THE MILE EIGHT SPLIT

At mile 8 of a 31-mile ultra marathon, one runner stopped cold, her knees hurting too much to keep going, and the friend she came with told her she was leaving.

The race had been a year in the making for a 22-year-old woman with plenty of hiking experience and a disciplined training routine. For months, she had been putting in two to three short runs a week, plus a trail run on most weekends, all for her first ultra marathon.

Then, two months before race day, one of her girlfriends decided to sign up too.

The poster warned her straight away that it might be too little time. "Two months would probably not be enough time to train up her joints, especially when she often gets knee paid during hikes," she told her. But the girlfriend signed up anyway.

After that, the poster tried to help. She suggested weekly trail runs, hoping to get her friend used to the distance and terrain. The girlfriend only came on four short trial runs, and even those were a struggle. As far as the poster knows, she also did not do any training focused on knee health.

By race day, the difference in preparation was obvious.

For the first 8 miles, the two ran together. Then the girlfriend said she needed to rest and walk. The poster stayed with her, walking for 15 to 20 minutes before suggesting they try running again.

That didn't last long.

The girlfriend could only run five to ten minutes at a time before needing another five-minute walk break because her knees hurt too much. At that point, the poster made her choice. "I am leaving to complete this race, as I've been training roughly a year," she told her friend.

She went on and finished the ultra. The girlfriend did not. About an hour and a half later, she was disqualified.

Afterward, the girlfriend was furious. She said, "We were meant to do this together," and accused the poster of ditching her while she was exhausted and in pain.

The poster says the situation was not dangerous. Runners were required to have GPS trackers and other safety equipment before the race even started, so the girlfriend was never in risk of being stranded without support.

Still, the backlash didn't stop there. Since the race, the girlfriend has repeatedly called the poster selfish and said she went against "friendship values."

What began as a shared race ended as a split at mile 8, with one runner pushing to the finish and the other left behind to walk out the rest of the course.