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 a big night last night.
michael apparently holed up at the old hotel in linden
allowing addison to take the lead going into 16 mile hill.
hendricks passed the high point in hohenwald
descended the long drop along swan creek to gordonsburg
climbed the next arduous climb to cross hampshire ridge
and dropped down into the quaint town of hampshire by this morning.
.
his morning will start with the long, steep hills separating hampshire and cross bridges.
.
he opened up a 13 mile lead on the formidable christine tokarz,
who is just starting down the descent to gordonsburg.
it could be a decisive break,
but he is barely past halfway,
and tokarz got rest in hohenwald while addison got none…
.
there is a lot of country yet to cover.
and rest strategy is going to be critical.
.
matt barker has quietly slipped into third place.
he has topped 16 mile hill and is coming into hohenwald.
michael is up and moving again,
but he is only starting up 16 mile hill
with the front of the long ragged line coming out of linden behind him…
.
ah, the long ragged line.
from the point of the line on the approach to 16 mile hill,
the survivors are strung out in ones and twos
winding back over the hills and across the valleys
thru the small towns and passing the farms,
jogging, walking, limping
but moving.
.
the main body of the snake has made it around the turn in lexington during the night
with the last big lump passing thru this morning
and then thinning out on the way back to oprah in huntingdon….
.
for the vol staters who fight for life at the back
oprah is ever present in their minds.
.
right now kara tiechrow is a mile behind oprah.
the next 24 hours is do or die.
donald cagle is not much better off
a mile ahead.
she could catch him on one overextended break.
for these people every day is a race…
.
and their opponent never rests
never falters.
if you have to run with the clicking of oprah’s heels in your ears
you can never rest easy….
.
and who, or what is oprah?
oprah is the real world.
.
out there on the road,
for all the difficulty
for all the deprivation
for all the discomfort
.
there is a freedom found nowhere else.
all the complexities of the real world have been left behind.
the vol state is simple.
follow the white line.
eat, drink, and move.
.
by this point in the race,
no one is worried about much else.
way up there at the front
there are accomplished athletes who are locked in competition.
.
but what does that consist of?
eat drink and move,
and try to get further sooner than the next guy.
.
but for most the task is enormous.
314 miles doesnt sound like much
but it is really far.
.
and these are just people.
ordinary, everyday people
with a hunger to find out who they really are
what can they really do.
a thirst for adventure
and it wouldnt be an adventure if you knew how it was going to come out.
.
they dont want to watch “the lord of the rings”
they want to live it.
and today they are living that life…
.
for the ones who hear oprah’s clicking heels
the real world is trying to claim them
to take them back to a more complex existence.
.
this race is just as difficult as the one at the front
and maybe more intense.
at the front they are battling for a crown….
.
at the back they are fighting for survival.