Mike G's ultra hike adventure in the White Mountains

Marist Running Alum Mike Guarascio (Mike G) texted and emailed me these incredible photos and this information below several weeks ago, and I'm finally getting to post it here. Some great photos and details of an all-day hike/run in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. So much awesome terrain to cover right here in the Northeast/New England ... thanks to Mike for sharing it and for being an awesome, loyal Forever Fox. Here's his report:

Here is the summary on the "Pemigewasset (Pemi) Loop" run/hike I did recently. A link with some general info: https://www.trailrunproject.com/trail/7009842/pemi-loop

I've been running with the Runner's Alley team this year, which is a local chain of running stores in NH. A couple of the more mountain/ultra/trail oriented guys offered to take a group of local runners - 8 men and 1 woman - on this 50k run/hike which loops the Pemigewasset Wilderness and hits eight of the 4k+ foot peaks. We ran what we could, and otherwise hiked at a good clip - but also took lots of breaks to regroup, refuel (I carried and consumed 2400 calories and 2L of water with a couple refills!) and rest a bit. I ended up finishing in about 10hrs30min elapsed time, and surprisingly managed some "normal paced" miles to finish up on the flat trails at the end. For reference, one of the group leaders, a sponsored trail runner, just missed the "fastest known time" for the loop last year in about 6hrs15min. Most that hike it shoot for 2-3 days and camp out. It's a really tough loop with lots of granite, serious climbs and descents that really beat up your quads - but the views are worth it! The icing on top was soaking in the cold Pemi River afterwards. I've attached some of my favorite pics from the day below. I was wearing a Marist shirt and another hiker recognized me as a "Red Fox", so that was cool!

This was a fun way to kick off summer - something different before I start more focused training for the Chicago Marathon.