Jason called and spoke with Timo last night (Wed. 4/18). Day 5 is over. It was a hard one. Jason completed only 31 miles, 13 miles short of his goal. It took him 11 hours. The way was rough, wet, and rocky with bogs and streams to cross. No sounds or sightings of wolves yet, but Jason saw some bear paw prints on the trail. Along the way, Jason met Eugene and Sylvia, hikers who were welcome company.
Tom Bunk made some hot soup by cooking it on his car engine. Supper last night was another hamburger and a sundae. Jason and Tom stayed overnight in
Medford, WI,Wednesday night.
Jason's ankles are sore. Jason's plan for tomorrow (Thursday) is to conserve some time and energy by skipping the Timm's Hill spur and staying on the main Ice Age Trail.
I gave Tom Bunk a call this morning to see how Wednesday (4/18) went for Jason.
Jason stopped about 7 miles short of the goal yesterday. By the end of the day he had some swelling above his ankles due to some tendinitis. Tom had Jason put his legs in a nearby stream for about 20 minutes when he stopped, and then later they iced his ankles. By this morning, Thursday, the swelling was down. For those not familiar with ultra-ultra running, this situation is not out of the ordinary.
They picked up some ankle braces last night and this morning Tom taped him up and sent him on his way, along with pacer Bob Rush - I know from experience that a pacer will be much appreciated and very helpful to Jason today.
Jason is just going to listen to his body and Tom said they may go a little shorter today if needed to ensure that they can continue to put in miles every day.
Good luck Jason!
