Why?
Reasonable question.
Why?
The challenge. The opportunity to write a novel in 72 hours with your legs. And your drive. And with the will to keep going over and over and over.
Why?
The possibility that it will be fun the whole time. The hope that maybe just maybe I'll keep my goofy smile burning the whole time. And that perhaps I'll even be able to help some people reach out and touch their own dreams as I propel myself toward mine.
Why?
Because some weird stuff happens to you thanks to the fatigue that sets in when you are on the same loop for so long, riding the waves that come with feeling good and feeling bad. And hopefully good again.
Why?
For that sweet, sweet moment when you recognize that you're not really sure what day it is, yet you're completely sure that this pursuit is, for a time, the most important journey you can take.
Why?
That sensation somewhere during the evening of Day 2 — as your mind starts to drift away — that this is harder than you recall, and yet entwined in this realization is the assurance that the Fun Factor is about to take a significant, prolonged dip unless you shove some food in your mouth RIGHT NOW.
Why?
Because these people are your people. Your bonds are strong. They understand you in ways few others do. They have seen you staring at your demons, and they have held your hand anyway. They know when to cheer you up. They have seen you rubbed raw, and they still care about you. They remind you to eat. And re-apply sunscreen. And lie to you about how great you look.
Why?
Because these people are your people. They laugh at your stories. They make you the brunt of their jokes. They walk with you throughout the nights because they know that you can talk for hours about basketball refereeing or the book you're writing or how awesome your son is or what a fabulous college James Madison University is — all of which give them welcome breaks from their iPod play lists.
Why?
It's a great time to put Think Small to another test and then to see what comes of it. Will I really be able to chop this gargantuan task up into smaller segments and then fall into a rhythm of regular stop breaks? Will I really sleep only four hours a night for three consecutive nights? Will I keep up with calorie intake in such a way that my energy stays high enough to keep moving. And moving. And moving. Will I really be able to stay right here right now, especially when the going gets truly difficult?
Why?
Because this 1-mile, mostly asphalt stage speaks to me in a voice like no other, a persistent whisper that tells me that I have more in me than perhaps I realize.
Three Days at the Fair 72-Hour is May 15-18. This is my fifth go-round — having done the 48-hour the first year and then the 72-hour each of its three years.
Why?
Because I still feel the searing need to add another chapter to this ongoing saga.
And I want to see if, yet again, I still have what it takes to chase down another dream.
April 30, 2014
April 21, 2014
The Feeling
You know the feeling.
Some people call it work. Others call it torture. Still others call it crazy.
You know better.
You know the feeling.
Sailing along a peaceful country road with only the sounds of your footfalls and a sweet, light springtime breeze.
Blasting around a compact oval in powerful mid-stride with the entire world reduced to the concentrated in and out of your diaphragm and your completely relaxed lower lip.
That resounding sense of worth from beating your 0345 alarm out of bed on a frost-covered December Tuesday workday morn because you promised yourself that you would.
The utter joy of tooling along at 4 or 5 mph and being completely awash in your own mind for hours and hours.
The unfailing beauty of the ever-changing pre-dawn light, especially when you're running along a mountain trail with the soft crunch of leaves underfoot.
The peaceful uneven softness of semi-packed ocean sand as the rising sun dots the skyline and early-morning waves give you relentless chase.
The purity that comes about from looking around and having it come home to roost that, yes, you are the only one up here on the top of this mountain. And that you got here by the power of your legs. And your will.
You know the feeling.
Freedom.
Some people call it work. Others call it torture. Still others call it crazy.
You know better.
You know the feeling.
Sailing along a peaceful country road with only the sounds of your footfalls and a sweet, light springtime breeze.
Blasting around a compact oval in powerful mid-stride with the entire world reduced to the concentrated in and out of your diaphragm and your completely relaxed lower lip.
That resounding sense of worth from beating your 0345 alarm out of bed on a frost-covered December Tuesday workday morn because you promised yourself that you would.
The utter joy of tooling along at 4 or 5 mph and being completely awash in your own mind for hours and hours.
The unfailing beauty of the ever-changing pre-dawn light, especially when you're running along a mountain trail with the soft crunch of leaves underfoot.
