HOTS update; the final day.this is how it always ends.the winners went home long ago.most of the rest are in various stages of recuperation…..a handful of runners struggle on.this time there are 14 of them,strung out over 34 miles of road..everyone has passed chattanooga.the next finisher is still hours away.trudging painfully slowly down the side of the road.the last person in the field is locked in mortal combat with the grim reaper.their fate to be Read more…
HOTS update 8 days 18 hours the camp is quiet now.most everyone here is asleepkeeping themselves charged enough for upcoming ferries of tired runners down to motels to recover.we cant let them drive themselves in their debilitated state. strung out all the way back to signal mountain,singly, in twos and threesthe remaining 24 runners trudge thru the darkness… there are no owls or coyotes tonightas the air hangs thick and heavy. for those who remain Read more…
HOTS update 8 days hots 2022… redefining shitshow. the last 3 runners under 8 days put on quite a show coming up sand mountain. jason and scott made the turn and started up the mountain at 1 mile per hour… they were closing fast on chris,who was halfway up the mountain,and moving at a sizzling half mile an hour. god, i wish this had been broadcast:all night long,3 haggard, filthy figures alternately staggering to their Read more…
HOTS update 7 days 18 hours..things are pretty quiet up here on the rock.we havent had a finisher in 6 hours,which gave me time to go down to the motel for a little bitand get something to eat on the way back,.most everyone here is asleepwaiting on a group of 3 to finish the long climb up sand mountainand make their way thru the woods to the rock.my only company is the hooting of owls,yipping Read more…
HOTS six and a half day update.no update this time.the runners have started to come inand there is very little time to come back down to do one.charge is valuable up on the rockand irreplaceable without a trip down!.they probably arent needed at this point anyway.the runners can tell their stories as they return to the real world.
HOTS late update day 6.this will be a little short,and late.now that finishers are starting to arrive the timing is more challenging…..and we have to try and grab any opportunities to get some sleep.we ferry the finishers down to a motel as a safety measure.which has been proven wise time and againas seemingly lucid people fall asleep in the car before we can reach the castle rock gates!.it is a shame,as there are so many Read more…
HOTS update day five and a half!.the heat came back today.boy did it ever come back.even in the shade the air felt like standing in front of an open coke oven..i saw that some (who had the opportunity) took refuge for hours.those caught out on the open road simply got fried..still, in spite of everythingthe long thin line moved on.after 5 days this is what they do.this is who they are.there is no end.there was Read more…
HOTS random update.if you want to renew your faith in humanitydo a journey run..all we ever seem to hear these daysis how polarized the country is.we hear about all the “crazies out there”.on top of thatthe hots runners have spent the last 5 days(and some will spend 5 more)crossing that special part of the country called appalachia…..they are learning something about the people who live here.random acts of kindness are like beacons of light,.the “heart” Read more…