Here is the unique finisher’s medal from the The Barkley Fall Classic that took place on September 20, 2014 in Wartburg, Tennessee, at Frozen Head State Park.

An image of Barkley/Vol State 500K/Back Yard Ultra creator Lazarus Lake aka Gary Cantrell adorns the center of this medal, with the phrase ‘Where Bad Things Happen’ underneath his face, along with the name of the race at the top of the medal.

This was the inaugural running of The Barkley Fall Classic which takes place on the same gnarly and nasty trails that the infamous Barkley Marathons (100 Miler) takes place on in the Spring.

The Inaugural Barkley Fall Classic Results

The BFC was advertised as a 50K but almost every runner said it was closer to 35 or 36 miles. The course included over 10,000 feet of climbing and over 10,000 feet of descent as well.

RELATED: Lazarus Lake Births The Barkley Fall Classic

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[medal photo submitted by RIF #317 Tim Waz – follow him on Twitter @timwaz]

Lazarus Lake and Steve Durbin debuted the inaugural Barkley Fall Classic on September 20, 2014 at Frozen Head State Park in East Tennessee. The race took place on the famed trails where the Barkley Marathons (100 Miler), the toughest footrace in the world, takes place every spring.

This was a scaled down ‘runner friendly’ version with aid stations, course markings, and was advertised as a 50K but many runners claimed it was closer to 36 miles on the rough and wicked trails of FHSP.

Read more (click HERE) about The Barkley Fall Classic description from Laz’s announcement of the race back earlier this year.

The finishing times were a bit faster than expected but still very slow by any 50K standard.

Darren Thomas was the winner finishing in 6:28:26. He was closely tailed by runner-up Scott Breeden in 6:33:25 with Henry Wakley not too far behind in 6:41:02 for third.

Top 10 Overall The Barkley Fall Classic

1. Darren Thomas – 6:28:26
2. Scott Breeden – 6:33:25
3. Henry Wakley – 6:41:02
4. Michael Jones – 7:54:44
5. Andrew Snope – 8:12:17
6. Jack Kurisky – 8:15:02
7. Brad Reed – 8:31:25
8. Nicklaus Combs – 8:32:45
9. Keith Knipling – 8:32:45
10. Jeffrey Garstecki – 8:37:58

Kathy Smith was the female winner in 8:56:16. She was chased by runner-up Beth Frye who finished ten minutes back in 9:06:08. Third place went to Brooke McClanahan in 9:32:23

Top 5 The Barkley Fall Classic Women

1. Kathy Smith – 8:56:16
2. Beth Frye – 9:06:08
3. Brooke McClanahan – 9:32:23
4. Kendra Versendaal – 9:44:39
5. Michelle McLellan – 9:46:41

The Run It Fast®- Club had several members at the race. Nicklaus Combs finished highest in 8th place in 8:32:45. Shane Tucker 12:08:28. Tim Waz 12:14:00. Roy Tamez 12:22:48. Terri Durbin 12:51:29.

The race had 156 finishers with David Milner being the last runner across the finish line in 13:18:01.

VIEW ALL of the 2014 Barkley Fall Classic RESULTS

[image: Jobie Williams/RIF]

Six Days in the Dome (48 Hour Race) 
Anchorage, Alaska – August 4-5, 2014

It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up nor wanted to miss. A chance to run the 48-Hour race at Six Days in the Dome with some of the all-time legends of ultra running. When Joe Fejes first told me about the race, the venue, and how he as going to try to break Stu Mittleton’s 6-Day record I knew I had to be there.

I knew it would start 12 days after I had run the Badwater 135. I knew I wouldn’t be my best, fresh, or perhaps even able to run it. I didn’t even buy my plane ticket until 6 days before the race. I also didn’t run a single step between my Badwater finish on July 22nd and the start of the Six Days in the Dome on August 4th.

I arrived in Anchorage around 3pm on Sunday, the third. I took a taxi to The Dome and arrived about 15 minutes later. I took a quick self-tour of the dome and didn’t see anyone else associated with the race. I then spent a few minutes on my phone trying to figure out where the pre-race mixer was taking place and to see if I had in fact packed a Toga (OK, that last part isn’t exactly true).

