates had to be opened and closed. The stiles were ladders that helped you cross different types of fences. She said there were hundreds of these over the course of the race.
There was only one Support Point and that was where her drop bag was located. The rest of the days had two Support Points, typically halfway and three quarters of the way. Your drop bag would be at one of the two points. The organizers decided which one.
She felt good and made it to the Support Point at her target time. After that, the race started getting really strung out. She made the first of her many wrong turns. This was a big part of the race. The section she tackled in the afternoon required a lot of hand over hand climbing. She said there was a “knife edge” like Katahdin, but ten times longer. She was surprised that it was that dangerous. It was very slow going because you had to pick your way. There were sheer drop offs on both sides. One side was worse than the other, but the drop off was hundreds of feet.
The runners hit a massive boulder field that was hard to navigate. They climbed Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. Like Mt. Washington, a cog railway goes to the top. She went into the restaurant at the top and bought a soda. At first, she almost bought a beer by mistake. It was labeled Snowdonia Ale. Thankfully she inquired what it tasted like before buying it.
That afternoon, she was all alone for a couple of hours. The descent to the finish was steep and painful on the quads. She bumped into another runner who was very helpful. There was no path and he helped her find the finish. She arrived just before 6:00 P.M., washed up in the river, had a nice dinner, and was in bed by 9:00 P.M.
Finish time: 11 hours, 55 minutes
Day Two | Tuesday 05 September 2023 | Nant Gwynant to Dolgellau | 36.5 miles (59km) | 11,155 feet 3,400m)
It got even hotter on day two. She stopped at a lot of stream and river crossings. She would soak her bandana in the water and put it on her neck. The terrain had more grassy hills than day one, but it was so steep that in some areas, it made more sense to sit on your butt and slide down. That took a lot of pressure off the quads. It was very windy and the runners were getting blown around.
She said she fell in a hole. The ground gave way. The guy behind me was like, “Whoa!” It was up to her knees. Thankfully she didn’t get hurt. She remembers going by a lot of old stone farmhouses. There were a lot of bogs. She fell in one up to her waist and had to climb out. Despite it being hot and dry weather, she said her shoes were wet most of the week. The grassy and boggy areas, especially in the first few days, were unavoidable.
The runners also went through a forest that was beautiful, lush, mossy and green. There were some beautiful mountain lakes. The running was very challenging. The fields were lumpy and full of tufted grass. She didn’t take as many photos that day. She said her stomach was a bit off. Thankfully, this is the only day with gastrointestinal issues.
Finish time: 12 hours, 59 minutes
Day Three | Wednesday 06 September 2023 | Dolgellau to Ceredigion | 43.5 miles (70km) | 11,155 feet (3,400m)
She had a good night of sleep. There were a lot of dirt roads, especially towards the end. It was really hot. She dunked in water whenever the opportunity presented itself. She also picked and ate a lot of wild blackberries.
She was all alone toward the end of the day. She made a bad error after getting a bad GPS reading. With less than two miles to go, she went down a steep slope, which turned out to be the wrong way. This was frustrating because she was ready to be done. She had to climb back up.
After she finished, she went to the river and dunked completely. Others said it was the coldest one on the entire course. She knew I would be really proud of her because she can’t stand cold water and rarely goes in above her ankles.
Finish time: 13 hours, 13 minutes
Day Four | Thursday 07 September 2023 | Through the Elan Valley | 43 miles (69km) | 7,546 feet (2,300m)
Relative to the distance, there was a bit less climbing on this day. There was a big climb to start, but then they ran through a pine forest. The hillsides were covered in windmills and the footing was very poor. It was very boggy. There were also several sections of long paved roads.
She felt OK, but it was tiring. It was hot again, but she was getting used to it and it wasn’t overwhelming. Like most days, she was around people for the first half of the day. In the afternoon, things got strung out. Thankfully she connected with an another runner who helped her navigate the last portion of the course. He had previously dropped down to the Hatchling.
In terms of other challenges faced, unfortunately, her menstrual cycle hit at the wrong time. This challenge is hardly a new experience for her given how much running and racing she has done, but it is never good when you have an “A race” and get your period at the same time. This week, it started on Day 1, so she was pre-menstrual during her travel. I’m sure this added to the pre-race emotions. By Day 4, her cycle had run its course. In the days leading up to the start, she worked to keep her immune system boosted because history said that her system was vulnerable at this low point.
On the good news front, her only stomach issues were on Day 2; her feet held up very well, and only started to hurt during Stage 4. Her only blisters developed on this day and they weren’t debilitating. She said she saw other runners getting treatment for major foot problems.
Throughout the week, Debbie maintained her health. By the end of this stage, her pee was very dark. She was a little worried about her hydration. Despite these challenges, she focused on her drinking more and was able to finish strongly.
Finish time: 11 hours, 46 minutes
Day Five | Friday 08 September 2023 | Into the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park | 43.5 miles (70km) | 10,499 feet (3,200m)
This was the first day that Debbie finished in the dark. The distanced ended up being more like 45 miles with more than 11,000 feet of vertical gain. This was the penultimate stage and it was a hard one. It took her more than 13 hours.
There was only a little road and it was all front loaded. The runners went through a town and then once they got on the other side, it was mostly off-road and remote. It was lots of grassy hill climbs and steep descents. There was a lot less water on the course, so when you crossed a stream, you stopped to soak. The views were majestic. Given that blisters had developed the day before, she worked extra hard to keep her feet dry during this long stage. She also used Compeed to cover the wounds.
