I’m afraid this will be the end of my Finland adventure for now.

Bad news from home just as I was completing Stage 4. An emergency text from my husband Rob through the RTP crew. We lost Siggy yesterday, my father-in-law and a part of my life for over 28 years. He fought a hard battle with leukemia, and we had only hoped he would be with us longer. He told me to ‘Go to Lapland, and take me with you.’ My focus now recalibrated on getting back to NYC, back to Rob, and my family, as fast as I possibly can.

I’m super thankful for the 4 stages I finished. That’s 100 miles, and I’m super proud of that. As always, I learned a ton about myself and reconnected to myself on a level I’ve missed since the pandemic wiped the palate of normal life clean.

You truly need to do things that scare you on a regular basis. It helps keep your perspective, your clarity, and your view from on top of the wave rather than underneath it.

A special thanks to my tent mates in Tent 22, the Blueberry Tent: Kelly, Steve, Tom and Christopher. What a fabulous group. Thank you for meeting me at the daily finish lines and being the coolest people to hang with. And to the RTP crew, who were amazing as always, and to all the new friends I met (oh, what stories): I’m so sorry I was unable to share a proper goodbye. I had to be whisked away immediately in order to have any hope of making it home in time.

Now go beast it through these remaining stages and have a hell of a celebration on Saturday. I’m so proud of you all.