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terrain March/April 2022
past me in the middle of the night." Belleville resident Kristi Pashia nabbed second place in the individual category at the October event, clocking in at 69.1 miles ATCF. She did it in 22 hours. She left home at 4 p.m., made her way to IL-177, and headed due east, her dog Piper acting as her running mate until mile 9. "That was enough miles for her," Pashia said. For much of the route, Pashia's friends took turns running with her. Overnight, for her safety, was the most critical time to have companions. A few would join at a time, then drop off as others arrived. My husband, Sean, shuttled people for me. He did hours and hours of driving to get people back to their cars," she said. The next day, at mile 45, Pashia was out of food and very low on water. That's when she decided to walk. I knew if I ran, I would need more water, and the next gas station was too far - mile 55 or 58. I walked and walked, and finally got to the gas station," where the potato chips were the best she'd ever tasted. Pashia tapped out near a cemetery in Stratton, Illinois. Driving home with her husband at 75 mph on the same route she had just run, was just bonkers. I couldn't even believe I did it. It didn't seem real," she said. If she does it again, Pashia says she will plan her nutrition better, so she doesn't run out of fuel. She says the race wasn't as wildly difficult as she thought it would be. She encourages people to try it. Even if you don't want to do the whole 24 hours, just go out, test yourself, and try it," she said. "Just walk out your front door and give it a go." You'll have your chance this fall. The next 24HfH Challenge is scheduled for October 6-9, 2022. More information and tales from past events can be found at 24HfHChallenge.com.
CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE:
The Grafton Ferry transports Amy Jeffers from Missouri to Illinois (AMY JEFFERS) ; Sara Fingerhut and Tasha Murphy somewhere west of St. Louis (SARA FINGERHUT) ; Rosemary LaRocca manages a smile after many miles in central Illinois. (ROSEMARY LAROCCA)
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