Tag Archive | "Gary Cantrell"

King Greg Armstrong in His Throne Vol State 500K Winner 2015 – Run It Fast

Greg Armstrong Wins the 2015 Last Annual Vol State 500K

Greg Armstrong 2015 Vol State Run It Fast Shirt

UPDATED: King of the Road, Greg Armstrong’s 2015 Vol State 500K Race Report

Greg Armstrong, of Lebanon, Tennessee, won The Last Annual Vol State 500K early Monday morning becoming the first runner to reach The Rock in Castle Rock, Georgia. Armstrong goes back-to-back as he won the race last July as well. His time of 3 days 22 hours 05 minutes 23 seconds is the 4th fastest time in Vol State history.

Armstrong is the first back-to-back King of the Road and joins DeWayne Satterfield as the only two-time winner of the race.

This year’s extreme heat knocked Armstrong off his plan to set the course record, as did a cracked rib, but he persevered to keep the uncrewed Swede Johan Steene just far enough back the entire race to earn the win.

Steen reached The Rock shortly after Armstrong in 3 days 23 hours 15 minutes 52 seconds breaking the uncrewed/screwed record that he set last year by nearly 3 hours.

The humble and gracious Armstrong had the following to say after Steene’s finish, “I know I am relatively new to the sport but this performance by Johan Steene may be one of best/gutsiest efforts of all time. How can I make such a lofty comment? Well, I went through the exact same conditions usually just hours before Johan each day. Unless you have done this race one can’t fully appreciate the difference between being “crewed” and “screwed”. As far as I’m concerned Johan is the true “King of the Road”. I appreciate the well wishes and congrats but I’m not in the same league as this amazing man!!

King Greg Armstrong in His Throne Vol State 500K Winner 2015 - Run It Fast

King Greg sitting atop his throne (or the ‘thrown’ as Laz calls the chair because after every runner sits in it, the stench is so bad that the chair has to be ‘thrown’ away in the garbage)!

The race was started many years ago by Gary Cantrell, also known as Lazarus Lake, who still presides over the race and haunts runnes over all 314 grueling miles.

Greg might be done but over 60 other runners remain on the course, some as far back as 190 miles, hoping to get to the same Rock that Armstrong reached so quickly.

Vol State 500K King of Road Crown Logo

Last Annual Vol State Kings of the Road (modern course)

  • 2015 Greg Armstrong – 3d 22h 5m 23s
  • 2014 Greg Armtrong – 3d 17h 50m 53s
  • 2013 Joe Fejes – 3d 8h 10m 16s (course record)
  • 2012 Daniel Fox – 5d 3h 9m 33s
  • 2011 Don Winkley – 5d 14h 21m 32s
  • 2010 Juli Aistars – 5d 22h 1m 33s
  • 2009 DeWayne Satterfield – 3d 17h 42m 12s
  • 2008 Kevin Dorsey – 4d 23h 45m 3s
  • 2007 Carl Laniak – 6d 6h 11m 1s
  • 2006 DeWayne Satterfield – 4d 8h 39m 44s

The view King Greg had upon reaching ‘The Rock’ overlooking the Tennessee River

Greg Armstrong's View from The Rock - Vol State 500K

Congrats to Greg and his crew on his amazing victory!

Posted in Running, Ultra Marathon, Vol StateComments (3)

