HOTS UPDATE 192 HOURS i told you the worst was yet to come
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we finally saw some night time finishes at the rock.
the first one wasnt a confidence booster.
from the rock we could watch kim’s light dance down the log road and disappear into the woods.
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giving her some time to climb the treacherous trail
we went to look off the rock and taunt her tiny figure
when it appeared at the base of the cliff.
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we waited, and waited, and waited.
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no lights
no runner
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we got really quiet and listened.
if we tried real hard,
it seemed like we could hear faint sobbing from somewhere far away in the woods.
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we could see dan’s flashlight coming down the log road,
so we texted him and told him to look for kim on his way.
she might be lost….
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dan”s light disappeared into the woods.
we waited, and waited, and waited.
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at long last we saw lights coming up towards the rock.
slowly.
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really slowly.
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as we watched we discovered a pattern.
one step.
shine their lights in all directions.
one more step.
shine their lights in all directions…
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repeat and repeat and repeat.
the trail doesnt look all that steep from the top of the rock.
i dont understand why everyone keeps coming up it on all fours?
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after an interminable climb,
they finally reached the turn at the base of the cliff
where they head for the crack.
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wanting to be encouraging i called down;
“only one more mile!”
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mysteriously there was no obvious exultation at the good news.
and they slowly disappeared around the corner.
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they did eventually arrive at the finish.
you would think after the leisurely pace of more than an hour a mile they would be fresh…
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that did not seem to be the case.
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day 9 is a crucial day for most of the surviving hotties.
only 9 of the 51 runners still on the road have made the sewanee climb.
that one is the hardest on the course so far
(and not by a small margin)
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the desolate plateau offers no sustenance
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and, while not everyone has found sewanee to be a killer,
it is unanimous that the precipitous 1300 foot descent on the nikojack trail is a destroyer of hope.
(and quads, and feet)
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this section is going to be a time eater.
and the homestretch of hogjaw ridge, sand mountain, and the crack
is a bad thing to face if you do not come in with a time cushion.
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not everyone is going to make it under the cutoff.
those who are only approaching sewanee need to put some time in the bank.
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TODAY!
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back in the back,
in what looks more and more like a hopeless fight,
mary hosbraugh finally succumbed to the inevitable.
derek murphy miraculously survived another day.
and has now been joined by jeff russell on the cusp of elimination.
steady kim drake is still on the plus side,
but the footsteps of the grim reaper are echoing in her ears…
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darren sorgenfrei just turned onto the log road.
so i will have to stop now to start the vigil.
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we can watch his tiny ant figure go thru the clearing,
and then catch him at the bottom of the cliff…
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i am sure he will need encouragement:
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“only one more mile!”
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maybe he will be more enthusiastic than the ones before him…
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if you have a friend still on the course;
pray for them.
Categories: HOTS 2025