Bigs World Championship: Thoughts from The Other Side

Keith put together his race report, and I wanted to lay out some thoughts from the crew side.

It’s hard to know where to start, and even harder to describe the experience over the last week in words.

Keith and I first talked in 2021 when I offered to crew for him at Bigs World Championship Backyard ultra, but due to the Covid travel ban, he wasn’t able to attend. Still not having met in person, I was thrilled when he asked me if I wanted to crew for him this year and we got to planning right away.

I arrived in Tennessee on Thursday, with a car packed full of equipment to get through race week. I am so grateful for Sarah & Andrew Moore for lending me a lot of their set up, cooking up a storm in food, and helping me pack up the car.

After a few trips to Walmart, catching up with friends, setting up the camp and getting a quick run around Laz’s trail loop Saturday rolled around before we knew it. In between nerves and some banter we were ready to go.

There was so much excitement in the camp before the start of the race. Everyone with their own hopes and dreams, settling in for the long run (pun intended). While Keith was out running I’d spend the down time cleaning up from the last loop, preparing for his upcoming time in camp, and chatting with some of the other crew. I instantly hit it off with a lot of the other girls around me, and we decided to name our zone ‘C Block’… C for Championship. We helped each other out, sharing supplies, sharing equipment, and many times sharing tears as the hours passed and we witnessed so many great efforts. I will never forget my time with these incredible women. I always say that at these races the best in human spirit is on display, and this was no exception.

Knowing that we were in for the long haul, the plan was that I was going to nap for a few hours during the days and leave Keith to look after himself. The last thing he would have needed late in the race was his crew useless. But we found that the rhythm of me meeting him at the corral each loop was working well.

Keith was like clockwork which made it really easy to plan and be sure to have food and drinks ready exactly when they needed to be. I found this particularly important when timing the tea… it’s not easy to drink when it’s either too hot or too cold. At night I would try to sleep for 15-20 mins each loop while Keith was running, which worked out really well. I used to joke that there would be a chorus of iPhone alarms going off in camp starting around the :35 past the hour and setting off at different times all the way up to the top of the hour. When Keith was napping I’d typically set my alarm to wake him up around 54/55 before the start of the next loop.

There were a few challenges that we needed to work through and pivot from the plan early on. The heat and the humidity is something that I’m used to in summer in Michigan, but not something that Keith could possibly train to in Ireland. It seemed like working together we were able to navigate those challenges and we had some really great chunks of time in between the low points. Coming off the night loops was hard every day but he pushed through. The times that Keith was putting in on the course, along with the consistency and his positive demeanor on the start line each loop masks a lot of the difficult periods. I have said so many times and I’ll say it again, watching Keith do what he does best is incredible, and I’m honored to have had the opportunity to take a front row seat in this journey.

We started as strangers, but we left as forever friends. Amazing when you think, because there was always the wildcard that we simply wouldn’t get on. Thank you Keith for taking a leap of faith in me and believing that I could do that it takes to crew you in one of the most important races of your career to date.

I also want to say a huge thank you to my husband Bruce for supporting me and holding the fort at home so that I could go on this incredible adventure.