sorry for the lateness of the update.
the vol state hit the ground running,
and there were things to take care of first.
.
what can you say about the first day?
after all the anticipation,
the best the runners can hope for is that nothing is decided on day one.
the only conclusive outcomes on day 1 are negative.
.
true to form,
at least three runners saw their races end on day 1.
one runner had a recurrence of an old problem with a hip,
and was forced to retire,
another had hydration/electrolyte issues,
and left the course in an ambulance
the other fell and hit his head on a concrete floor.
.
events like these reinforce the reality that a journey run may be a lot of fun, but it is also a serious undertaking.
sometimes survival is job 1.
.
106 runners came off the ferry this morning in a festive mood.
the temperatures were relatively low,
and a cloud cover kept the worst of the sun at bay.
nobody’s feet hurt yet
and everyone was full of fight.
the only ill omen was the heavy dew on everything….
.
since the overnight low at the hotel was 71,
the dew point had to be ridiculous.
that mississippi river bottom humidity was going to be a factor.
.
true to that portent,
even tho the afternoon high was a chilly 91,
the heat index in the afternoon sun was a much less hospitable 103.
.
the competitive end of the race has the potential to be quite entertaining.
the strongest runners, all in the screwed division, traded places all day long.
at the 12 hour check in andy pearson was in the lead (for about the fourth time)
greg armstrong, who had been alternating in the top spot was a mile behind.
they were both out of mckenzie and headed for huntingdon.
bev abbs and the top crewed runner, rebecca joyner, were in mckenzie.
daniel and ariela flory, bob hearn, and alan abbs were all closing in on mckenzie.
only 6 miles separated first place from 8th.
.
there is one other little treat that comes along with all that humidity and heat…
.
thunderstorms!
.
and the front half of the field is getting hit with some doozies right now.
power is out from gleason to huntingdon
as torrential rains are coming down
accompanied by a brilliant light show as all that energy discharged itself in the form of lightning
and nearly continuous explosions of thunder.
anyone caught out on the road is getting pounded right now.
.
usually the early competition starts to sort itself out as the runners reveal their sleep plans.
right now all those plans are being turned topsy turvy by the weather.
.
while you sleep the whole race is probably getting scrambled.
it is going to be very interesting to see what the morning check in reveals about how tonight’s weather is effecting the runners.
