Construction

michael carson and matt barker ended their suffering in under 5 and 1/2 days.our long ordeal is just beginning,as we are here hoping to catch a little sleep.chris clemons has picked up his trackerhenry lupton is only 3 miles behind….the slow motion battle between the two seasoned veterans will continue to the very end..there is an 8 mile gap between them and a trio of runners,and behind those three there is just a continual stream Read more…

so the time is beginning when updates are even more dependent on where the runners are.updates have to wait on runners finishingthey come after transportand food.and they are far behind sleep(which will be something that we have less and less time for)updates will even have to wait for showers(if and when there is a chance for another).christine tokarz made her way to the rock in the wee hours.she reached kimball in the darktook a short Read more…

the vol state belongs to the grinders. not the fastest or the strongest, but the ones who relentlessly plug along. . 4 and 1/2 days in everyone is hurt. it isnt the thoughts of quitting that plagues all the first time vol staters out there. it is the thought that they cannot finish. the finish is unimaginably far away. . they are headed into the 5th consecutive night on the road. exhausted sunburned living off Read more…

morning checkin after 4 days. we still have 103 on the road! . i dont know the schedule yet, it is still being hammered out. but the casualties from yesterday will be brought forward soon. this was the first night we lost no one new. but the sun will be seeking out the weak ones not everyone still on the road is going to make it to the rock. . during the night all of Read more…

vol staters have been wishing for a break from the blast furnace heat apparently someone found a bottle with a genie in it, because they got that break… . but it did not end up being an improvement. . afternoon thunderstorms had been on the forecast but as the steamy morning wore on clouds piled up in a dark and ominous fashion. . then dozens of small but intense and fast moving storms sprang up. Read more…

they live day to day at the back. we lost donald cagle and jim barnes during the night. jim made it 87 miles at 87 years old. donald was, tragically, a mile from the turn when the clock ran out. . for the ones who survived the night, made the hard cutoff at the turn but still trail oprah, the challenge is greater today. tomorrow morning’s cutoff is at the commodore in linden 123 miles. Read more…

if you want to renew your faith in humanity do a journey run . the most special thing that happens at vol state is the way the people who live along the course embrace the vol staters. . i think the 80 newbies in this year’s field were taken by surprise on the drive to the start. people waving as they went past signs wishing them well. . but that wasnt even a foretaste of Read more…

the second night always starts to shake things out at the front. everyone has had to establish some sort of rest/run pattern. those who are able to survive on minimal rest are rising to the top. the long rest runners can generally move faster when on the road so they yo-yo more than the short rest runners, but the lead pack is always subject to shuffling according to the sleep patterns. . addison churned out Read more…