- And this is one of, if not the, biggest,
longest climbs, in a way.
- Pull it out, Rory.
And we definitely get the highest--
(overlapping chatter)
- [Camerawoman] Tell me how you're feeling.
- Like dog poop.
My mind is like "uh."
I wanna sleep, but I can't.
I think I'm a little bonky.
(wind chimes ding)
Oh (beeps), we have ten and a half miles.
We have longer than we just did.
(sighs)
- Oh. (sighs)
(water rushes)
- Ahh.
- Do you want one of these right now?
- Sure, yeah, yeah, I need to eat and drink.
- Here's that one,
- You guys are the best. - I need to eat one, too.
(paper crinkles)
(wind rushes)
- I felt really good for the previous five hours.
So, this is like, highs and lows.
This is the worst I've felt all day.
- It's like some colorful shoes.
- I spend the majority of my time on this earth alone.
And I like it.
If I don't get enough alone time in,
I start to go a little crazy. I like alone time.
It doesn't bother me.
I get more freaked out being around people for too long.
(rocks crunch)
Go, go home!
Shoo, shoo fly!
I know you're really cute.
I actually would take you home.
(dog pants)
(dog happily grunts)
(laughs)
Go, go, shoo shoo!
You go home!
(in low voice) Hey, go home!
- [Narrator] I like that it's just me in my own head.
I like to daydream.
I like to just go at my own pace.
(thunder rumbles)
I like to be self reliant.
I like not worrying about other people.
But when it comes to bigger races and longer runs,
it seems like you wouldn't be able to finish without people.
So it's this weird catch-22 that I always find myself
struggling with.
Training for a big run
(splashes)
is really casual for me.
I don't view it as training.
So a lot of it doesn't even involve running.
Hoo hoo, hoo hoo!
(laughs)
Feels good.
- [Narrator] One of my go-to exercises in the summer
is to bike up Donner Summit.
It's about three miles with 1200 feet of vert
so it's a pretty good little ride.
(upbeat music)
I love to demoralize the men.
(bells ring)
Show 'em chicks rule, boys drool!
I always like to sprint it toward the top
and then people think I've gone that pace
the whole way up.
It's a big ego booster.
(bell dings)
Toodle doodles!
Bye!
- You're fast on that thing, is that a one speed?
- No, I've got three speeds.
(laughs)
It's okay though.
- I was impressed.
(wind rushes)
- [Narrator] A lot of this training
is really just about moving for long periods of time.
With this big run in Corsica coming up,
I'm really just trying to be outside
and be active most of the day
because I think in the long run,
that's what's going to help me the most over there.
(wind rushes)
The GR 20 trail is known as one of, if not the,
most rugged, technical, challenging trails in Europe.
It is about 118 miles long.
It has about 43,000 feet of vertical ascending.
It's something I've never done before.
It's gonna be longer by like 18 miles than I've ever done.
It's gonna be way more climbing than I've ever done,
way more technical.
But just to finish it will be
enough of an accomplishment for me.
So, that's what I'm looking for.
(pensive music)
Corsica is a beautiful island off of the coast of France.
It's a mixture of larger, coastal cities
and small mountain villages
that never really seem to want to wake up.
The have almost the feel of the Alps.
The people are really, really friendly
and warm and welcoming and very spirited.
I have two friends over here with me
and my two sisters.
They're all here to help me crew
so I don't just vanish out there on the run.
They know what to do when I hit a low point,
what will make me feel better.
But they also know how to crack the whip
and show me some tough love.
Because I don't need to be coddled like an egg
all the time.
We've spent countless hours researching the route
and looking at maps, figuring out all the crew stops
because it's gonna be hard enough on its own
just with the terrain
so everything needs to go as perfectly as possible.
All that's left is to do it.
- Oh!
(kisses)
- Bye!
- Oh, Cledo glease.
- Olay, olay, olay!
(claps)
- All right, toodle doodles!
(claps) - Woo!
- Go get it, Rory!
- Bye, Rory!
- Woo hoo!
- Woo!
- See you in a couple days!
♪ Lookin out at the road rushin under my wheels ♪
(poles clanking)
♪ Lookin back at the years gone by ♪
♪ like so many summer fields ♪
♪ In '65 I was 17 and running up one-on-one ♪
♪ I don't know where I'm running now, I'm just running on ♪
(gravel crunches)
♪ Running on ♪
♪ Running on empty ♪
♪ Running on ♪
♪ Running blind ♪
♪ Running on ♪
♪ Running into the sun ♪
♪ But I'm running behind ♪
♪ If it takes all night ♪
♪ That'll be all right ♪
♪ If I can get you to smile before I leave ♪
♪ (gravel crunches) ♪
(plastic rustles)
- (beeps) Carbon fiber.