She stopped to buy a Coca-Cola from a random woman who set up a table on the course. Debbie first thought that she was giving it for free, but it turned out she was selling them to the runners.
Towards the tail end of the stage, she summited Pen y Fan, the highest point in the national park. It was 2,907 feet at the top with amazing views. Debbie learned that this is where a lot of Welsh folks take their Tinder photos. It is notorious for bad weather, but on this day it was very good. It was getting towards evening and she had an amazing sunset.
This was a well-maintained path because it gets a lot of volunteer support. After the summit, the runners had a lot of ridge running over shorter peaks before descending to the final camp. She said she felt great and passed a bunch of people. This is the only time she needed her headlamp at night. There were 16 checkpoints and it wasn’t until the last one that she needed her light. The final section was on a sloppy wet trail along a river and then a little bit of road to the finish.
It may have been the latest finish, but it was the only day that she felt energized at the finish. She skipped washing in the river and just wiped down before having some dinner and going to bed for the final time.
Finish time: 13hours, 32 minutes
Day Six | Saturday 09 September 2023 |To Cardiff Castle | 39 miles (63km) | 4,265 feet (1,300m)
Debbie started this day a bit fatigued because she ran so hard at the end of the 5th stage. She wanted to relish the last day, so she went out conservatively. The route was a lot of farm paths. She saw a lot of sheep and horses and there was a lot less climbing. The terrain was grassy.
They ran through an old mining town on a bike path where the navigation was tricky. She stopped at a co-op which was very popular. I remembered seeing a video of the runners with shopping baskets in their hands.
She bought an iced tea and a bag of chips. It was on the steep climb following her shopping spree that she “butt dialed” me around 6:00 A.M. eastern time. I recall that she was in good spirits as it was the last day. I had been exchanging text messages with our friend Laura Becker who was also up very early with her baby, Liam. She had previously sent Debbie a motivational video of Liam ringing a cowbell. Liam’s Dad, who works second shift, was awakened buy the ruckus and said, “What the hell are you doing?!”
The final Support Point was at a pub on the outskirts of Cardiff. They ran by a castle (not the finish castle) where there was a wedding. The last section of the course leading to Cardiff Castle was through the city on a series of roads and paths. It was tricky to navigate, but she was with other runners and they helped each other out.
She pushed hard to the finish. She was mixing running and walking, but thought she would have to walk the final few miles.
She said, “I knew my kids were running a 5K today (their first XC race of the season) and I told myself that if they can run three miles, then I can run one more mile. So, I turned off the pain receptors and decided to run it in.”
You couldn’t see the finish and there were no signs, so she asked people that she passed. She thought to herself, “Oh my goodness, this is actually going to happen. It has been so hard.”
She said, “For the last half of the day, I was getting those feelings. This was something special.”
She said, “The emotions really started to bubble up in the last mile. I was getting there and I was finishing strong. When I saw the castle, I started tearing up. The overwhelmingness of the whole event and knowing that everyone was cheering for me back home (note that she started crying as she was telling me this!) got me choked up.”
She said, “Then you turn into the castle and run along cobblestones to the finish. There were many people lining the finish shoot. She slapped a whole bunch of kids’ hands.”
I was watching this on the live stream (no audio) from my office at work on Saturday morning. I grabbed my iPhone and recorded the moment by aiming the phone at my computer screen. Pearl Jam Radio was playing in the background. I gasped when she crossed the line. It was emotional for me too. You can’t hear the audio in the video because I had to strip it off. YouTube rejected my upload because of copyright infringement. So, all you see is the beautiful moment when she crosses the line. Use your imagine to hear the crowd applause, Pearl Jam, and my gasp.
Finish time: 10 hours, 00 minutes
She waived to the camera and then was gone, but shortly thereafter, she phoned me and we did a FaceTime video call. She was with Alex who was waiting to cheer her on and give her a hug. She carried his American Flag the final day. It was pinned to the back of her hydration vest. Alyssa was also there and I got to talk to Alex and meet Alyssa.
Cumulative finish time: 73 hours, 28 minutes
Post-Race
She hung out for about three hours. She got some chips and then dinner was served around 6:00 P.M. She didn’t bother changing up. Alex offered for her to stay at his Airbnb. The awards were at 7:30 P.M. and each runner got called up. She shook hands with the Race Director, Shane Ohly, and got her finishers trophy.
She saw a runner friend who was there with his mother. On Day 2, Debbie found a pair of sunglasses on the trail. She ran with them until she found the owner, checking with many runners along the way. Finally, a runner named James said they were his. He was ecstatic that she found them and so thankful because the sun was brutal. At the closing ceremony, James’ mom said, “So you’re the sunglasses lady. I heard you are here alone. I’ll be your Momma,” and she gave her a big hug.
Travel Back
Early on Sunday, she took a 5:45 A.M. Uber to Heathrow and picked the wrong terminal. She had to run a long way with her bags on her shoulder (straps would have been nice) and take a train to get to the right terminal and gate. She first flew to Dublin and then took a flight to Hartford. After a delay, I picked her up around 5:30 P.M. eastern time at Bradley International Airport. Dahlia joined me. We had already picked up vegan ice cream sandwiches and chocolate at Divine Treasures (stashing them in a cooler), and dinner from Simply Thai. She was famished. Her bags were stuffed with some very stinky running gear but the laundry could wait. We reunited with Shepard and had a family dinner at home. Despite the jet lag, she was energized.
Before she left Wales, people were astonished that she was going to head home right after the race. Most people take a few days to hang out and recuperate. She told them “I want to get back to my family.”
Life Adventures 
4 thoughts on “2023 The Dragon’s Back Race”