I found an email on my phone that the mixer was at Humpy’s. So I called the taxi company and arranged for a ride from The Dome to Humpy’s. I get to Humpy’s and can’t find Joe, other runners, or anyone else associated with the race so I walked out. Down $40 in cab fares to this point, and strapped down with my 50-pound backpack, I decided to walk the 3 miles to Wal-Mart to get stuff for the race instead of ponying up for another taxi. I probably should have called for a taxi but my frugality got the better of me. That was one very long three mile walk, with that heavy backpack on, in minimalist shoes, while the brisk Alaskan sun cooked me so slightly. I was smart enough to get a taxi back to The Dome after buying a good bit of junk at Sam Walton’s.

The Dome was a brisk with activity when I arrived back at it Sunday evening with my haul from Wal-Mart. I got my stuff settled at my race side table for the race and quickly made my pallet in a half dim room and relatively quickly, for me, found sleep.

The start of Six Days in the Dome was delayed 2 hours for timing issues. In retrospect, many of the 6-Dayers would say that was a sign of things to come. Everyone was ready to go at 9am and we got word that it would be delayed 1 hour until 10am and then that it would be delayed another hour until 11am. I had just taken a Gu Roctane and been through my pre-race rituals when news of the first delay got to me. Don’t let that sound like more than it is…I have very few pre-race rituals. But with a race delay, it’s beyond your control, and there is nothing you can do about it. So you wait along with everyone else. It affects everyone the same by and large.

Finally at 11am local time the race started. Most everyone probably started faster than they wanted to because of the pent up energy from being delayed for a couple of hours. I was pretty fast the first 40 laps on the 413 meter track but not nearly as fast as Zach Bitter who was there for one thing – to set the World Record for the fastest 100 miler.

I was lapping nearly everyone on the track at some point during that time, but Zach was lapping me what seemed like every 10 minutes or less. He was blazing fast, running like you’d see someone trying to put down a fast mile on a high school track. It would be easy to compare him to a gazelle or cheetah but in comparison to Zach any normally fluid animal’s form would be considered ragged and inferior.  And all the while he did it with a smile on his face, while we encouraged each other, and while he was gracious with every other runner on the track including going wide into lane 6 on several laps to high five dozens of elementary kids who were in The Dome for day camp that were cheering us all on. He was ultra smooth with the emphasis on smooth.

I ran really well for the first 15-20 miles. Through 20 miles I was right on pace to replicate my 100 mile PR time of 18:49 that I set at Across the Years back in late December.

However, my right ankle and feet were starting to bother me just 10 miles into the race. I thought it might be the shoes I was wearing (Hoka One One Conquest). So after 10 miles I changed into the Hoka One One Bondi B. The change helped very briefly before the pain and discomfort grew to a point that I knew a new 100-mile PR was not going to happen. The surface was harder than any other track I had run on before. I wasn’t the only runner to notice this early on in the race. Many complained about it as the race unfolded. I believe the hard surface along with the residual bruising, beating, and wear and tear from Badwater just 12 days before were likely the culprit for my feet and ankle feeling like they had been beaten over and over with an aluminum baseball bat.

And with that the entire race changed for me. I could have stopped at that point. There is no DNF after finishing 1 loop at a timed event. But I didn’t travel all the way to Alaska to run just 25 miles. For better or dumb I still wanted to knock off another 100 miler.  I walked as fast as I could and did so for most of the next 60 miles. The pain was still fluent, but it wasn’t as bad as it was when I would run. The bright side of walking for many hours on end was that I got to meet and talk with some of the pioneers and all-time legends of ultra running.

Those slow painful miles of walking were distracted by great conversations with Bill Schultz, Yolanda Holder, Marylou Corina, Joel Gat, Frank Bozanich, Josh Irvan, Andy Noise, Ken Rubeli, Bob Davidson, K-G Nystrom, Martin Fryer, Ed Ettinghausen, Lazarus Lake, Gregg Ellis, Brandon Wood, Francesca Carmichael, David Johnston’s son, Mark Mccaslin, Steve & Terri ‘Theresa’ Durbin and many others.

After about 15 hours of race time I took a shower and went down for a nice 3 hour nap in my sleeping bag. The rest and time off my feet helped a bit. I hit 24 hours with a paltry 71 miles. After about 80 miles I started to feel a bit better. The Dome had a gym full of weights right next to the track. So I’d lay down on the bench press, elevate my feet, and do a set of 40 reps just with the weight of the bar. This seemed to be a great magic trick to my body. I was able to run at a pretty good pace for several laps in a row after my chest pump. I believe elevating my feet, while sending the rush of warm blood to my chest, away from my legs and feet was a nice shot of adrenaline and redirect of the discomfort. I did this 3-4 more times over the course of that second afternoon and it helped each time.