(groans)
I need these poles for the rest of the way.
(rustles)
I've got an idea.
Mother (beeps)
Off this comes.
(rustles)
(groans) (beeps)
(beep beep beeps)
(plastic rustles)
Okay, okay.
♪ Running on empty ♪
♪ Running on ♪
♪ Running blind ♪
♪ Running on ♪
♪ Running into the sun ♪
♪ But I'm running behind ♪
Peace, love, and goodbye!
♪ Honey, you really tempt me ♪
♪ You know the way you look so kind ♪
♪ I'd love to stick around but I'm running behind ♪
♪ Running blind ♪
♪ Running into the sun ♪
♪ But I'm running behind ♪
(chattering)
It's my magic trick.
(laughs)
Keep that bag open.
- Rory, do you want any goo?
- Uh, yes.
(upbeat music)
10-9, okay, here we go!
(leaves rustle)
(somber music)
(crunches)
- [Chelsea] Hello?
- Hey are you okay, what's up?
- [Chelsea] Um, yes, she's potentially having asthma attack
but can you plan on
bringing Alex's inhaler
and talk to Nicole, too,
she's got a bunch of steroid inhalers.
- Okay.
- [Chelsea] Bring whatever.
But she'll need to get two to four hours of rest,
see if she can't get her breathing better
or if she's feeling good then we'll just head back
but that's the current plan.
- Okay.
- [Chelsea] All right, thank you!
- Yep, bye.
(somber music)
(beeps)
(shoes squeak)
- Hey, Miss Rory.
(dispenser jostles)
(chattering)
(beeps)
- I'm not fully unwrapping the baby
because the baby's so nice and calm.
- [Narrator] I've been working at UC Davis Hospital
in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for 8 years.
I went to school thinking I would be a doctor (laughs)
but toward the end of school, I shadowed a nurse
and I really liked the schedule.
For me, lifestyle is a big motivating factor.
I wanted to be able to spend as much time
outdoors as possible and still make a living
and like what I'm doing.
(baby cries)
(gently shushes)
What I love most about working in the PICU,
is that it's such a great teamwork environment.
We are all focused on this one common goal
of keeping little kids and babies alive
and we all just work really hard towards that goal.
When things get hard, and they definitely do,
it's easy for me to rely on my coworkers
because I know they're all these
just very dedicated individuals
that, no matter what, even if we're having good days
or bad days, we can just put our heads down
and get through it.
(gravel crunches)
- Right now, we're hiking north on the GR 20
to go find Rory.
She's really slowed down this last 8, 9 hour stretch.
She'll definitely finish, which we're excited about.
(gravel crunches) - Do you got some Pringles?
We got cheese Pringles.
(rustling)
- Things went really good.
- You can tell about 25 miles ago (laughs)
(laughs)
(gravel crunches)
(coughs)
- Perfect timing.
(coughs)
- We're not running til it's light out.
No more night time running.
I've had enough.
(chattering)
- It was a 8 to 9 hour adventure
that turned into a 17 hour adventure
with about 10 hours worth of food.
(door slams)
(uplifting music)
- [Narrator] I don't think your experience of something
should be either diminished or enhanced
based on how you perform compared to other people.
I don't care what other woman has run this before
and how she did, whatever,
that won't effect my experience.
I just wanted to go out and have
just a big, epic day in the mountains
and see if I could do it.
'Cause it's a big task, to run that far,
and that long, and this terrain is brutal.
(uplifting music)
I had an amazing time.
I made friends with the local, ultra-running community
which was just fantastic.
I felt like I was enveloped in this warmth
of love and friendship and camaraderie
and we were all focused on this one goal.
(mumbles)
(speaks in foreign language)
This whole experience really makes me wanna go out
and find my next GR 20.
Even the parts that sucked when I was in the dark,
and bonking, and hungry, it just made me love the parts
that weren't great even more.
The whole thing, I loved all of it.
- Ah, the end!
We did it!
- [Narrator] This was the most memorable experience
of my life.
It's like the greatest time I think I've had, ever.
- Woo!
- Woo hoo!
We're done!
Ah, now we have to (mumbles)
I'll go to the beach right now,
you guys wanna go sit by the beach?
- Sure! - It's so hot out.
There's a beach right down there.
- Yeah. - Sure thing.
- Heck yes.
(gravel crunching)
(mumbling)