Respect for the race

“This stuff happens, but it has never happened like this to me before. I ran for about 40km of the race, and I felt really good and comfortable on the first section of the course. But, at about this point, I had a huge dip in energy and started puking, feeling dizzy and feeling like I was going to bonk. I threw in some stuff to get out of it, and it didn’t help. Then, the wheels completely went off at about 55km. I puked more, got even more dizzy and then started to cramp like crazy. I had to walk the last 15 or so miles, but decided to finish the race out of respect of the race and because I felt like I needed too. This was bound to happen someday, and it helps me respect this sport even more. I will learn to be more prepared. It might have been not being fully recovered from the Zion FKT three weeks ago or maybe other things like the course being really tough. I hope to come back and get redemption. I am still learning a lot about ultra marathons.” – HOKA Athlete Hayden Hawks on the Transvulcania Ultramarathon