The peaceful uneven softness of semi-packed ocean sand as the rising sun dots the skyline and early-morning waves give you relentless chase.
The purity that comes about from looking around and having it come home to roost that, yes, you are the only one up here on the top of this mountain. And that you got here by the power of your legs. And your will.
You know the feeling.
Freedom.
April 15, 2014
Favorite Moments from U100 circa 2014
We did it.
My buddy Jack Broaddus and I kicked, clawed, scratched and meandered our way through Umstead 100-Miler April 5-6. It was 64-years-young Jack's first 100-mile finish. I have a bunch more, but this 28 hours, 25 minutes and 53 seconds belongs absolutely, completely to my dear friend Jack.
Some of my favorite moments from the 8-lap trek ...
• Me nearly halfway through Lap 7, so some ridiculous time early Sunday morning when a bit of hallucination action kicked in: "Oh wow. That just looked like a guillotine back there. Damn. I think I need some food. Bad."
• Getting trail time with friends old and new, a list that is so long that I have absolutely no shot at naming them all. Each of you know who you are, and I hope you also know what a true delight each of you is to my very soul (yes, even you Tom Green!!).
• All the kind, kind volunteers who pitched in and helped us out across the hours and days. Your smiles, your laughs and your occasional kicks in the behind kept us buoyed and happy and ever-mindful of the idea that one can stay focused on the ultimate goal and still have a helluva great time.
• Me dropping back and falling sound asleep later on Lap 7. While hiking. And eating a mouthful of animal crackers. Then me saying to Jack, "Dude, I just fell asleep hiking." And Jack coming back with, "Well, what in the hell did you do that for? Now, get back up here!"
• Every single step and all the laughs with the adorable Amy Surrette, who guided us around the course for the about 4 hours that were Lap 6. Amy is a dear friend, has one of the most shining personalities ever and is also among the toughest humans I have shared a race course with in all my days. So incredibly grateful for your help, Amy.
• Me and Jack trudging our way along on the final lap and just after passing the 11-mile mark on the 12.5-mile loop, we look up to see none other than our guardian angel Amy coming back out to meet us. She had gone home, grabbed a quick nap and daggone if she didn't come back out to check on us yet another time. Such joy in her smile that we were closing in on the final line that Jack and I even managed to break into a couple run segments as Amy joined in all the way home.
• Somewhere near the middle of Lap 8, Jack and I had the following exchange ...
Me: "Jack, you're leaning pretty far to right there, dude."
Jack (as he almost tumbles off the edge of the trail): "I am?"
• That blessed final section where you come back to the start-finish, me crowing to all who were within earshot at 10:25ish a.m. Sunday "This is Jack's first 100 finish!!" Him trying to get me to quiet down. Him realizing how remarkably pointless it was to protest.
• Jack breaking into a run as we made it halfway down that final downhill, and then holding it all the way up the final short uphill and across the finish line.
• The amazing sleepy, proud, radiant smile on Jack's face when RD Blake Norwood presented him with his finisher's belt buckle. Blake and I have been friends for 18 years now, and I'm not quite sure that I've ever seen Blake smile as widely as he did when he gave Jack that buckle.
This one was a good one. Really, really good. We went there with the goal that Jack was going to finish. Although it's so unlikely when this actually happens, I held out a glimmer of hope that we could do the whole enchilada together. Check. And check.
Moments that will last me a lifetime.
My buddy Jack Broaddus and I kicked, clawed, scratched and meandered our way through Umstead 100-Miler April 5-6. It was 64-years-young Jack's first 100-mile finish. I have a bunch more, but this 28 hours, 25 minutes and 53 seconds belongs absolutely, completely to my dear friend Jack.
Some of my favorite moments from the 8-lap trek ...
• Me nearly halfway through Lap 7, so some ridiculous time early Sunday morning when a bit of hallucination action kicked in: "Oh wow. That just looked like a guillotine back there. Damn. I think I need some food. Bad."
• Getting trail time with friends old and new, a list that is so long that I have absolutely no shot at naming them all. Each of you know who you are, and I hope you also know what a true delight each of you is to my very soul (yes, even you Tom Green!!).
