24 hours in, and time to take stock. . some quick observations: 1) the runners seem to have come thru the storm fine, none were made of sugar and melted in the rain. none had lost so much substance that the wind blew them away. thankfully, even with so much lightning that it was like flickering daylight at times, no one got hit. it is always unnerving when your heart feels like you should be Read more…
sorry for the lateness of the update. the vol state hit the ground running, and there were things to take care of first. . what can you say about the first day? after all the anticipation, the best the runners can hope for is that nothing is decided on day one. the only conclusive outcomes on day 1 are negative. . true to form, at least three runners saw their races end on day 1. Read more…
twas the night before vol state and all thru the motel not a runner was stirring… .except one sitting outside his room watching ‘america’s got talent’ on his phone. . what do you say the night before the race begins? what do you think if you are sitting on your bed looking at the 3 pounds of carefully selected possessions that will define your world for the next…. . the newbies have expectations that will Read more…
the journey really starts tomorrow, . i will be up before the sun, heading high into the north georgia mountains to a parking lot cut into a cornfield on a remote mountaintop. . there i will meet a hundred hopeful runners. a few are elite multi-day athletes but most are just ordinary people. ordinary people with ordinary jobs and ordinary lives… . who hunger for the chance to do something extraordinary. . and there, out Read more…
screwed . it is that time of the year again, when the tiresome discussion over what constitutes running “screwed” in the vol state begins. . of course, there are no divisions kept in the results and even tho there seems to be a predictable call for us to parse rules (so that loopholes can be searched for) i will hold that the rules should be very simple: . running screwed is running as if you Read more…
Just a note to the HOTS enthusiasts…. Carl and I have thrashed out the 2022 course, and it is a thing of beauty. historic sites and sights, unique geological features, breathtaking scenery, small towns, soon to be discovered angels, lots of wide shoulders, and (as always) a few surprises. We believe you are going to absolutely love this 324 mile cakewalk. Possibly we will make some slight adjustments between now and race day (just in Read more…
silence on the rock. . all is quiet in the little clearing in the woods. the tents are gone the campfire is out. no sound of laughter no stories being told. . the footprints in the corn are filling with sand, and the parking lot is empty. . the last checkin has been made the winners are heading for home. and the losers too . 10 days packed with living are over. . but not Read more…
12 hours to go. 5 runners left. . 0ver the long night ahead 5 weary warriors soldier on. everyone is now ahead of the reaper. . the last 4 are barely ahead, but they have done what had to be done over the past 12 hours, as they have been doing it for nine and a half days. . the end is so close. only 12 more hours of forging on. regardless of what their Read more…