Nick of Time

She hadn't had a sip of water or a nibble of food in three days; she lost her shorts; her kidneys were failing and her blood was too concentrated; but today Maria Natera-Armenta simply feels lucky to be alive.

On Wednesday afternoon, searchers in a helicopter discovered the severely weakened and dehydrated Natera-Arenta in a remote, rocky section of the Cleveland National Forest in San Diego and rescued the ultrarunner just in the nick of time.

"I thought I was going to die," Natera-Arenta told the Orange Country Register from her hospital bed while receiving electrolytes intravenously. "I said goodbye to everyone. I kept thinking, 'I hope I don't make them too sad.'"

Natera-Arenta's ordeal began on Sunday when the ultrarunner, who has raced distances of up to 100 miles on rugged mountain trails, set off on a relatively modest mountain run with her brother-in-law Sunday morning. The pair became separated and although she tried to make her way back she somehow made a wrong turn and ended up at the bottom of a dry waterfall surrounded by jagged rocks and thick, dry brush. The temperature had soared past 100 degrees and with her food and water supply completely depleted she knew she was too weak to try and climb out.

So, she waited, losing hope as three long days passed. She found shade underneath some rocks and lost nearly all her strength. Yet she managed to muster her remaining energy when she heard the sounds of a helicopter above. "The sound was right on top of me," she recalled. "I thought, 'Where did that come from? They can't see me. There's no way.'"

But they did see her and quickly rescued her from her rocky prison. She was rushed to the intensive care unit of a local hospital, and is now recovering, still in awe that she made it out alive.

And is ultrarunning still in her future? She didn't say, but we sure hope she gives herself a break for a long while after such a life-threatening ordeal.

Photo courtesy of jfg via stock.xchang.