Peak 50 mile

Now I understand that I may be a few days late in posting my experience with with race but better late then never. I worked all day Friday and was released around 1 P.M. I had an opportunity to head home before my 6:30 P.M flight.
I grabbed what I needed and headed out on my journey to Burlington. I had a layover in Philadelphia, and landed Burlington just after 10:30. After working with the rental car agent for about a half an hour I grabbed my rental car. I soon realized I had forgotten my GPS... All the same I used my phone to guide me.
I arrived in Pittsfield a few minutes after 1 A.M. and tried my best to get my bearings straight before calling it a night. I spent what seemed like minutes in the car before hearing my alarm I had set go off. 4:45 already...
I changed out of my clothes and put on my running clothes. The rain had already been coming down for an hour or two and was not looking forward to it.
I put the car in drive and headed toward the Amee Farms Barn to pick up my race packet. I had no trouble finding it and was ready to get on with it.
I nervously paced and collected myself. Soon enough the race brief was held. I barely paid attention as I scanned the runners gathered. Seconds later we were brought across the street to where he planned on starting the race.
There was a count down and we were off into the dawn. I knew after starting the race on a hill there wasn't much hope for a flat race. Soon the pack of runners who had scaled the hill were spreading out. I tried my hardest not to go out fast, but I have a natural excitement at the start of a race pushing me on.
I did not look at my watch until someone had asked me around mile 6. I still felt fresh and excited. Although there were more hills than I expected.
Although the miles went by agonizingly slow I felt decent mentally and gradually waned physically. Eventually on a bushwhacking section I came upon a decently good spirited pair Cherrie and Phil. Little would I know I would be playing tag with them for the majority of the race.
Little by little the miles ticked by and I would constantly run out of food, water or both. Surprisingly few aid stations had food.
Around 8 P.M I ran into an aid station at mile 47. I received a back rub and a kingly treatment. I soon felt better and decided to finish the race up. So at the highest speed manageable I tore through the course before nightfall.
Night finally fell and I was forced to bring out my headlamp. I carefully began to sleuth through the woods looking for clues that I was heading in the right direction. Back and forth I wound around the hills towards the finish line.
After heading upwards towards the finish I became slightly confused when I completely lost any form of marking. The trail had gone cold... What do I do now? I began yelling out of sheer frustration and began to head toward the direction I felt the trail was naturally leading... Nothing. After an hour or two of back and forth searching I didn't find any defining clues. I decided at this point it was too risky to head in any direction I could not be sure of, so I sat down. I thought for a moment what the best course of action would be, I came up with the idea that I could just wait for either someone to come by or the sun to rise. It became less about the race and more about finding my way to my car. Eventually after sleeping a short while, I heard voices in the distance. I quickly began yelling... I'm here I'm here. They quickly shouted back and I moved towards their voices. Soon enough I saw them, I was saved. Andy Weinberg approached me hugged me and asked me if I was okay. I told him I was and he asked me what to do now. I told him I still wanted to finish and that I would run if he showed me the way. He obliged and we took off, and asked me about how far I had been and I showed him. Supposedly I was actually following the right way for a while when I was doubtful I was heading in the right direction. I finally went around a corner and there it opened up! I was there, I was at the finish. I was very relieved, and there was plenty of people overjoyed to see me. I sat down and was flooded by people waiting to talk about what I had encountered. I told them about not being sure of where I was going and deciding to stay where I was. I took in some food and birthday cake. I showered up and decided to head straight to the airport. I slept a couple of times getting there and almost missed my plane. I finally made it back to Baltimore around Noon. Trail running/ Ultra Running is an adventure... Thanks to everyone who was involved in finding me and making me feel better when I made it back.