ultra is a mental game. Consequently, I don’t believe it was necessarily an accident that Brian stopped so dramatically right when he did. I think it’s possible Brian’s central governor, under tremendous physiological stress, caught sight of the finish line, believed the race was over, and pulled the plug. In the context of a 100-mile race, one lap around a high school track doesn’t seem that long, but once Brian’s brain had made that decision, it was impossibly far. When the captain jumps ship, you can’t help but sink.