I finally hit 100 miles in a Personal Worst of 33 hours and 45 minutes. I sat down and took a couple of small breaks before hitting 100 miles in an attempt to put my PW so far out of reach that I could never touch it again. I was extremely elated upon hitting 100 miles because of the mental focus and push it required to get to that point.

The miles were slow and painful after 100, but I continued to push through it. I made a deal with myself that if I made it to 110 miles before 1am that I’d go shower, lay down to sleep and not set an alarm. If I got up by 11am before the race was over I’d do more miles. If not I was content with what I had battled through to get to 110 miles in 38 hours.

I slept for 5-6 hours, quickly dressed, put on my shoes, and was back on the track at 7:30am with about 3.5 hours of race time left. I walked several laps at a brisk pace to wake myself up and to see how my feet, ankle, and the rest of my body was feeling. Once I felt like my body functioning at an operative level and well hydrated I started to feel the loud tick-tock of the race clock ticking down. I started chugging sweet tea and taking Gu Roctane again. I wanted to see how many more miles I could pour out of my body onto that concrete track before time expired. It was a point of the race where I could empty and dump all of my energy, and what remained in my body, to maximizing a strong effort until the end of the clock.

My motor started revving high and my legs started kicking and throwing down the soles of my shoes off the track at a pace that would have made a half marathoner and most 10K’ers proud. My laps went from 4:20 to 3:30 to 2:45 to 2:15, all the way down to 1:42 and 1:43 (6:40 mile/pace). I ran the last 20-24 laps between 1:42-2:10 and was able to put down several extra miles with my increased turnover of the track. I ran a couple of 7’s, and several 7:30-8 min miles during this stretch to conclude the race.

When I had started back at 110 miles, I had hoped to be able to get around the track enough to reach 120 miles.

The clock stopped and the trackside television monitor had me at 500 laps and 128+ miles. For some reason that number evolved down to 127.47 miles within a few hours of the conclusion of the race. It was nothing that I was going to throw a frenzy over or complain about at that point. As poor as my race had gone, I was able to feel really good with the way I finished it.

My quick explanation of my race is that I had a good four hours to start the race and a really great last two hours to conclude my 48 hour Six Days in the Dome…it was just that very poor and painful 42 hours in between those two strong stretches that had to be endured.

The highlight of my race was watching my friend Traci Falbo set a World and American record for running 242.35 miles in the 48 hour race. It was an amazing spectacle to behold. It was also a visual spectacular to watch Zach Bitter run 100 miles in 12:08 which is the third fastest American time ever. I also go to witness the first 60 hours of Joe Fejes’ U.S. record of 580.3 miles in six days. I was as equally impressed by power walking Run It Fast member Yolanda Holder who gracefully walked, at a very high speed, to 400 miles in six days.

A few days later, at the conclusion of all of the Six Days in the Dome races, I found out I was the 1st overall male winner for the 48 hour race. The 48 hour field was small, especially on the male side. I ended up 4th overall behind three great female performances and a mere 400+ laps behind Traci.

– joshua holmes

[photos: Jeff Genova/Joshua Holmes]

UPDATE: Inaugural Barkley Fall Classic Race Results (2014)

A few weeks ago I mentioned on Twitter that a crazy race was in the process of being created that would rock the marathon racing scene. Now comes the rest of that story…

The ultra-devil known as Lazarus Lake (Gary Cantrell) has birthed another demon spawn of a race that will shake up the endurance-addicted race world. Laz is the creator of the Strolling Jim 40 Miler, Big Dog Backyard Ultra, The Last Annual Vol State 500K, and the Barkley Marathons (the hardest race in the world to finish).

Laz, along with fellow race director Steve Durbin (creator of Land Between the Lakes and Run Under the Stars), have now officially announced The Barkley Fall Classic which will take place at Frozen Head State Park on many of the same trails used in the infamous Barkley Marathons. The race will be on September 20, 2014.

Unlike the Barkley Marathons (100 miles) that takes place in the Spring, The Barkley Fall Classic will be open to runners of all levels that register and signup. However, that doesn’t mean that you will finish.

