10 days in june
nasty night here on the rock.
rained most of the night
and the few trips driving in and out are turning the road thru the corn into a quagmire!
as you have probably seen 4 runners have finished.
apparently everyone behind them stopped in kimball and waited on daybreak…
i cant blame them!
it was cold and windy just to make the 95% humidity more joyous.
i am grateful that the finish sheets are on card stock
because everything made of paper is disintegrating!
matt barker and billy collier folded during the night.
i cant blame them.
the low pressure center has moved south of us now
and the rain is reaching us from the ocean much sooner!
here on the rock
we are in a temporary gap in the rain
(unlike most of the runners)
but the radar is promising we will be back in it most of the day!
and so they march on.
the call of the rock a clarion call (tribute to the motel in kimball that gives the last annual races so much support) for some.
a distant echo for others.
but at this point everyone is close enough to sense that the rock is there.
they must only fight off the temptation to give up the quest.
because they have endured so much already.
the fatigue
the hunger
the thirst
the blasts of water from passing trucks.
the rain
the merciless rain.
sometimes it is hard to remember why they went thru that tunnel in fig…
a lifetime ago.
a lifetime
so much has happened.
bears, swinging bridges, elevated sidewalks, overpass climbs
so many downtowns
so many strangers offering smiles and encouragement.
so many magnificent views…
so much foot pain.
and so they march on
as difficult as it has become
physically and emotionally
an adventure is not an adventure
if you know how it will turn out.
and fun is not always fun
at the moment it is happening.
but one thing is certain.
no one who went thru the fig tunnel 6 days ago
will ever forget what happened after they emerged.
there is a lot of life being lived
during these 10 days in june.