Gary Cantrell Lawrence of Shelbyville Lazarus Lake

Asphalt in My Blood: The Maps of Lazarus Lake

Gary Cantrell Lawrence of Shelbyville Lazarus Lake

Asphalt in My Blood

i got hooked in 1970.
it wasn’t really a big deal,
i ran from tullahoma to estill springs and back.
it was only 16 miles, altho that was the furthest i had ever run.
the big thing was, i got asphalt in my blood.
from that day on,
i could not escape the call of the open road.
the map didn’t start until 1977.
i had used maps for quite a while to plan new places to run.
it was a miserable january,
and i had brightened it by getting a map of the city,
and using january to run every single road,
marking them off with a magic marker.
one night i got out my county maps
and shaded all my runs. all the places i had been.
then i cut out the maps and taped them together:
coffee, bedford, and franklin counties.
they looked dam impressive, so i hung it on the wall over the kitchen table.
the itch got worse,
and soon my map included lincoln, moore, and rutherford counties.
it was either 1979 or 1980 that tom osler changed my life.
i read some article, either by or about him, that introduced a concept so revolutionary
that it completely redefined my capabilities.
walking was not just what happened when you could run no further.
it was acceptable to walk on purpose.
and if you mixed in a little walking as you went,
your horizons expanded beyond the horizon.
suddenly i found that i was not limited to 30 or 35 miles in a run.
i could go on and on indefinitely.
in 1980 i took my first stab at running across tennessee
(north to south-125 miles seemed plenty ambitious at the time)
after making every mistake a noob can make,
i ended up aborting after 93 miles.
it was a failure that would give birth to the vol-state
(but that is another story, for another day)
as time went by, i added to my skill set and my tools.
they invented water bottles
and i got me a liquipak.
around 1983 i got a bodabelt 100-miler fanny pack.
i still use the liquipack and bodabelt 100-miler.
no better products have been produced.
growing my map became a passion.
i left on christmas eve and ran overnight to sandra’s dad’s house in dickson for christmas.
it was a hundred and some odd miles,
depending on which way you went.
i eventually went all of them,
and part of the holiday tradition became reports on where family members passed me on their way to the gatherings.
i took trips that went on for days, overnighting in cheap motels…
or cemeteries and church lawns.
my map grew and grew.
sandra took me to arkansas, and let me out.
a week later i showed up at home.
(she loves to tell people that no matter where she dumps me, i always find my way home)
somewhere along the way,
my goal became to add every county in the state to my map…
of course there are rules.
all the lines have to connect.
the map i have now is something to see.
it is 30 feet long, and 5 feet tall.
it is crisscrossed with lines;
it is not enough to do every county,
i have to do every route between every city.
the annexation of new counties eventually slowed.
(there are 95 counties in tennessee)
many of the counties are far away.
some lacked suitable roads for trekking.
and i spent a lot of happy days running new roads in counties already on the map.
but the map has never stopped growing.
i have never really had a plan.
there were so many counties, and so many runs to do.
i would just pick something new, plan it and do it.
i have seen some changes during the 43 years of this project.
the days of doing 30 miles at 8 minutes a mile,
and calling it “taking it easy” seem like a dream.
these days, as an old man with over 100k miles on the odometer, and a crippled leg,
20 minute miles feel like flying.
but i have never forgotten the ultimate goal.
altho i cannot go “fast” any more,
the horizon is still only limited by the time i have available.
last night it dawned on me that the end is drawing near.
it was finally time to sit down and take a count on what i have left.
what i came up with is 7 “runs” on my bucket list.
7 “runs” i have to do before i die.
if i could do any run i wanted.
these are the runs i would do:
bartlett to milan (haywood and crockett county)- 80 miles
brownsville bisects this one right in the middle.
convenient for making this a nice challenging 2-day run.
i ran the 1976 jackson marathon, which went into crockett, and does connect.
but that was pre-map, and apparently the actual course is lost to history.
it doesn’t count unless i can mark it in.
knoxville to tazewell (union county) -45 miles.
one good day.
mooresburg to sneedville to rogersville (hancock county)-50 miles
one long day.
i did a 60 mile run in hancock and hawkins county back around 1985, but it does not connect… yet
bristol to morristown (washington and greene counties)-83 miles
on us 11-e, i would love to do this as a continuous run of around 36 hours.
bristol to mountain city to elizabethton to bluff city (johnson and carter counties) 78 miles
up in the smoky mountains.
greenville to newport to sevierville to knoxville (cocke and sevier counties) 79 miles
i’d have done this a long time ago, except fot the smoky mt tourist traffic.
these roads used to be shoulderless, and i am not sure they are much better now.
timing will be important.
johnson city to erwin to the appalachian trail (unicoi county) 50 miles
this just seems like the run to complete my project with.
something about ending at the AT (home of so many other men’s dreams) just seems right.
there they are.
achievable.
despite my physical limitations, the real obstacle these days
is my financial limitations.
but i have made many good friends over the years,
and they have been wonderful in recent years,
accompanying me on the way,
providing good company
and making it possible for me to do these “runs.”
in my dream finish,
durb, and dirt, and others who have been a part of my lifetime project
are with me on that final 50 miler.
it is on a 4-lane road, with plenty of room for us all.
i think that would be the greatest run of my life.
at the same time as i was preparing this list,
my eye was caught by dozens of other roads as yet undone.
this list are the ones to complete the map.
there is more open road calling to me than i can complete in a lifetime.
and that is the way it should be.
living is not living,
without hearing the call of the open road.
laz

