HOTS 24 hour update.
.
remember waking up this morning?
yawning, stretching,
morning coffee.
maybe read the news…
.
imagine instead
waking up sleeping in the grass behind a roadside sign
with a fanny pack for your pillow.
your breakfast in a plastic convenience store shopping bag beside you.
wearing the same clothes that you ran and walked 60 miles in yesterday and last night
(in 100 degree heat).
.
you clamber to your feet and limp on stiff legs down an incline to the shoulder of a busy highway,
morning traffic heading to work
turn south
and start to walk.
.
your plan?
.
try to cover another 60 miles today.
main highways, back roads.
following a map on your phone.
.
food and drink are where you find them.
you have to carry enough to supply you for stretches of many hours with no resupply possible…
.
you see todays forecast.
the heat will be much less.
but rumour has it that huge thunderstorms are headed your way.
.
maybe when they hit you will be lucky
and there will be somewhere to take shelter.
.
more likely
you will just have to hunch your shoulders
and walk on thru whatever mother nature decides to bring.
.
this is what the day holds for the 79 runners still moving in the heart of the south road race.
.
this is what they face today.
tomorrow.
the next day…
.
this is life for the forseeable future.
.
run
and rest.
follow the endless white line.
whatever the conditions might be…
.
just endure.
chase the golden ring.
.
somewhere,
beyond the reach of your imagination
your car is parked in a beanfield
on top of a mountain…
.
2 states away.
.
a week and a half away.
.
on the other side of high mountains
and deep river valleys.
and endless miles of open road.
.
the portal to a different life.
one that is already becoming a dim memory.
one where food, water, and shelter are a given.
not the sole focus of your existence.
.
and yet,
you have never felt as free.
you have never felt so alive
everything you have is in that pack
that serves as your pillow at night.
.
you move by your own power
and survive by your own wits.
.
inwardly you smile.
huge storms are coming…
.
bring them on!
.
.
bev abbs and john clarke are not going to be out there a week and a half.
hardened veterans of the road,
they are far out front at 93 and 90 miles,
almost to liberty kentucky.
chasing the title of king/queen of the road.
.
back at 77 miles,just leaving danville and heading towards junction city
james turner leads the endless string of road warriors waiting for the leaders to falter.
faltering is not an impossibility.
even bev is almost 240 miles from the rock.
.
and there are so many challenges ahead.
.
the race is starting to take shape!
Categories: HOTS