It has been awhile since my last communication and a lot has happened on this whirlwind mission; i think going to the moon would have been easier!

A huge thank you to all for reaching out in support of my endeavor.

Let me begin with what suspended the trip - a grade 3 stress fracture of the right tibia. Coming home was both a feeling of failure and a relief but as you will read, there is a silver lining…

So from the top, I came home and went in to Mayo where an exceptional Dr. Shapiro guided me through protocol of getting through stress fracture safely. I knew i was in the right hands when he read the MRI and told me “disregard all the damage you have around the stress fracture as I’m sure this is just typical for ultra runners.” Next up was another exceptional practitioner - my PT Rob Coltman who got me working on specific strengthening and rehab exercises. I am firmly on the road to recovery and should be fully healed by end of May. The challenge is my ability to retain fitness so that I can get back to big mileage.

With the physical side trending in the right direction, there are a few other mission critical issues to resolve before i can consider resumption. First, Alex who has done an outstanding job as crew chief will need to move on to normal life and i will sadly need to find someone else who is interested in the adventure. Second, the RV is in the shop for collision damage and awning replacement.

Third, and HEART BREAKING is that when we returned, we noticed that Lucky was having bloody diarrhea. After a few weeks of this he stopped eating. We met with our superb Vet, Dr. Mary Cleary who began working through possibilities. We learned on Thursday through ultrasound exam that he has cancerous tumor in his colon and has potentially spread to his liver and lymphatic system. On Friday the biopsies show that Lucky has large B Cell Lymphoma that has spread throughout his body. While the prognosis is really bad, the bright spot is that chemo can be effective on lymphatic cancer. Doc described best case they see a dog every 3 years or so treated and resume normal life until the cancer returns at some point in the future. And Lucky is more than a once in a 3 year type of dog so Monica and I decided to give him the chance to fight. When Lucky first chose to follow Amy, Bob, Will, Nivaldo, Alan and I in Brazil he was in bad shape as well. A few days before i was to fly home he was required to have a rabies vaccine. The Vet told me it might kill him in his condition - i told her to give him the shot, fix him and if he is ok the next day, he gets a 1 way ticket. We know how that worked out. So while the math is not with Lucky, there is his magic that favors him. He was administered his first round of chemo at 4pm on Friday and every day will be make or break. If he survives first course then on Monday at 9am he will be given another. Daily success is his ability to eat and keep it down while not fading away. Fingers crossed.

Finally, with the mission critical issues: physical, crew chief, RV and Lucky, there is a window where i can’t go any later as getting to the Rockies in fall is not ideal. So, i am currently hoping to relaunch by June 1st but taking it one day at a time.

Back to the silver lining, Gabriel was at home for the month of April and when i returned i was able to spend a month with him as he just flew back today. I also spent a week with his wonderful girlfriend Shelbie for a week over his birthday on April 23rd.

As Lucky fights for his life nothing else matters. And, as an ultra runner i know that one of the secrets of success is that when things are overwhelming and seemingly impossible, we must take one small step at a time.

Keep the faith,

David.