• All the kind, kind volunteers who pitched in and helped us out across the hours and days. Your smiles, your laughs and your occasional kicks in the behind kept us buoyed and happy and ever-mindful of the idea that one can stay focused on the ultimate goal and still have a helluva great time.
• Me dropping back and falling sound asleep later on Lap 7. While hiking. And eating a mouthful of animal crackers. Then me saying to Jack, "Dude, I just fell asleep hiking." And Jack coming back with, "Well, what in the hell did you do that for? Now, get back up here!"
• Every single step and all the laughs with the adorable Amy Surrette, who guided us around the course for the about 4 hours that were Lap 6. Amy is a dear friend, has one of the most shining personalities ever and is also among the toughest humans I have shared a race course with in all my days. So incredibly grateful for your help, Amy.
• Me and Jack trudging our way along on the final lap and just after passing the 11-mile mark on the 12.5-mile loop, we look up to see none other than our guardian angel Amy coming back out to meet us. She had gone home, grabbed a quick nap and daggone if she didn't come back out to check on us yet another time. Such joy in her smile that we were closing in on the final line that Jack and I even managed to break into a couple run segments as Amy joined in all the way home.
• Somewhere near the middle of Lap 8, Jack and I had the following exchange ...
Me: "Jack, you're leaning pretty far to right there, dude."
Jack (as he almost tumbles off the edge of the trail): "I am?"
• That blessed final section where you come back to the start-finish, me crowing to all who were within earshot at 10:25ish a.m. Sunday "This is Jack's first 100 finish!!" Him trying to get me to quiet down. Him realizing how remarkably pointless it was to protest.
• Jack breaking into a run as we made it halfway down that final downhill, and then holding it all the way up the final short uphill and across the finish line.
• The amazing sleepy, proud, radiant smile on Jack's face when RD Blake Norwood presented him with his finisher's belt buckle. Blake and I have been friends for 18 years now, and I'm not quite sure that I've ever seen Blake smile as widely as he did when he gave Jack that buckle.
This one was a good one. Really, really good. We went there with the goal that Jack was going to finish. Although it's so unlikely when this actually happens, I held out a glimmer of hope that we could do the whole enchilada together. Check. And check.
Moments that will last me a lifetime.
April 3, 2014
'Twas two sleeps before Umstead ...
'Twas two sleeps before Umstead
and all through his brain
ponderous musings were flowing
like a runaway train.
Will he tackle success at Goal No. 1
Helping dear pal Jack make the grade?
or will they both be too pumped
rip away too fast and fade?
And what of his own ride to the stars,
where Finish No. 13 lingers and jeers,
will he manage his energy at all costs
beat sleep and hear blessed Sunday morn cheers?
Has he packed all his goods?
Does he have all he'll need?
When the going gets rugged
Which call will he heed?
He knows how to do this,
He's been here before,
And raced o'er these grounds
Through times rich and poor.
The path is a wide one
Well-marked and hard pack,
The party doesn't start
Till the light scales back.
A gentle early pace
Should help Jack steer clear
Of U100's challenging nature
Despite its sweet veneer.
Laughs will be had,
Stories will unfold,
Kudos will be earned,
As dreams foretold.
'Twas two sleeps before Umstead
and now through his eyes
rests the easy breezy feel
that Finish 13's his prize.
and all through his brain
ponderous musings were flowing
like a runaway train.
Will he tackle success at Goal No. 1
Helping dear pal Jack make the grade?
or will they both be too pumped
rip away too fast and fade?
And what of his own ride to the stars,
where Finish No. 13 lingers and jeers,
will he manage his energy at all costs
beat sleep and hear blessed Sunday morn cheers?
Has he packed all his goods?
Does he have all he'll need?
When the going gets rugged
Which call will he heed?
He knows how to do this,
He's been here before,
And raced o'er these grounds
Through times rich and poor.
The path is a wide one
Well-marked and hard pack,
The party doesn't start
Till the light scales back.
A gentle early pace
Should help Jack steer clear
Of U100's challenging nature
Despite its sweet veneer.
Laughs will be had,
Stories will unfold,
Kudos will be earned,
As dreams foretold.
'Twas two sleeps before Umstead
and now through his eyes
rests the easy breezy feel
that Finish 13's his prize.
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