The Barkley Fall Classic will be approximately 31 miles long and have over 10,000 feet of climb and 10,000 feet of descent for a total elevation change easily over 20,000 feet. Runners will have a time limit of 13 hours and 20 minutes.

Here is a description of The Barkley Fall Classic in Laz’s own words:

on september 20. 2014,
we will hold the barkley fall classic,
with an entry limit of 300 runners….

if you are one of those people who have followed the infamous barkley marathons over the years,
and had this secret itch to get a taste of those trails and that experience;

this is your chance.

if you have been trying to enter the barkley for years,
and just cannot get unlucky in the lottery;

this is your chance.

if you want to see some of the best scenery available in the eastern u.s.,
from the primordial woods of the “north boundary” where the sun never shines,
to overlook views that extend to the smoky mountains to the east,
and the big south fork to the west;

this is your chance.

the fall classic will be a little different.

it is all on maintained trails and will be clearly marked.
there will be aid stations…
but it is still the brushy mountains.

it will not be easy.

the trails are many of the same trails featured in the original Barkley.
the core race is roughly 31 miles (with about 20,000 feet of elevation change)

runners will have opportunities to opt down and have “fun run” finishes of 9 miles, 16 miles, or 24 miles.
the time limit will be the same 13:20 as a regular barkley loop. (23.3 mile cut off is (9:00 hrs)

obviously… no pacers allowed.

and the first prize will be a slot in the original barkley…
if the winner still thinks he wants to do that 5 times in 2 and a half days!

the entry will be first come-first served.
announcement of the opening of registration was made to the barkley list first, so those lucky souls had first shot at it.

better not delay…

something bad like this doesn’t come along every day.

laz

Laz has also been quoted as he will be surprised if 50% of entrants finish the race.

Do you have what it takes to tackle this epic challenge? Can you finish this 50K in 13 hours? Will you be one of the runners that has to opt down to 9, 16, or 24 miles?

The Barkley Fall Classic is 31 miles on paper but likely the equivalent of a 1ooK.

Oh yes, we should probably mention that the trail is likely more wicked, rough, and wild than what you’d find in the jungles of Cambodia.

You can sign up now on Ultrasignup by clicking HERE.

RIF #1 Joshua Holmes and RIF #101 David Wingard

I don’t know about you guys but I’m exhausted! Kidding! I had the easy part and it was fun watching the race unfold the past 9 days. Today is the last day of the 2013 Last Annual Vol State 500K. It’s been quite a ride! There are still 6 runners out there trying to make their way to the rock before the Grim Reaper gets there. I hope you’ll send them lots of luck and Run It Fast wishes today.

Make sure you check back throughout the day to see how things are going out there!

Links you might find fun/useful:

To catch up on previous days: Day1   Day2   Day3   Day4   Day5   Day6   Day7   Day8   Day9

Last Annual Volstate 500K Spreadsheet & Map – for runner tracking (updated twice a day).
Carl’s 2013 Last Annual Volstate 500K Album, Day 2 Drive Thru, and Day 3 Photos

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: Well, that’s it for this year’s Last Annual Vol State 500K. We hope you enjoyed our coverage of the race…and maybe inspired you to give it a try next year! Congratulations to all 33 runners and 5 teams that completed this year’s VS500K! Way to Run It Fast!

Lisa: Holy cow! What a finish! Congratulations to Brian for completing the Last Annual Vol State 500K! I gotta say…I am relieved he made it under the cut off. I kept waking up when I heard an email come in and would look to see if there was any word. After 10 days and 314 miles, still so much excitement and drama…and that’s what is so great about this race!

Email from Carl Laniak at 6:54 am:

9:23:08:40 – Brian Curro

Email from Carl Laniak at 6:11 am:

Drama at Vol state

Message from Curro:
“Help, I am totally lost, have been wandering around this hill for hours.
I’m delirious, I was talking to trees last night.”

There are now less than 90 minutes left. We think we ascertained his location and have directed him. If his description was accurate, he’s got 3 miles to go…..

Carl

Email from Carl Laniak at 5:14 am:

Brian Curro

If you read this, we suggest you drop that giant backpack and run.

Carl

Email from Carl Laniak at 5:10 am:

Vol state suspense 

There are less than 2.5 hours til the 240 hour cutoff at the volstate.