[originally posted by Lazarus Lake/Gary Cantrell to the Ultralist in 2013. Laz is the creator of the Barkley Marathons, Vol State 500K, Strolling Jim 40 Miler, A Race for the Ages, and Laz’s Backyard Ultra]

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2013 Barkley Finishers – Nick Hollon and Travis Wildeboer

Nick Hollon and Travis Wildeboer Finish The Barkley Marathons

Today was a historic day in the ultramarathon world as Nickadedemus ‘Nick’ Hollon became the 13th man to ever finish the famed Barkley Marathons, the toughest 100 mile race in the world, that takes place at Frozen Head State Park in East Tennessee.

Shortly thereafter Travis Wildeboer became the 14th man in history to finish the race.

Many experts thought that no one would finish the race this year with three having finished it last year.

The rugged and extremely tough course consists of five 20-mile loops with nearly 60,000 feet of elevation gain and loss (120k change).

Hollon finished (and won) the race in 57 hours and 41 minutes.  A bit over 2 hours before the 60 hour cutoff.

Wildboer was just a bit behind finishing in 58 hours 41 minutes.

The race was created by the devious Gary Cantrell (Lazarus Lake).

Fourteen men have now finished the race in it’s long history. A woman has yet to but that will likely happen in the next couple of years.

Congrats to Nick and Travis on an amazing feat!

[photo via @lord_balls]

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<em>The NY Times</em> Love for The Barkley Marathons

The NY Times Love for The Barkley Marathons

Two things you might not put together, The New York Times and The Barkley Marathons, happily married this morning when the esteemed paper did an extensive article on The Barkley Marathons which is more of a recluse, as far as races go, than the late Howard Hughes was back in the early 70’s.

It’s a nice piece that delves into the history of the race and gives facts and winners that less than five people in the world probably knew beforehand.

It rightfully gives Gary Cantrell ‘Lazarus Lake’ the credit he deserves for the tough and challenging races he conjures up in his sick brain.

Here is how Dave Seminara of the Times described the race:

It is a 100-mile footrace that some say is actually 130 miles or more, through unmarked trails with names like Meth Lab Hill, Bad Thing and Leonard’s Buttslide that are choked with prickly saw briars. Temperatures often range from freezing to blistering on the same day, and there is a cumulative elevation gain of more than 60,000 feet, or the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest twice from sea level.

A 60-hour time limit forces runners to run, climb and bushwhack for three days with little or no sleep. They endure taunts from the race director, who deliberately keeps the competition’s entry procedure a mystery. It is a race in which there are no comfort stations and runners cannot use a GPS device or a cellphone.

Less than 2 percent of the nearly 800 ultrarunners who have subjected themselves to this punishment — 12 men, the same number as have walked on the moon — have finished the race in its current iteration. The only prize is that after 100 miles, they get to stop.

This is the Barkley Marathons, the world’s toughest and most secretive trail race.

Read the Full Article HERE. It’s a great piece that gives ultrarunning some of it’s much needed props. Not that Barkley is per se a ‘running’ race, but it is one of Satan’s most cherished events on Earth.

The race takes place every spring in Tennessee.

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Naresh Eating a Rattlesnake Cooked by Lazarus Lake in Bell Buckle, TN (Gary Cantrell)

Extreme Ultra Runner Naresh Kumar Eats a Rattlesnake

Extreme ultra-runner Naresh Kumar came to the United States from his native India two years ago.  Within his first months here he trained for and easily completed a road marathon.

