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 more than the minimum puts miles in the bank.
miles that can be traded for things like sleep, shopping stops, food breaks….
.
bathroom breaks!
.
any 12 hour segment below the minimum must be paid from the bank.
taking away options from the athlete.
leaving no alternative but to spend more time on their feet.
.
for the competitive athletes at the front,
the minimum is defined by their goals.
it can be a set minimum;
determined by a desired finish time (say, under 7 days)
.
or it can be a fluid minimum;
based on what the athlete believes it will take to win.
this number can change at every check in-
depending what the other contenders have done…
.
but for most of the hots runners
the minimum is set in stone.
because this is not a field of elite athletes by the standard meaning.
.
they are regular people,
just like anyone else.
ordinary people
with jobs and families
men and women
ranging in age from 21 to 74…
.
what makes them elite
is an insane drive to achieve extraordinary things.
.
and for these people the minimum is defined by the cutoffs.
staying ahead of the grim reaper that relentlessly dogs their footsteps.
avoiding the symbolic death of being loaded into the meat wagon
and hauled back to the rock
without the prize they came for.
.
and so, today, it did not matter if the effective temperatures ranged from 102 to 111.
no matter that a single step outside was enough to coat your body in a sheath of sweat
and to run or walk in the sun made moisture pour from them like a running faucet…
.
movement was life
movement was survival
movement was everything.
.
12 hours in and everyone has at least 4 miles on the reaper.
and now they have the night to add anything they can to that margin.
no matter the horrible pounding they took today,
they must get everything out of the night that they can.
.
so everyone has some cushion now.
everyone who can muster a strong night should be able to add some more…
.
but the situation is not as rosy as it might seem.
they are up against an opponent that never rests
never slows down
is indifferent to the weather;
and will take them out with no remorse.
.
while they are no longer operating at 100%.
it is a certainty that they will never again be able to move as fast as they did today.
it is unavoidable that they are going to have downtime.
.
the cushion is an illusion.
it is miles in the bank that they will have to spend.
the only question is will it be enough?
do they have enough left to add to the bank?
or will they watch it dwindle until it is gone
and the meat wagon comes for them?
.
a half day is done.
there are 10 days to go….
.
tonight might be the most important night of their race.
.
vaya con dios hots runners!