Brian Curro last checked in nearing the Tennessee river crossing, 11 miles from the finish.

That was more than 6.5 hours ago…..

Word is, he lost his maps early yesterday. His last checkin included the tidbit that his phone was malfunctioning.

At 7:31 this morning, we’ll know whether he makes it or not.

Go Brian!

Carl

Lisa: Congratulations to Joe and RIF #276 Diane Taylor for finishing the VS500K! This was Diane’s 3rd finish of the Last Annual Vol State 500K. Just one runner left now…

Email from Carl Laniak at 2:32 am:

Diane Taylor – 9:18:44:23

Email from Carl Laniak at 10:43 pm:

9:15:08:12 – joe kowalski

Wow

Carl

Lisa: Here is John Feyveresi’s VS500K race report (it’s a great read!): Lakewood’s Wanderings and Scribbles

Lisa: So now there are just 3 runners left on the course! At 7 pm, this is where they were…

Joe Kowalski 306 miles
Diane Taylor 300 miles
Brian Curro 295 miles

Just 12 hours left! They should all be in by the time I wake up in the morning. I will update this post with their times.

Lisa: Mike added a race report tab where the links for this year’s race reports will be gathered. John Fegyveresi is the first to have his written up.

Email from Mike Dobies at 7:56 pm:

Vol State – 228 Hour Update

Tracking Sheet:
http://www.tinyurl.com/Volstate2013

Map:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=200687420624110668378.0004e1fafd1b000ee49ad&msa=0&ll=35.775486,-87.40448&spn=1.994288,4.22699

Email from Carl Laniak at 7:06 pm:

9:11:29:54 – Paul Heckert

Email from Carl Laniak at 6:16 pm:

Jan Walker – 9:10:11:42

Email from Carl Laniak at 5:30 pm:

Re: Who will finish?

Jan is in the woods. Paul is in Alabama.

Kowalski, Curro and Taylor to follow…?

Carl

Lisa: I missed Marcia’s finish. She reached the rock in 9 days 2 hours 26 min 29 sec. Congrats Marcia!

Lisa: Here’s a recap of the race so far…

• 5 relay Teams (2 w/men only and 3 mixed) and 40 runners (31 men & 9 women) started the 2013 Last Annual Vol State 500K.
• 32 runners were Screwed (un-crewed).
• All 5 teams finished along with 27 solo runners…so far.
• 7 runners dropped out.

Top 3 Men
1. Joe Fejes (with a new course record of 3 days 8 hours 10 min 16 sec)
2. Alan Abbss (with a new Screwed course record of 4 days 11 hours 31 min 27 sec)
3. Sung Ho Choi (4 days 13 hours 39 min 52 sec)

Top 3 Women
1. Sherry Meador (7 days 2 hours 42 min 52 sec)
2. Diane Bolton (7 days 14 hours 13 min 5 sec)
3. Psyche Wimberly (7 days 23 hours 14 min 59 sec)

Top 3 Teams
1. Team Stinky Feet (2 days 19 hours 14 min 17 sec)
2. Team Country Gentlemen (4 days 4 hours 5 min 46 sec)
3. Team Two Step (4 days 12 hours 29 min 12 sec)

Tweet from Dallas Smith about the VS500K menu…maybe:

Lisa: Final day! Marcia should be finished by now, I think, and all the rest should be able to finish if they keep putting one front in front of the other. Let’s hope they don’t run into wild weather or anything else to hold them up. Also, apparently, blogging while running is not suggested:

Tweet from Dallas with great advice for future VolStaters:

Email from Mike Dobies at 10:27 am:

Vol State – 216 Hour Update

Tracking Sheet:
http://www.tinyurl.com/Volstate2013

Map:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=200687420624110668378.0004e1e8a03a66d4541d7&msa=0&ll=35.773258,-87.401733&spn=3.618637,5.152588

Email from Laz at 9:15 am:

day 10

with 9 days in the bank
we settle in on the rock
to watch the final stories unfold.

these are the ones who have fought the longest.
day after day, for 9 days,
they have watched oprah in their mirrors;
counting the miles,
measuring their reserves.
doing what it takes to achieve the impossible.

now it all comes down to one final push.

some will coast home.
marcia and jan have proven worthy warriors;
gaining strength with each passing day,
burying oprah in the distance.
they will come home “easily” within the time limit,
and deserving of accolades given to athletes
who have achieved their potential.

