September 4, 2015
Big Sky, Montana
This was a lesson in stupidity. Gabriel felt he needed to secure points in the US Skyrunning Series and he had an open weekend, albeit a tight window to travel. So, he thought it would be a good idea to red-eye a flight to Big Sky, Montana for the Lone Peak VK, as part of the RUT weekend, an iconic and quickly growing bucket list event.
He arrived late, drove 2hrs to a hotel, wasn't checked in until 3AM, then attempted to wake up and race on an empty stomach with no sleep. It was a recipe for disaster. On the warm-up, he felt his heart rate was through the roof. He wasn't recovering at 8-9:00/mile pace. Hmm, this would not be good.
The gun sounded among a plethora of professionals, including the rising firestorm that is Remi Bonnet. Gabriel ran up alongside him at the half mile mark and figured, "I can run with him..." That was short lived, as Gabriel's battery completely drained and he was forced to walk from the first mile to the third mile in absolute misery, even stopping to sit on a rock and contemplate life. Thankfully, he finished up, about 20-min slower than usual. He had learned his lesson. Never again.
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