The Last Annual Vol State Road Race 2017 - Updates 168 Hours
Posted on the Ultralist
Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2017 14:43:18 +0000
From: lazarus
Subject: the decisive 72 hours begin
eventually it becomes a war of attrition.
oprah took down paul heckert last night.
henry lupton fell this morning.
he had been in one place, trying to heal up
while oprah relentlessly bore down on him.
he awoke this morning,
hearing the distant sound of clicking high heels,
and he knew it was over.
now she has her sights on tanya underwood and james allen.
they are a mere mile ahead,
and that clicking sound that echoes in their ears
grows louder every time they rest.
it seems futile to hope,
but they have fought so long,
and so hard....
run tanya and james, run.
it has been a week now,
since 88 runners stepped off the ferry
(ok, one climbed out of the river)
and set off for castle rock.
the champions were crowned days ago
the cheers have faded,
the outside world has moved on.
30 have finished,
and 14 have gone down to defeat.
44, exactly half, are still on the road,
following that endless white line.
all day and all night
their life revolves around one thing:
follow the endless white line.
move ever onward.
on to the rock.
everyone is hurt.
their feet sore,
their legs weary.
they are hungry, thirsty,
and sleep deprived,
they have done things
their real life friends would never understand.
they have recalibrated their taste buds,
and eaten (with great relish) food they never imagined they would eat.
they have adjusted their standards,
and slept places they never dreamed they would sleep.
with sunburnt skin
and squinty eyes,
carrying now stripped down packs
(they have drastically reduced concepts of vital supplies)
the ones who remain on the road,
exactly half of the number who stepped on the ferry,
look more like war refugees than runners.
but, still they limp and hobble down the road.
pulled by the siren song of the rock.
they have been changed
in so many ways.
but they have not been broken.
few will notice,
and none will remember,
the mighty struggles that they have left to endure.
but they go on,
for the only one who they must satisfy
is themselves.
one of last night's finishers told of a cashier,
who asked her;
"you do this for..... a sticker?"
how do you explain that the sticker is just a symbol.
we do it to prove to ourselves that we can.
that is why the 44 continue to follow the white line;
long after the champions have been crowned
and the records set.
long after the cheers have faded,
and the world has moved on.
that is why they will continue their quixotic quest
until they reach the rock,
or oprah catches them.
because they only have one person to prove something to...
and that person will always know
if they gave their full measure.
laz
With under 70 hours left, there are 31 finishers, 14 stopped, 43 on the course.
Race Links
Tracking Sheet: http://www.tinyurl.com/Volstate2017
Map: https://drive.google.com
Twitter feed is #vs500k https://twitter.com/vs500k
Facebook: Last Annual Vol State Road Race
Website: volstate314.com
