Day 5: The Last Annual Vol State 500K Live Blog

shannon burke became the third casualty after her 5 mile wrong-way exploit,
bailing out at about 130.

laz

How bad is it that as Joshua Holmes’ Crew, Cal and I get more info about his health and mileage info from Facebook and twitter than we do from him…- Blake Heiman (Crew)

Naresh is resting at 180. Heading in. Now at. 167 miles total. 37.45 according to Garmin since left hotel last night. Felt really good. 12 hours 27 min on road. Time for ice, shower, foot soak, food, sleep.- Josh Holmes

Josh Holmes and Crew Vol State 2011

From: lazarus lake <drystoneman@hotmail.com>

Date: July 18, 2011 9:25:10 AM CDT

To: <volstate@irun100s.com>, <ultra@listserv.dartmouth.edu>

Subject: laughter is the best medicine vol-state 12

when your whole world consists of discomfort,

the only thing to do is laugh.

looking at the limping, bleary-eyed “runners” along the side of tenesse’s roads

we need to laugh a lot.

one of the lady runners (name withheld to protect the foolish)

after spotting a couple of shady looking characters parked beside the road

realized she had never tested her pepper spry.

so she reached down, pressed the trigger

and sprayed herself in the face.

the good news: it worked

more good news: “i needed a good cry anyway.”

another un-named participant told me;

“on day two i started to wish a truck would hit me.

i was imagining it just hitting me a little bit,

and only injuring me slightly…

so i would have a reason to stop”

i think this call for an updated list bio:

fantasy ultra goal: to be hit by a truck, and only injured slightly.

more misdirection?

stu & shannon got up this morning in linden,

dragged their aching bodies back to the road,

and stumbled 5 miles back toward parsons.

altho it seems incomprehensible,

this is a common error at the vol-state.

the first time i remember it,

dirt thompson (within single digit miles of winning)

stopped briefly (to remove a rock from his shoe, i believe)

then began walking back the way he had come.

when we came to naresh & sal during yesterday’s drive thru

they expressed concern about sherry.

“she threw up, she is not drinking enough,…”

when i asked where she was;

“oh, she left an hour before we did from (the last stop)”

we found sherry about 5 miles ahead, and moving strong.

if sherry is in trouble, what does that say for sal & naresh?

lynnor & erika are actually turning a profit in the vol-state.

for whatever reason,

people keep stopping them and giving them money.

erika is considering this as NEW a summer job when she gets home;

“this pays better than my job!”

lynnor, on the other hand, is starting to feel slighted;

“she has gotten $30 so far. i’ve got $1!”

another pair of runners staggered into a town long after the stores had closed.

famished, they went to the only open establishment;

a bar; full of drunks in the wee hours.

they figured peanuts & potato chips were better than nothing.

after talking to the bartender for a while,

she went & got the frozen pizza she had brought to eat after her shift;

“you need it worse than i do.”

sometimes road angels are the only reason the uncrewed runners survive.

i have to stop here, they are badgering me to get off the computer.

but the stories could fill a book.

don w is nearing war trace, at mile 231

during the night he extended his lead on

mike m, who is leaving lewisburg, at 202

abi & sherry are both out of columbia at 181 (but not together)

joe judd is at 180,

as are naresh and sal (who are, none the less, not with joe)

josh holmes has moved back up heading for hampton at 157

fred murolo is right behind him at 154

erika & lenore are leaving hohenwald at 145

fred davis is just ahead of them, also listed at 145

and john price is about 146

paul lefelhocz has come back & repasse diane taylor

paul is at 133, and diane at 129.

stu and shannon, after traveling 5 miles the wrong way,

are in linden ar 125…. again.

and it just keeps getting better.

dont you wish you could be here to see all the fun?

laz

A Gorgeous Beginning to Day 5, Vol State 2011

Today begins day 5 of the Vol State road race and it seems that retention of runners is holding.

GPS location of Josh Holmes:

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This post was written by:

- who has written 1138 posts on Run It Fast®.

Joshua Holmes has completed 325 marathons/ultramarathons while running 100+ miles 62 including races such as the Badwater 135 (9x), Western States 100, The Last Annual Vol State 500K (4x). He is the founder of Run It Fast, the most driven club on the planet. His favorite races to date are the Vol State 500K, Badwater 135, Barkley Fall Classic, Catalina Eco Marathon, Chimera 100, Across The Years, Savage Gulf Trail Marathon, Strolling Jim 40 Miler, Tunnel Hill 100, RUTS, EC100 and the Flying Monkey Marathon in his home state of Tennessee. Follow @bayou Follow @joshuaholmes on Instagram

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