RIFers Before VS500K
The first day is in the books! 40 runners and 4 relay teams set out yesterday to run 314 miles in the heat and humidity of Tennessee. That is the largest number of runners to start in the races history. The previous high was 22 runners. So cool to see so many people taking this challenge on this year. We are very proud of the 6 Run It Fast Club members who are running it this year. If you didn’t get a chance to meet them or would like to know more about them, check out this post.
And then check back throughout the day to see how things are going out there! I will be updating this post with emails, tweets, and photos as they come in.
Links you might find fun/useful:
To catch up on previous days: Day1
Last Annual Volstate 500K Spreadsheet & Map – for runner tracking (updated twice a day).
Carl’s 2013 Last Annual Volstate 500K Album.
Twitter:
RunItFast: @runitfast
Joshua Holmes: @bayou
Shannon Burke: @s4121burke
Dallas Smith: @smithbend
VS500: #VS500 or #VS500K
Facebook:
UltraJoshua – Facebook page for Joshua Holmes
Last Annual Vol State Road Race – Facebook page for VS500K
So far today:
Lisa: Ok, here are the Top 10 and the Teams as of the 36 Hour Update:
Top 10 Solo
1. Joe Fejes – 138 miles
2. Alan Abbs – 124 miles
3. Sung Ho Choi – 122 miles
4. John Fegyveresi – 117 miles
5. Joshua Homes – 104 miles
6. Ray Krolewicz – 103.5 miles
7. Jim Ball – 102 miles
8. Tim Purol – 98 miles
9. Jeff Kasal – 98 miles
10. Joel Gat – 97 miles
Teams:
1. Team Stinky Feet – 182 miles
2. Team Country Gentlemen – 144 miles
3. Team Dancing Bears – 139 miles
4. Team Two Step – 138 miles
Little bit of shuffling in the top 10 but Joe still has the lead! I wonder if it will change by morning? What do you think? I hope you’ll come back and follow along on Day 3.
Email from Laz at 9:48 pm:
animals with attitudes (vol-state 36 hour report)
as we spent the day making our way thru the field to the back,
and then returning to the front,
one thing stood out above all else…this family of vol-staters seem to possess an unbreakable positive attitude.
we have lost only a couple,
and the 38 survivors have smiles on their faces,
and are undeterred by the intimidating distances that lie in front of them.
more than a few have weathered crises which had us waiting for their call…only to find them recovered and once again moving efficiently down the road.
even jan and diane t, who found oprah on their heels at the end of day 1,
have buckled down,
and are making a valiant push to get back on track.the odds are against them;
nothing is harder than falling behind the line on day one,
and having to increase your output
with fatigue dogging your steps.
but they have made a statement:
they will not lie down beside the road and wait on oprah.
she will have to come and get them.at the front, fejes is showing what we already knew.
he is an animal;
cranking out miles with no sign of slowing down…but the race is not over.
abbs is an animal.
without benefit of any crew at all,
he has stuck to the road with unbelievable tenacity.
36 hours in, his persistence has pulled him within 14 miles of the lead.2 miles behind abbs is choi.
choi has seen some ups and downs.
but nothing has taken the smile off his face.
every time we think he is flagging,
he comes back strong again.
choi is an animal.
of course he almost has to keep coming back.
he has fegys on his tail.fegys is only 5 miles behind,
and equally crewless as abbs.
fegys, who finished barkley in just under 60 hours,
by never resting at all,
is not a man you want on your heels.
he is an animal.and it isn’t quite time to write off holmes,
13 miles back of fegys, at 104 miles.
holmes has a couple of vol-states under his belt.
he knows the hell that waits in those next couple of hundred miles.
josh is perfectly capable of making a move.holmes is capable of being an animal.
and he has motivation on his heels as well.
ancient krolewicz is less than a mile behind.
relentless forward motion has carried the k
from the very back into contention in only 36 hours.
the calendar might indicate that his day has passed.
that doesn’t mean anyone will be taking him lightly.he is an animal.
and on it goes, all the way thru the pack.
every runner has fought for their position.
and every runner will have to fight to keep it.it is a safe bet that those top 6 names will not remain in that exact order.
they probably will not even all be in the top 6,
when the names are called at the rock.36 hours in, and the race has taken shape.
now the fun part begins.laz
Lisa: Mike is referring to Shannon Burke who dropped at 64 miles and Ryan Brazell who dropped at 48 miles. Hopefully, the Last Annual Vol State 500K won’t claim any more victims in the coming days.