others will face,
in this final day,
all the pressure of the race,
knowing that one bad stretch without water,
one unleashed fury of nature
(a thunderstorm, blazing sun, or suffocating heat)
can erase the safety margin
and leave the reward for their long hard struggle
out of reach.

and then there is giant back pack.
he has the added burden
of overcoming the time lost when he was detained by the police last night.

and what is the reward for all they have endured?
to run the final mile in solitude,
thinking the thoughts
that only those who have come from the ferry to the rock can understand.
to find the finish line still open.
(pity those who see us driving away as they enter the beanfields)
to look out over the sequatchie/tennessee valley.
to feel the feelings that champions feel,
when a great opponent has been vanquished.
for these are champions,
vanquishing heat, hills, humidity, and their own human frailty.

all hail king joseph,
and his worthy minions.

laz

Email from Carl Laniak at 8:31 am:

216hours

Diane 275
Curro 279
Kowalski 282
Heckert 290
Jan 295
Marcia 309

Carl

RIF #159 Diane Bolton and Lazarus Lake

Yesterday, we saw 6 runners and 2 teams finish! A few more finished overnight and sadly, I hear there are 2 more runners who dropped. But there are still runners on the course though so this race isn’t over yet!

Check back throughout the day to see how things are going out there!

Links you might find fun/useful:

To catch up on previous days: Day1   Day2   Day3   Day4   Day5   Day6   Day7   Day8 

Last Annual Volstate 500K Spreadsheet & Map – for runner tracking (updated twice a day).
Carl’s 2013 Last Annual Volstate 500K Album, Day 2 Drive Thru, and Day 3 Photos

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: TJ did drop so we are down to 6 runners. Here’s where they were at the 204 Hour Update:

Marcia Rasmussen – 279 miles
Jan Walker – 278 miles
Paul Heckert – 277 miles
Brian Curro – 268 miles
Joe Kowalski – 266 miles
Diane Taylor – 266 miles

Joe and Diane are .9 miles behind the Grim Reaper but are steadily moving forward. They have less than 36 hours to get to the rock now. Like Laz said in the email below, “I am anxious to see where they will stand when the sun next rises.”

Email from Mike Dobies at 9:23 pm:

Vol State – 204 Hour Update 

Tracking Sheet:
http://www.tinyurl.com/Volstate2013

Map:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=200687420624110668378.0004e1e810fbc145f67ed&msa=0&ll=35.163143,-85.757217&spn=0.520363,1.056747

Email from Laz at 9:18 pm:

FW: Now the real fun begins!

for me, the race remains as compelling as it has been for the past 8+ days.
I find the challenges faced by people who are stretching the limits of their ability
and competing to the end
equally compelling,
regardless of their level.

we have one last pack of runners on the course.
with only a tiny distance separating the last 6 heroes,
I am anxious to see where they will stand when the sun next rises.

I have watched these people compete for more than a week;
I have seen them in their moments of weakness,
and I have seen them rise to the challenge.
I have come to feel like I know something of them,
from how they have faced the demons.

I cannot wait to see the great victories to be won tomorrow…
and tomorrow night.

and great victories will be won.
anyone who does not back down,
who gives their all,
is a great champion.
whether they finish 1st,
or 40th.

Lisa: Having been at the back of the pack in a few races, I can appreciate that email!

Email from Frank Lilley at 6:42 pm:

Now the real fun begins!

Not to take a single thing away from all the unbelievable achievements of Vol State finishers to this point . . . but now it starts getting REALLY tough! These next folks to finish are my peeps!!!

These folks have been out there suffering away, every day with no notoriety! Everyone rightly focuses on Joe Fejes and Alan Abbs and Bruce Sung Ho Choi and Ray Krolewicz and Psyche Wimberly and all the others that have finished already. What they have done is awesome!

But here come my peeps!

I love the back of the packers! The folks that are slow and not all that gifted when it come to speed and endurance. See . . . I am siure that part of our performance is a genetics gift! Oh . . . those with the “gift” . . . they work hard at excelling I know. But there is love in my heart for everyone else!

Us slower, maybe undertrained, maybe overweight folks who just “try.” Those people that know they will be the tail of the dog . . . and they just don’t give a rat’s ass! They are there just simply to see if the can do it! Period.

