one of the things that makes the vol state special is the relationship that has developed over the years between the runners and the people who live along the course. . The course winds its way through the countryside passing thru numerous small towns along the way. all along the course there are people who set up angel stations: canopy tents in their yards with coolers of drinks and food chairs and cots one family Read more…
another day on the road. it was last thursday morning that 106 people came streaming off that ferry. laughing, joking, full of big dreams and grand plans. . 26 of them have seen their dreams come to an untimely end. and their plans fall in ruin. the mchenri became casualties number 25 and 26 this morning. . 4 of them have reached the rock. . 76 are strung out in a long ragged line, ranging Read more…
late update this morning. we were up at the rock at check-in time as the flori arrived just before the 4 day mark, and bev came in just after. . it was entertaining with bob also on hand for the finish the interaction of screwed and crewed runners and the contrasts between the experiences provided a lot of laughs. . one thing that is coming out from just the few debriefings so far is how Read more…
we got to debrief with king bob over supper tonight. truly amazing stuff. the ability to rework plans on the fly, while maintaining that incredible pace. hell, the ability to run an *extra* 25 miles before taking a break when there is no place to stop in the sun! the mental agility to recalculate pacing to break the record again on the fly. truly amazing stuff. . i will leave the details for bob to Read more…
Congratulations to Bob Hearn on crushing both the crewed and screwed course records! King Bob 3:04:09:10
i am afraid there is not much time to post anything this morning. overnight the metronome just kept on keeping on… . he reached the three day check-in with a 7 mile lead on the OVERALL record pace. bob hearn has produced one of the most astonishing performances of all time and it appears he will destroy the crewed record at vol state… . WITHOUT A CREW!!!! . just put in every superlative you can Read more…
this has been a crazy weather year at vol state. on the bright side, it has yet to settle into one of those multiple days long spells of ever intensifying heat and humidity that make every minute of the race like running shrouded in a hot, wet wool blanket. on the other hand, the humidity has been outrageous and the dew points insane. after the huge lines of thunderstorms that battered most of the field Read more…
carl and i were talking about the vol state yesterday, and how it has provided a fascinating view of collective human potential. . it has not been that long ago that there was a huge gap between crewed and screwed runners in the vol state. the serious runs for time were done by the crewed runners. the screwed contest was simply one of survival. it has not been that long ago that there was speculation Read more…