Construction

HOTS 48 hour updateit is bright and early as our road warriors begin their third day on the road….and everyone is hurt.this has become all too real.the thing about an adventure is that it feels neither romanticnor excitingwhen it is going on..it is dirty.sweatypainfuland hard!success no longer seems like a dreamit seems like an impossibility.yet still most of them continue the struggle..everyone is hurting.everyone is in their own private helllike sailors on leaky shipsthey can Read more…

HOTS 36 hour updatethe race has taken shape now.all day long john clarke pursued bev abbs across the hills and hollers of eastern kentucky.from liberty to philfrom phil to dunnvillefrom dunnville to russell springs.from russell springs to jamestown….thru pounding thunderstorms in the morningand under a blazing sun in the afternoon..bev pushed the pace relentlesslyand john hung on with the tenacity of a bulldog.bev took a short break in libertyjohn arrived just as she was leavingand Read more…

HOTS 24 hour update..remember waking up this morning?yawning, stretching,morning coffee.maybe read the news….imagine insteadwaking up sleeping in the grass behind a roadside signwith a fanny pack for your pillow.your breakfast in a plastic convenience store shopping bag beside you.wearing the same clothes that you ran and walked 60 miles in yesterday and last night(in 100 degree heat)..you clamber to your feet and limp on stiff legs down an incline to the shoulder of a busy Read more…

12 hour update. things get real fast in the heart of the south road race.after winding thru frankfort the field headed to lexington on the old frankfort-lexington pike.they were treated to lots of big shade trees,and miles of beautiful rock walls and horse farms.(along with a stream of giant dump trucks heading to and from a construction site on the road) from our standpoint waiting to take splits at the 20 mile mark, this was Read more…

at 0800 the heart of the south field got up from their repose on the steps of the old kentucky state capital building and headed off down the road.nobody was hurt….yet!will let you know how they stand at 20 miles later on.predictions are that everyone will be on course record pace!!

to everyones surprise the bus ride ended in frankfort kentucky.everyone has their course maps and has surely been studying them,so they know which direction they will be heading from the start… or at least which direction they should be heading! not sure how the sleep is going tonight,the course drive was somewhat intimidating… and those were only the parts the buses were able to cover! the starting cigarette will be lit in the morning.

There have been a lot of discussions here as we prepare to head off into the unknown…In particular, concern has grown over seeming plans to send for crews as soon as the maps are released. Yes, crews. Even tho people have been genuine road angels in the past, invoking them as soon as the map is released, so they can drive all night and be waiting for you when you come out of the bayous Read more…

just think.one week from today we will be on those buses!already you will know what compass direction it is to the start.part of me hates that we wont get to exactly follow the course in reverse.but there are just 3 or 4 sections that buses cant do.(these are no problem on foot, trust me!)you will get to go a long, long way on the course.and the distance will still boggle them mind when you think Read more…