day 1 is the window for us in the race management.
.
up until we get the runners on the ferry
it feels like the pressure is on.
memories of the year the bus company missed the pickup date.
the year the bus broke down.
the year the motel didnt have the runners’ rooms cleaned…
.
need i go on?
.
the runners have always been great about the issues that have come up.
sometimes things are out of our control.
but every time things do not go exactly according to plan
we beat ourselves up.
.
so it is a tremendous relief
when we see all the runners loaded on the ferry
(and the ferry running)
.
the first day of the race is as predictable as it will ever get.
we know where we will take the early split times to see the number of runners match what we think we have.
we know we will have time to go to the motel for a few minutes after the first checkpoint,
before loading up and going to the stinky bridge checkpoint to take 20 mile splits.
we know that the first time no runners are in sight after the 9 hour mark,
we will be leaving the stinky bridge and heading out to visit some of the established angel stations.
we cant drive away with a runner in sight.
that just seems so cold blooded!
imagine how bad it would feel to come in sight of a checkpoint,
only to see the race officials drive away as if you were not even there!
.
we know where we are eating supper
and where we will sleep that night…
.
but, when we wake up tomorrow morning everything will be different.
the 4 of us providing an umbrella of extraction will be responding to a fluid situation.
plans are made and revised on a continual basis.
where we are going next is subject to change at a moments notice
the timing,
and the vehicle doing transport
changes according to the number and location of defeated runners needing rescue.
when and where we will sleep is not a certainty until it happens.
eating is sort of the same deal.
.
the morning didnt start as smoothy as intended.
we knew that there had been landslides that would impact our start,
so i went early to scout the first few miles…
.
and that was a good thing.
not only were the steps closed,
entire roads had been taken out of play.
.
and hickman is not a simple town to navigate.
being built on a loess hill
(basically a 300 foot deep pile of silt held together by roots)
it is rent asunder by deep and steep ravines
across which connecting roads cannot be built.
.
loess is nothing like sand,
which only falls off into shallow slopes.
silt shears off,
leaving nearly vertical sides.
it is like sand in providing zero support for things like roads except where it is flat.
so hickman is comprised of small sections of city blocks
with few connecting roads between them.
.
it took some time to cobble together an alternate route thru town
that still took in the fabulous courthouse and the miss’ippi river overlook.
then all available staff (and a hastily drafted photographer) raced ahead of the field to point out the turns.
so we didnt get to breathe easy until the last runner was on the original course
and pointed towards the rock.
from here on their fate would depend on their own preparation,
resourcefulness…
,
and sheer determination.
.
speaking of foundations,
for the runners day 1 is only the foundation on which they will have to build their performance.
nothing good is going to be accomplished.
they cannot take control of the race,
but they can over overextend themselves
and bring their dreams crashing down.
.
they cannot condition themselves
strengthen their muscles
or toughen their feet.
but they can blister, chafe, overheat, undereat
and dehydrate,
laying the groundwork for issues that will plague the remainder of their journey.
or even end in eventual catastrophic system failure.
.
as the darkness began to fall on day one
things were starting to sort themselves out.
every race follows a different plot
and in the vol state more than a hundred different stories were unfolding.
each separate and unique
and each intertwined with all of the others.
.
at the front of the pack
after much back and forth over the first half day
it was michael carson with a small lead over addison hendricks…
.
the tracker shows a 7 mile gap,
but having seen them shortly before the end of the first 12 hours
we feel certain the 60 miles is incorrect,
and in reality the two are much closer than the 7 mile gap on the tracker.
we believe they were both close to or in mckenzie.
probably with carson holding a small lead.
.
richard ward was not far behind,
and all three looked to be comfortable
and in control of their own race.
.
chris clemens was in fourth.
but he was going thru a difficult stretch when we last saw him on the approach to gleason.
.
but there are going to be ups and downs for every runner in the vol state,
and he was closing in on the gleason fire hall.
there isnt any better place to try and get things back under control.
.
behind him the field strung out back through dresden and martin,
all the way to the final flight outfitters on the old union city-martin road.
.
the weather for the first day was actually quite good…
.
by july in tennessee standards.
.
meaning the runners who knew how to handle heat and humidity came through in relatively good shape.
but a lot of people are really hurting right now.
a few have already headed for home.
.
and so,
while we enjoy our last (almost) certain night’s sleep
all the surviving runners are pressing on.
some building on a solid first day,
and others already trying to patch the damage,
.
it will be interesting to see what is revealed
when the sun comes up tomorrow!