Construction

yesterday’s rain completely changed the atmosphere.two more perished during the nightbut for the 56 still on the course the weather this morning could not be better.the skies are cleartemperatures are in the low 70’s (low 20’s c)and there is a cool, light breeze….during the night we have had 4 fall behind the reaper.tim hardy, cherie mccafferty, joe haist, and michelle chauvin are now all between 1 and 5 miles behind cutoff….they have until tomorrow morning Read more

because it has air conditioning….so the first runner made marta today,and successfully reached the other side of atlanta..when we were laying out the coursewe really wanted to start in savannah;but there were two problems.first it was too farsecond it would be a nightmare to get them across atlanta….one bit of “out of the box” thinking solved both problems…,take marta!from one side of atlanta to the nextusing trains and busesrequiring at least two transfers….those who had Read more

the hardest thing to do at hotsis to know when to quit..extreme heat is nothing to play around with.but the nature of this game isthat it requires going on when the body is literally begging to quit..so when the heat is like it has been the last few dayswe dont press call-ins to go on,we press them to take refuge in a motelsleep and cool off.if possible get stomach issues sortedand hydration back on track…..this Read more

at last count we had 25 down,and 63 alive.30 of 41 original 400 milers are still going34 of the 48 who started the 350 have hung in there….it can be emotionally challenging to do meat wagon duty,because everyone you talk to is defeated,and you start to think maybe the race is impossible..but doing the sweeps of the course and talking to the live ones,it seems like they are managing it well….and then a couple of Read more

during the night we lost three more!.for the 70 survivors the real world has begun to fade from memory.life consists of the moving search for sustenance…..something to drinksomething to eata place to get out of the heat.and the need to keep moving.. a restaurant that closed early can be a catastrophe.the next place to stop is probably many hours away..getting caught on a long, barren stretch at mid day is devastating..the mind is constantly creating Read more

73 of the 88 who got off the busare still on the road.today was a bloodbath.even tho the highest heat index i saw was only 109..recency bias is surely evident,and maybe timing bias is just as significant.last night the runners hitting the 4 lane after sylvania thought it was the best thing since sliced bread.wide shoulder and low traffic: “woo hoo!”those who hit it today thought it was a slice of hell.no shade, no services: Read more

this morning is the real start of the hots.eyes are blearylegs stiffthe first rays of the sun seem to sear the flesh….the merry band that deboarded the buses is no more.the virgins are now veteransand the veterans remember the whole story….they know what is coming.and what has been so far is barely a foretaste of how hard this will be..the rock seemed far away yesterday….today it has receded beyond even the wildest imagination.no one is Read more

make hay while the sun shines….and cover miles in the moonlight!.for most of the field there really was not much choice but to try and get all they could today… starting from zero the runner has little strategic choice.the cutoffs are stark.40 miles in the first 24 hours or the meat wagon comes for you..as the race goes on,the storyline for each athlete revolves around what they have in the bank.any 12 hour segment with Read more