morning checkin after 4 days. we still have 103 on the road! . i dont know the schedule yet, it is still being hammered out. but the casualties from yesterday will be brought forward soon. this was the first night we lost no one new. but the sun will be seeking out the weak ones not everyone still on the road is going to make it to the rock. . during the night all of Read more
vol staters have been wishing for a break from the blast furnace heat apparently someone found a bottle with a genie in it, because they got that break… . but it did not end up being an improvement. . afternoon thunderstorms had been on the forecast but as the steamy morning wore on clouds piled up in a dark and ominous fashion. . then dozens of small but intense and fast moving storms sprang up. Read more
they live day to day at the back. we lost donald cagle and jim barnes during the night. jim made it 87 miles at 87 years old. donald was, tragically, a mile from the turn when the clock ran out. . for the ones who survived the night, made the hard cutoff at the turn but still trail oprah, the challenge is greater today. tomorrow morning’s cutoff is at the commodore in linden 123 miles. Read more
if you want to renew your faith in humanity do a journey run . the most special thing that happens at vol state is the way the people who live along the course embrace the vol staters. . i think the 80 newbies in this year’s field were taken by surprise on the drive to the start. people waving as they went past signs wishing them well. . but that wasnt even a foretaste of Read more
the second night always starts to shake things out at the front. everyone has had to establish some sort of rest/run pattern. those who are able to survive on minimal rest are rising to the top. the long rest runners can generally move faster when on the road so they yo-yo more than the short rest runners, but the lead pack is always subject to shuffling according to the sleep patterns. . addison churned out Read more
today was supposed to be more of yesterday. yesterday was the day that a lot of newbies thought was hot but the veterans understood was not… . today got hot for real. . the temperature wasnt so bad by itself only in the mid to upper 90s. but with the humidity the heat index went well up over 100 in the shade. we dont even like to think about what the heat index was in Read more
after a night of riotous revelry on the road the innocent faces are no more. everyone who saw the sun rise from the road this morning is now a veteran. there is still a lot of seasoning to be applied, but the reality of life on the open road is no longer a mystery…. . it is hard. much harder than what they imagined. it is dirty much dirtier than the way they pictured it Read more
day 1 is the window for us in the race management. . up until we get the runners on the ferry it feels like the pressure is on. memories of the year the bus company missed the pickup date. the year the bus broke down. the year the motel didnt have the runners’ rooms cleaned… . need i go on? . the runners have always been great about the issues that have come up. sometimes Read more