96 hr update(6.5 days to go) Digging deep. Over and over,these runners have felt their lower lip quiver.Over and over,they have let the tears flow. and yet, over and over,they have taken another step. Well past 100 (or 200!) miles,everyone is hurt.After 4 days on the road,there is not a Read more
84 hr update(a week to go) Apologies for the short update, the long meatwagon drive meant I couldn’t visit with any of the runners still on the course. The beatings will continue until morale improves. Journey racing in the summertime can be a merciless pursuit.Runner after runner has cried uncle.The Read more
72 hr update(7.5 days to go) No (wo)man’s land. When all is said and done,when the blisters have healed,when the nightmares about getting up to move have abated.When they’ve come back from being so deep within themselves on the open road… The HOTS runners will think backto the turning point Read more
(8 days to go) Beat the Heat. “We’re gonna try to BEAT THE HEAT.”“Ummm, I don’t think that means….what you think it means.” Two runners were commiserating early this morning.One was pretty sure he was gonna make the call for a ride (DROP)The other was looking for a way to Read more
(8.5 days to go) Sometimes it gets worse before it gets better. After a day of high consequence,the HOTS field is reeling. The sparse services and higher than usual temperaturesconspired to send a gut punch through the fieldover the first 48 hours of the race.(and they have to hang on Read more
High Consequence. One of the fundamental tenets of the HOTS is that you alone are responsible for yourself. That doesn’t mean you can’t accept help, from either road angels, or your fellow competitors… But it does mean that when push comes to shove, you are on your own to make Read more
What a difference a day makes. Just a day ago, 54 adventurous souls got off the bus at the beach. They were fresh, felt good… with fuel gauges jammed on FULL. After 24 hours on the road, not a single one of them is fresh any more. As the sun Read more
12 hr update (10 days to go) What a start! The first 12 hours are done. If this were a short ultramarathon, they would probably be nearly done driving home from the race… Well pleased with a long day on their feet. But this is the HOTS. They have lived Read more