However, he quickly fell off the deep end once he started running in Vibram Five Fingers and found trails. He started doing every ultra he could find in his trusty rubber-toe shoes. He all of a sudden had completed dozens of ultras, including a couple of 10o milers and the Vol State 500K foot race, along with many others.

Then he added extreme cycling, rock climbing, helicopter lessons, and anything he could find to try to satisfy his savage desire for adrenaline and fun.

He then started doing these crazy ultras in Bedrock Sandles.

During this time he became friends with the wicked King of Pain Gary Cantrell, better known in the running community as the sinister Lazarus Lake.  Lake known for covering hundreds of miles in his prime just for the heck of it, solo, is the founder of the Strolling Jim 40 Miler, a cakewalk compared to his other creations – The Barkley (toughest ultra-marathon in the world with 11 finishers since it’s inception years ago) and The Last Annual Vol State 500K which covers a brutally hot and humid Tennessee for 314 miles in July.

Today, I was scrolling my Tweets when I saw one from my good friend Naresh that had him holding a plate of what looked liks soft-serve frozen yogurt from Ryan’s Steakhouse except it wasn’t yogurt…

It was a skinned Rattlesnake that Lazarus was preparing for Naresh to eat.

Below, you will see the blow by blow pictures of the rattler being skinned, deep-fried, and served to Naresh to eat.  The final picture in the series being a medicine bottle, as a souvenir of his decision to dance with the Dr. Kevorkian of ultra-madness – Lazarus Lake in his Bell Buckle, Tennessee kitchen.

Anyone else for some deep-fried rattlesnake?

You can follow Naresh Kumar on Twitter @iamarunr

He is also RIF #2 in Run It Fast – The Club

Posted in RunningComments (2)

Brett Muane

Brett Maune crushes the Barkley Marathons Course Record

Brett Maune from California crushes the Barkley Marathons course record in 52:03:08.  The previous course record was set by Brian Robinson in 2008 55h 42m 27s. Last year Brett M was the sole finisher with a finish time of 57:13:33. Also Brett Maune is also the only person to finish the Barkley twice. A legendary performance.

Jared Campbell and John Fegyveresi are still OUT THERE.

Photo Courtesy: Matt Hart :: Coaching Endurance LLC :: TrailRunner Mag’s Ask the Coach

Posted in Barkley Marathons, Events, Running, Ultra MarathonComments (0)

2011 Vol State Last Supper Marvin Skagerberg, Lazarus Lake (Gary Cantrell)

My Vol State 500K Photo Journal + Race Report (2011)

Along the course of this year’s Last Annual Vol State 500K I documented the 314+ mile journey on my Twitter and my FacebookRunning Page‘ (view here).

Below is my race report along with a few of those Facebook updates and photos I took throughout the race (and others).  The race report is very long and was done for me, to help me remember the race as time goes by and memories begin to fade.  If others happen to enjoy it or benefit from it then that is even better.

The Vol State 500K is one of the toughest races in the world. The race starts in Missouri then touches part of Kentucky before making it to the July oven on earth that is Tennessee for the next 290+ miles. The race concludes by leaving Tennessee and dipping down into Alabama briefly before runners finish at ‘The Rock’ atop a mountain in Castle Rock, Georgia some 314 miles after starting. Read the full story

Posted in Photos, Race Reports, Running, Ultra Marathon, Vol StateComments (7)

Vol State 2011 Winner

Day 7: The Last Annual Vol State 500K Live Blog

Winning TIme- First Runner to Finish in record time. It is a delicate balance for the runners: try to not kill yourself to finish but pace yourself fast enough to finish, and pretend it’s not a race. Keep telling themselves that it is enough to finish. Careful out there everyone! “It’s enough just to be nominated!”…

5:14:21:32

Vol State 2011 Winner

From: Carl Laniak
Date: July 19, 2011 10:02:25 PM CDT
To: Vol State List , The ULTRA List Subject: 5:14:21:32

Everyone know how to read that finish time??

