As I sat on the side of the trail, a breeze came across the open desert. Much cooler than last year. I guess this year’s racers won’t get the bragging rights of reaching 104 degrees; but it is so pleasant. In four days, the highest temperature I have recorded is 83 degrees.

Suddenly I heard the noise I was waiting for...the footsteps of the front runners. I checked my settings and made sure my camera was ready. There was not much question as to which two racers were in front. Davide Degli Eposte from Modena, Italy and Morgan Murri from Phoenix, Arizona had been well ahead of everyone else for four days now. The question was, of the two of them, who was in front and by how much. As they turned the corner I snapped a couple pictures and observed the same scene I had witnessed every other time they passed me. The image still brings a smile to my face. I heard the scrape of the shoes on rock and the labored breathing of two runners. I saw two men within ten feet of each other; no one was around for miles; and not a word was passing between them. You see, Davide speaks only Italian and Morgan only English. These two racers had run together for four days now (eventually to be six), suffered, sweated, overcome great hardship and still know nothing about each other.

This was in sharp contrast to the scene playing out a few miles back, where Eric (Ohio), Gary (Ontario, Canada) and Jim (Florida) had been traveling together since the first day. I could hear them laughing as the wind carried bits and pieces of stories in my direction (I don’t think I want to know what they talked about for six days).

Each day has brought all the runners closer together. This is what Desert R.A.T.S. is all about...the experiences runners can get when they live ultra running for 6 consecutive days. It’s not easy to wake up, day after day, to a new course and more miles; it’s not easy to work the kinks out from the day before. But you find simplicity in putting one foot in the front of the other, comfort in the permanent grime on your body...you start to just "know" the trail...and to find the camaraderie of peers at the end of the day. Somehow suffering is easier, when you have the knowledge that your fellow runners (and new friends) are going through the same thing.