And he's off!

Mike & crew were up at 3am and had plenty of time to eat breakfast, rest up in the lodge, and get off to a great start. Close to 400 runners headed up the fire road to the 8200 ft summit @ Squaw with an assortment of every type of running paraphernalia & clothing combinations... We saw Mike (bib #225) disappear in the crowd as the line of runners started the incline of 1800 ft in 3 1/2 miles that we tackled yesterday as their "warmup," headlamps bobbing into the darkness. It was in the low 40's at the 5am start time with light winds. Following a much-needed caffeine & b'fast infusion, we are driving to the first aid station accessible to crews at Robinson Flat, which will take us 2+ hours by car to check in on Mike as he knocks off the first 29.7 miles. Driving through some rain & fog, so hoping weather will clear up in the near future! Will continue to post along the way. Stay tuned! ~ Nora, Jessica & Alex