Finishing is not an absolute given for my peeps! This is a gut wrenching testament to pure desire! The desire to accomplish the seemingly impossible!

So I honestly do love all you guys and gal that have already achieved greatness by finishing Vol State . . . but here come my peeps!!

frankenlilley

Lisa: There is no medal or prize for finishing this race but a couple of runners had these souvenirs made. Pretty cool, huh?

Tweet from Dallas Smith that shows a couple of his souvenirs:

Email from Joel Gat at 3:02 pm:

Texas Jeff – 8:07:26:06

“It was long… if my feet hadn’t been blistered, it still would have been long.”

Lisa: Great clip of RIF #79 Dallas finishing the VS500K (thanks to @bayou for sharing!): https://vine.co/v/hmFQZgOBhET

Lisa: Congratulations to David and Dallas! This is the first Last Annual Vol State 500K for both of them and they did it uncrewed! Love that Dallas sprinted at the end! 🙂

Email from Joel Gat at 1:10 pm:

Dallas Smith – 8:05:34:11

“Whoa! Slow down!” – as Dallas charged at a sprint to the finish…

Email from Joel Gat at 12:26 pm:

David Wingard – 8:04:48:43

Lisa: Pics from life on the road at Vol State 500K…

Photos from RIF #1 Joshua Holmes:

RIF #79 Dallas Smith with 1st time finisher RIF #159 Diane Bolton

RIF #79 Dallas Smith

With RIF #101 David Wingard

Tweet from Dallas at 9:40 am:

Email from Joel Gat at 9:52 am:

Becky Lockard 8:02:09:55

“I did this because I didn’t know if I could.”

Email from Joel Gat at 9:48 am showing a sleeping RD:

But what about us? 

The runners come in at all times of the day and night, so Carl and Laz have slept a total of about 6.5 hours since Sunday. That’s been one 4 hour sleep and a few 15-45 minute snoozes.  This one lasted about five minutes…

Lisa: It looks like Jeff Stephens is a definite drop. And rumor on the list is that TJ Nagies is a drop too though he’s not listed as that on the spreadsheet. He is, however, still at the same mileage he was for the 180 Hour Update. 🙁 Here is where the rest of the runners were at during the check in:

Becky Lockard – 303 miles
David Wingard – 300 miles
Dallas Smith – 300 miles
Jeff Venable – 290 miles
Jan Walker – 267 miles
Marcia Rasmussen – 266 miles
Paul Heckert – 258 miles
Brian Curro – 256 miles
Joe Kowalski – 252 miles
Diane Taylor – 250 miles
TJ Nagies – 201.5 miles

It looks like we should have 3 more finishers very shortly including two of our RIFers – RIF #101 David Wingard and RIF #79 Dallas Smith!

Email from Mike Dobies at 9:46 am:

Vol State – 192 Hour Update

Tracking Sheet:
http://www.tinyurl.com/Volstate2013

Map:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=200687420624110668378.0004e1de5957d190f0809&msa=0&ll=35.775486,-87.40448&spn=1.994288,4.22699

Lisa: Congrats to Jeff and Psyche! We are glad Psyche found her way to the rock! W

Lisa: Here’s what happened overnight…

Email from Carl Laniak at 6:50 am:

Psyche – 7:23:14:59

An epic struggle the last 2 miles….

Carl

Email from Carl Laniak at 5:44 am:

From laz:

This is the longest Monday if my life.

The sun keeps coming up and going down, while runners are fed out from Kimball at regular intervals. I spent this last dark period smoking camel filters and listening to “let’s kill all these morherf#ckers,” by Lair of the Minotaur.

Psyche found a way to buy time for the next runner to start by getting lost at mile 312 (of 314).
She’s now laying in a ditch a half mile off course, refusing all offers of assistance, while regrouping for another attempt to locate the state of Georgia.

I’m entertained by the view from the rock, 4 acre lily pads in the ocean below. I may be hallucinating from lack of sleep…..

They call it the volstate.

Laz

Email from Carl Laniak at 1:09 am:

Jeff McGonnell – 7:17:32:38

RIF #159 Diane Bolton shopping during the VS500K

Thanks to RIF #286 for sharing this photo of Diane shopping for antiques yesterday. It’s not all about the grind out there! I think it’s more about the little moments. At least, it seems that way reading the emails from the ultra list about this race. Something must keep them coming back every year. They can’t all be masochists for the pain, right?

