Page 128 of See You at the Finish Line

“You love me!” Adam calls back. He is way too chipper after four days of running and climbing. I cannot give him the satisfaction of winning.

I pick up my pace, relying heavily on my poles to keep me upright and immediately regret it, but I cannot let him beat me. There are only eighteen miles left and because I now live in Canada, my brain immediately converts that to thirty kilometres. I can do thirty kilometres in my sleep.

Good thing too, because I feel like I’m about to fall asleep. We could have pushed hard through the night to make it to the finish line, but we wanted one last night together in the desert. We found a decently protected spot and slept.

Maybe I shouldn’t have let him rest that much because Adam’s perfect ass is getting farther ahead of me, and I cannot have that.

I have to admit, I’m glad we’re doing this, even though I want to stab him right now, my legs screaming at me as we stumble over the uneven rocks. Being back in Utah feels good. The sun beats down on my neck and I feel dry, even though that may have more to do with the fact that I’m dehydrated.

It’s an inevitable part of running an ultra. It doesn’t matter how much liquid you take in—a four-day race in the desert is going to dry you out. This year specifically is so much drier than three years ago when we firsttried to do it.

There have been no torrential downpours, which means no muddy rock slides to navigate. No scummy friends ratting us out and no mountain lions trying to eat us. We did celebrate the moment when we made it farther than last time and had sex in the desert.

As Adam predicted, the rocks did dig into my back and neither of us had a ton of energy, but the stars were so bright and it was very romantic.

If you’re interested in having sex in the desert, I would recommend going glamping, not waiting until day two of an ultramarathon. Still, the conditions didn’t take away from the toe-curling orgasm I had. I was smart about it and made Adam do all the work, depleting his energy and keeping mine. A truly win-win situation for me if I do say so myself.

The race has been so great and so challenging. There’s been blood and tears, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’ve spent a lot of time healing over the last year. Adam has helped me through each of my panic attacks, holding me when I need him to and arguing with me when I’m being stubborn. So far I’ve only had two episodes this whole race, and seeing my sister at the aid stations quickly put me at ease.

She was there waiting for me with Levi safely in her arms, ready to show me the pictures Shay sent of our pups back home.

We added another dog to the house, another Newf of course. Her name is Penny. I know Adam is hiding a cat somewhere, who he named Bond. I’ve heard him talking to it multiple times and phantom meows haunt my dreams. Every time I sneeze I look forthat damn cat, but Adam insists it’s not there. It is though. Iknowit.

The thought of the secret cat propels me forward. Looking at my watch, I savour the little thrill that shoots through my exhausted body. Only five kilometres to go. Adam has been ahead of me this whole leg and now’s my chance. I speed up and it takes me about a kilometre to pass him because by speed up I mean shuffle my feet faster.

“Ugh,” he grunts as I smack his ass.

“Such a charmer.” I leap up to place a kiss on his dirty, gritty face and then blow right past him. Read: shuffle my feet even faster. I hear him try to chase me, but my feet are moving, he doesn’t have the time to catch up now.

“See you at the finish line,” I call back. It’s our favourite way of rubbing in our wins.

Adam

Finish Line 240 mi/ 386.24 km

Paige is so giddy when she yells back to me. I hope it uses up too much energy. But it looks like she’s got the finish line in her sights, giving her a thousandth wind. It’s like the second wind for a normal race, but since we’ve been racing for over four days, a thousand seems more accurate.

I grit my teeth and try to catch up to her. I was doing so well on this leg and there are only three kilometres left. That’s only half an hour, maybe a little longer. I know I don’t have it in me to speed up and I hate it. Doesn’t stop me from trying, but every time I increase my speed, I swear Paige moves her feet that much faster.

I can’t catch her.

I rethink my plan. It’s going to have to be different than what I’ve been imagining for a year, ever since I suggested we redo this race. And for the last ninety-eight hours, it’s all I’ve been able to think about. I almost ruined it the day we found out we won our entrance.

I didn’t tell her I called the race officials, telling them our story in the hopes they’d guarantee us a spot. They did.

Hopefully, Mateo will see her cross first—I swear she has this energy because she made me work hard for her desert orgasm—and he’ll know I had to switch things up. I cannot wait to hear him say I told you so.

Paige has wanted this win for so long. It’s been the source of so many fantasies for her. I know she has more dreams about winning than anything else. My competitive side is so irritated she’s about to pull it off, but the side of me that loves her (really it’s all of me, but the competitive guy is cranky at the moment) is so thrilled for her.

“Go get it, sweetheart!” I use up what little energy I have left to call up to her.

I hear the cheering begin as spectators come into sight. We’re so close and my heart rate goes wild. I didn’t know it could beat this fast after this much exertion but I’m almost there. I see Leah and Levi waving, and Isabel screams as loud as she can.

Mateo’s flop of brown curls bouncing up and down beside them as they cheer Paige on. I know my brothers would be here if theycould, but Liam and Dana have their baby at home, and Simon and Jake are waiting to hear back from their adoption agency.

Isabel’s cheering is always the loudest. She has perfected being a race spectator. When I find her in the crowd, I do a double take. My mom and dad are here—I didn’t know they were coming. My dad’s smile is huge as he cheers Paige on.

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