King juli the lean’s reign is over.
King don has ascended to the throne.
Carl

From: lazarus lake
Date: July 20, 2011 10:14:24 AM CDT
To: ,
Subject: survival. it comes down to survival. vol-state 15

even as a lucky few are celebrating success…
or sleeping the sleep of the dead,

those surviving on the road are doing just that
surviving…

barely….

some of them.

abi leads the survivors, in pelham at 266.
says if she sees us,she is dumping off her gear
and going for the rock.

naresh is in hot pursuit in hillsboro (app 260).
ok, he isnt in hot pursuit
he is sitting in an abandoned convenience store
with a bag of ice on his foot
weeping.
says his foot feels like a brick attached to his ankle.
says he only hopes to wake up someday and not feel like this.
(there we go again. need another bio update.
the vol-state fairly breeds fantasy ultra goals)

sherry is somewhere in there,but has so far remained quiet.
we hope she is not waiting in ambush for us to drive thru.

sal has swept thru the survivors & is at 240,
on 16th model road

josh is also moving up,past shelbyville at 228

fred the surviving, is also past shelbyville at 225

paul at 216 leads john price at 215
each walking in their own personal hell

the waltzing mathenys are at 210
with erika injured,and 104 miles still to go.

diane is thru lewisburg, at 203.
cheerful as ever.
pretty unique right now.

joe, the surviving is still in lewisburg.
at 202.
seriously contemplating quitting.
a rumor surfaced that he is thinking of trying to go with fred, the surviving,
and share crew.
that would mean he doesnt know fred left last night & is now 25 miles away.
joe might be at a critical juncture.

stu gleman was at the edge of columbia
when it dawned on him that he didnt have to do this.
he is finished at 175.

with about an hour & a half total sleep last night,
carl is wavering.
do you believe those guys really timed out their finishes on purpose??
i swear, riding herd on this crew is genuinely tiring….

it just doesn’t hurt.

laz

Vol State 2011 Road Temperatures are on Fire

From: lazarus lake
Date: July 20, 2011 10:58:26 AM CDT
To: ,
Subject: welcome to my oven

the course riders just poked our heads out.

it is like an f’ing oven out there.

if an oven had 90% humidity.

god help the poor souls on the road.

laz

Fueling up, Road style- headed for the finish.

Day 7 Vol State 2011 GPS Location

Posted in Events, Marathon, Race Reports, Running, Timed Races, Ultra Marathon, Vol StateComments (1)

Day 6 Vol State 2011

Day 6: The Last Annual Vol State 500K Live Blog

OUCH! just got in. 201. 35 that stretch. Last 6 were the hardest, hottest miles I’ve ever put down. It took forever- Josh Holmes.

From: lazarus lake
Date: July 19, 2011 9:38:46 AM CDT
To: ,
Subject: so easy from an office chair; vol-state 14

it is so easy, looking at the mike-map
to think the whole thing is done at halfway.

ask a runner (any of them)
if they are almost sorry that it is about over….

and you will draw an incredulous stare.

even at 200 miles, the finish is an unimaginable distance away.

and it is so easy to ride about in my car
(i swear, i am tired… but i DONT HURT!)
or to sit in our office chairs
and watch the little flags march across the map.

out there it is real the whole time. very, very real.

and nothing is cerain.
the race is not almost over.
until you reach the cornfields at castle rock.

standings after 5 days:

1) don is at 278, around tracy city.
he has his 20 mile lead. but the heat is on.
he hopes to finish sometime tonight.

2) mike is at 258, somewhere around hillsboro.
can he mount a final charge in a heat advisory…
with two major hills to climb
(along with the most feared feature on the course,
the hellish descent into jasper)?

3)abi is past shelbyville at 227
4) sherrie is coming into shelbyville at 223
5) naresh is hot on sherrie’s heels at 222
6) joe is hovering behind the herd at 215…
like a wolf, waiting to pick off the old and weak.

7) sal is at 202… waiting for his wife to pick him up.
he has reached the end of the endless road.

8) josh is at 195, just past mooresville.
his nightmare continues.

9) john is in glendale at 184…
at the “bench of despair”
he, like so many vol-staters before him,
has come there to contemplate dropping.

10 & 11) the lovely & indefatiguable lynnor & erika at 180
are just leaving columbia.

12) fred murolo is at 179 in columbia, and moving
13) paul is stationary at 179, in columbia, and resting

14) fred davis is at 177, the columbia square.
and he is done.
ride arrangements are incomplete…

there is a reality check for you.
if fred is down, no one is safe.

