vol state update t-8 hours…
.
the training is done.
the interminable bus ride endured.
the last supper has been eaten.
and now 114 runners try to get that one last painless sleep.
.
if they can only take their minds off just how far away they parked this morning.
and the predicted 100 degree day waiting for them tomorrow.
.
if they can only calm the nerves.
some lie awake because they have been here before,
and they know what is coming.
some lie awake because they have never ridden that ferry,
and they do not know what lies ahead…
.
it was quite a crowd tonight at the last supper.
the excitement in the air was palpable.
looking around the room, tho,
what was striking was the ordinariness.
just regular people like you would see every day…..
.
except.
unseen.
deep inside.
there is something more.
a hunger to live life at its fullest
to experience it at its most intense.
a yearning great enough for them to leave everything behind
except what they can carry on their backs
and challenge the brutality of tennessee in july.
.
114 ordinary people will summon the courage to step on that ferry tomorrow morning.
seeking the extraordinary that it will take to reach the rock.
.
there is a lot of life to be lived over the next 10 days.