vole stare toad race 72 hour update
sunday bloody sunday
.
while we slept the vol state field was savaged.
the early morning check-in only shows 15 drops
the real number is greater.
as defeated runners are not taken down until they get in a car.
.
all along the course runners are waiting for the meat wagon.
many others are still moving
but their race is hanging on by a thread….
.
and there is no sign of cooling storms this morning.
actually not a wisp of a cloud
not a whisper of wind.
.
as soon as the sun burns through the humidity hovering near the ground
the runners will begin to cook in their own skins
this could be the day the feeling dies.
certainly more than one of the runners
teetering on the edge
is going to come to a sad end today.
.
but the long thin line moves on.
oprah has a smaller crew today at the back.
some managed to gain ground
others failed to make the turn.
.
and what is the reward for making cutoff this morning?
.
the new line is in linden.
reach the commodore by evening check-in
or the meat wagon will take you to the rock.
and in the morning sun
oprah pushes on;
grinding the back of the pack down.
.
click click click click.
.
the vol staters limp and hobble along in front of her.
the master plan of doing only 31 miles a day
now seems like insanity.
.
there was a day when 31 miles was as nothing
and they breezed thru it with time to spare.
.
that day is not today
the fourth day
on blistered feet
under the glaring sun.
.
they tell me oprah is smiling.
.
meanwhile;
160 miles ahead of the life and death struggle with oprah
ken zemach is past manchester and on the road to hillsboro
his lead still stands at 11 miles.
only the searing exposed road thru hillsboro and pelham stands between him and the base of monteagle mountain
what is a marathon in the sun now?
bob was just coming into manchester.
.
ken has only to run 60 miles before bob covers 71
and the crown will be his!
Categories: Vols2023