because it has air conditioning…
.
so the first runner made marta today,
and successfully reached the other side of atlanta.
.
when we were laying out the course
we really wanted to start in savannah;
but there were two problems.
first it was too far
second it would be a nightmare to get them across atlanta…
.
one bit of “out of the box” thinking solved both problems…
,
take marta!
from one side of atlanta to the next
using trains and buses
requiring at least two transfers…
.
those who had used mass transit before would be good.
those who hadnt had one more thing to worry about!
.
we admittedly breathed a sigh of relief when the first runner made it across atlanta!
.
.
today started like more of the same.
hot as hades.
sweltering heat had taken out another busload yesterday
leaving just enough room for me to ride to the back end of the course.
.
administratively atlanta poses challenges.
it is a nightmare to cross in a vehicle.
but we had a plan.
once the first runner is across
the first staff member (me) also crossed to man the course from this end.
if more runners quit,
the meat wagons on the other side will take them to the marta station and send them over on the bus.
i will pick them up and take them to their car.
it is close enough i could take two loads a day.
.
i am also here in case one of the runners on this side needs to bail out.
.
as the field moves from one side to the other,
one official vehicle at a time will make that crossing.
it takes a lot longer for a vehicle than it does for a runner!
.
when the last one boards marta,
the last vehicle will cross.
the cutoff for the runners to reach marta is 6 days…
.
if they havent reached marta by checkin on wednesday morning they will be picked up.
.
but i think we will lose few, if any, more drops.
today’s rainstorms that moved thru in the afternoon marked the end of the heat wave.
temperatures are not expected to get out of the 80’s for the remainder of the race.
as always, hots is about surviving the opening onslaught.
.
we did lose two more today before the heat broke.
32 are out, and 56 are still on the course…
.
all eyes are joe haist now,
in his duel with the grim reaper.
.
he managed to pick up a mile during the day
and enters what might be a cold night for the runners with at least some breathing room.
i would be curious to know his strategy now.
with the improved weather does he try for a big night to buy some rest tomorrow during the day?
does he have enough in the tank to do anything more than just hang on?
.
we all know the reaper is the overwhelming favorite in this contest.
the reaper knows no fatigue,
and there are a lot of miles to go.
but how can you not pull for joe?
.
a long way up the road,
philip perkins has jumped out front by putting marta behind him.
crystal wheatley came back from her difficult day 3 with a 42 mile daytime stretch…
.
but competitively it is important that she get past marta before it closes.
if she gets caught on the other side of atlanta,
philip could be too far away to catch before morning…
.
all we can do is hold our breath and wait for the morning check in.
.
the 400 miler has become a wild melee.
addison hendricks has moved 2 miles ahead of michael carson:
231-229
christine tokarz is right in the middle of things at 225.
they should all reach marta tomorrow morning,
safely before closing time.
.
and so we move into the 4th night.
the weather has cooled off,
just as the races are starting to heat up!
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