15) stu is at 157, past the natchez trace & “celebrating” the halfway point.

16) we have a report of diane at 152. she was staying at a place around 158…
(the ridgetop inn; I would never climb the hill to that place at the end of a day)
and she always makes it to her indoor plumbing & bed with a mattress.
so i believe her to be at 158.

two more gone
and the heat has only just begun.

the battle of the vol-state:

they got on the ferry & they rode it to kentucky,
they were headed for a battle in the state of tennessee.

there was heat and pain a waiting, but they didnt waver
they were bound to make their way; to the castle rock, you see.
the sun went down and the runners kept a comin
there wasnt near as many as there was the morn before.

they ran thru the bottoms and they ran over ridges
they ran thru dry stretches where a camel wouldnt go.
the sun came up and the runners kept a comin’
there wasnt quite as many as there was the night before.

they ran so far that stray dogs couldnt follow
down the endless blacktop to the slopes of never more.
the sun went down and the runners kept a comin
there wasnt near as many as there was the morn before

they left their homes & they left their loved ones
to fight a hopeless battle in the state of tennessee.
but those who reached the rock down in georgia
found the prettiest sight that they would ever see…

the finish.

laz

Subject: RE: forgot the drop

Yep- absolutely amateur hour out there. Pepper spraying myself. 5 miles off course.
You know the movie “Misery” with Kathy Bates? I would much rather have that block of wood between my ankles than continue down those TN back roads.
Yep- definitely an amateur.
-Shannon Burke (THE corydon candy arse that is currently looking to move as far away from lazarus lake and his races as possible.
Sent via DROID on Verizon Wireless

Vol State 2011 Bench of Despair

Mile 200 Vol State Road Race 2011


Today the heat increases to several warnings at at 8am, already 99% humidity.  Runners are going to have to take extreme care and get as many miles in under the cover of night as possible.

Day 6 Vol State Sunrise

From: lazarus lake <drystoneman@hotmail.com>

Date: July 18, 2011 8:56:17 PM CDT

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

Subject: the heat is on vol-state 13

those mild temperatures are about used up.

today was the first day the heat returned.

i pointed out to the runners who were willing to listen

that the road temperatures were over 140.

Heat Warnings Vol State 2011

most of them didnt want to hear it.

tomorrow is projected to bring on our first heat advisory since the start.

the runners ought to weather it pretty well.

everyone left seems to be pretty well road-hardened at this point.

everyone is hurt, in one way or another.

everyone fervently wants it to be over.

no one is showing signs of quitting.

status after 4 days & 12 hours:

1) don winkley-246 in manchester & moving

2) mike matteson-last seen in shelbyville at 223 early this afternoon.

if he is still there, don is in good shape.

every mile he is past that narrows don’s lead….

i’d give a lot to know just where he is right now

and just what he is doing!

(i bet don would, too)

3,4,5) sherry meador, joe judd, and abi meadows all in lewisburg at 202,

sleeping in the same motel. they all arrived within an hour.

after 200+ miles, who can sleep the least means everything.

6,7) sal coll & naresh kumar 199, in the edge of lewisburg.

will they hit the motel, or will they jump over the sleepyheads?

8) john price- 169 at the site of the famous watermelon incident

Day 6 Vol State Map

9) josh holmes-166 but gone to earth

10) paul lefelhocz-164 just past hampton

11) fred davis-163-at the top of a big hill, he can see 12, 13, and 14 strung out behind him,

in order they are:

fred murolo, lynnor matheny, erika matheny

they are all in mile 163

15) diane taylor-around the natchez trace at 154

16) stu gleman-short of natchez trace at 152, and resting

lots of close races after 4 and a half days.

it isnt just the temperatures that are fixing to heat up.

laz

Josh Holmes Location 8am July 19, 2011:

Posted in Marathon, Race Reports, Running, Ultra Marathon, Vol StateComments (0)

Josh Holmes and Crew Vol State 2011

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:

Posted in Marathon, Photos, Race Reports, Results, Running, Timed Races, Ultra Marathon, Vol StateComments (1)


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