Email from Mike Dobies at 8:50 pm:
Vol State – 36 Hour Update
Tracking Sheet:
http://www.tinyurl.com/Volstate2013Note: I still need to mark Burke and Brazell as dropped……
Tweet from Dallas at 7:04 pm:
Facebook post by Josh at 6:28 pm:
Email from Carl Laniak at 5:30 pm:
vol state day 2 drive thru pics
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/107684748124952715657/albums/5899848831547549281
Instagram from Josh at 3:24 pm:
Facebook post from Diane Bolton at 3:17 pm (apparently it’s a little bit warm out there!):
Lisa: 5 more hours until the next check-in. I wonder what’s happening out there! Hoping everyone is having a good day and that the stomach issues/blisters problems have gone away. I wish there was a live video feed to watch! The suspense is killing me. 😉
Email from Carl Laniak at 1:17 pm:
Lockard & wingard – 61
Email from Carl Laniak at 12:33 pm:
Dallas smith – 53.5
Tweet from Josh at 12:14 pm:
Email from Carl Laniak at 11:40 pm:
Mouskateers – 75
Laz, Purol, Gat, Kasal, Stephens.
Carl
Tweet from @keithdunn:
Lisa: Ok, here’s the top 10 from the 24 Hour Update and the team standings:
Top 10
1. Joe Fejes – 107 miles
2. Alan Abbs – 91 miles
3. Sung Ho Choi – 84 miles
4. Joshua Holmes – 82 miles
5. John Fegyveresi – 81 miles
6. Ray Krolewicz – 76 miles
7. Joseph Nance – 70 miles
8. Sal Coll – 68 miles
9. Jeff McGonnell – 68 miles
10. Jim Ball – 68 miles
The team standings:
1. Team Stinky Feet – 124 miles
2. Team Country Gentlemen – 106 miles
3. Team Dancing Bears – 96 miles
4. Team Two Step – 82 miles
Lisa: Running a little late today so still have to catch up on some pics and tweets from the night. But here’s the important emails to get you started! Thanks for following along. 🙂
Email from Carl Laniak at 10:08 am:
Fejes at 119.5
Running strong, and joking around.
Carl
Email from Laz at 8:31 am:
(24 hours) as the competition goes…
after getting far ahead of all the solo runners,
we assume team stinky feet has hit the sack,
we have no 24 hour status for them.fejes has moved out to a commanding lead in the race;
in parsons, at 107 miles.
this is one of the best first days in vol-state history
topped only by the record 110 mile first day back in the early 1980’s.alan abbs, making the turn in Lexington, at 91 miles,
is certainly still in the chase.
and the feral fox has to know his screwed (uncrewed) record is under threat.
we are giddy at the thought of seeing a sub-5 by a screwed runner…white trash might be giddy for other reasons.
such as the thought of crossing the Tennessee river and starting the long climb to linden.sung ho (bruce) choi is next at 84
holmes (82), fegys (81), and krolewicz (76) round out the top 6.that’s right.
the k.
the ancient, out of shape lister,
who was way back in the pack 12 hours ago
is now up with the big boys.experience can be valuable.
now lets see what the second day brings…
carl and I are off to bring cheer to the footweary,
hope to the despairing,
anything but an easy ride to those who want to quit…and a hook for anyone caught by opra.
laz
Email from Laz at 8:11 am:
the morning of hope
the second day has dawned bright and cool,
with as low a humidity as has been seen in these parts recently.accordingly, the runners are doing well.
only one casualty so far.
shannon burke found a too-willing volunteer to retrieve her from the road.
how often your worst enemy comes in the guise of a friend!
(me and carl were sure we could get another day out of her)5-day has reported a tiny blister,
hardly any bigger than a golf ball.
that should help him stay alert today.
hopefully it will heal during his 4 remaining days.other than that,
only the usual stomach issues,
and moderately sore feet.big backpack was sighted crawling from a ditch before martin,
yesterday afternoon.
he appeared to be having serious difficulties,
so we averted our eyes and drove quickly past….turned out to be the right choice,
because he is now well up in the field and moving well…certainly he has to have enough supplies to propel him down the road.
it doesn’t get any better than this….
at least it is not going to.
laz
Email from Mike Dobies at 8:29 am:
Vol State – 24 Hour Update
Tracking Sheet:
http://www.tinyurl.com/Volstate2013