I hope you’ll check back here throughout the day to see all of today’s happenings!

Links you might find fun/useful:

To catch up on previous days: Day1   Day2   Day3   Day4   Day5   Day6   Day7

Last Annual Volstate 500K Spreadsheet & Map – for runner tracking (updated twice a day).
Carl’s 2013 Last Annual Volstate 500K Album, Day 2 Drive Thru, and Day 3 Photos

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:

Email from Mike Dobies at 12:18 am:

Vol State – 180 Hour Update

Tracking Sheet:
http://www.tinyurl.com/Volstate2013

Map:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=200687420624110668378.0004e1d640b50ee4dcbac&msa=0&ll=36.011339,-87.426453&spn=1.988357,4.22699

Email from Carl Laniak at 11:37 pm:

Scott Krouse – 7:16:01:53

Lisa: Here is where the runners still out there were at the 180 Hour check in:

Scott Krouse – 300 miles
Jeff McGonnell – 299 miles
Jeff Stephens – 297 miles
Psyche Wimberly – 295 miles
Dallas Smith – 293.5 miles
David Wingard – 290 miles
Becky Lockard – 290 miles
Jeff Venable – 283 miles
Paul Heckert – 252 miles
Marcia Rasmussen – 252 miles
Jan Walker – 247 miles
Joe Kowalski – 235 miles
Diane Taylor – 235 miles
Brian Curro – 233 miles
TJ Nagies – 201.5 miles

Looks like there will be a bunch of finishes tonight too. Don’t think Laz and Carl will be getting much sleep again.

Lisa: Both Team Saturday and Team Dancing Bears (Patrick) also finished. I don’t have their times yet but will post those as soon as I know. It’s just 15 solo runners left on the course now.

Lisa: Woo! This was her first time running the VS500K! We are so proud of her! Congratulations Diane!

Email from Carl Laniak at 9:55 pm:

Diane Bolton – 7:14:13:05

Lisa: Apparently flavoring was an autocorrect. LOL! But then he let us know that she had just a mile to go about 20 minutes ago! The waiting is killing me!

Facebook post by RIF #1 Joshua Holmes:

Email from Carl Laniak at 5:32 pm:

Joseph Nance – 7:09:56:26

“That’s some good stuff”

Carl

Facebook post by Diane Bolton’s crew RIF #286 Phil Min showing the “cool” weather on today’s course (as if running 314 miles wasn’t hard enough!):

Lisa: Here are 2 great photos that RIF #1 Joshua Holmes shared as he wanders the course cheering on runners:

Josh with RIF #79 Dallas Smith

Josh with RIF #159 Diane Bolton

Lisa: There are no ties at the VS500K and because they want runners to enjoy their time at the “rock”, they set up a sprint line 30′ from the rock so whoever gets to that line first, gets to go to the rock first. Congrats to Johnny and Charlie! Way to Run It Fast! Here’s a great quote from RIF #2 Naresh Kumar about Johnny and Charlie’s finish:

Just amazing how a 314 mile race ended up to be a sprint finish for two runners. Epic!! Congrats CT and Johnny! Way to finish it. ~Naresh Kumar

Email from Carl Laniak at 2:36 pm:

correction – Johnny Adams – 7:05:30:36

Sorry, sleep deprivation at work…Johnny was ahead of Charlie

Carl

Email from Carl Laniak at 1:07 pm:

Charlie Taylor – 7:05:31:03

Johnny won the sprint to the finish-order-line, so got the right to approach the rock first. It was closer than the 30 second finish difference. A true sprint.

Carl

Email from Carl Laniak at 1:05 pm:

Johnny Adams – 7:05:31:03

Sprint finish!

Carl

Email from Mike Dobies at 12:36 pm with the solo runners finishing rates since 2009:

For solo runners:

2009 – 75% (12/16)
2010 – 43% (6/14)
2011 – 68% (13/19)
2012 – 61% (14/23)

2013 – 40% (16/40) so far, with 19 still on the course (almost 3 days remaining)

Tweet from Dallas at 11:38 am sharing some of the views from the road:

Lisa: And here is a great tweet from the Awesome RIF #79 Dallas Smith earlier this morning:

Lisa: Here’s a great quote from the 2012 Last Annual Vol State 500K winner Dan Fox:

It’s just that Vol State is so huge that it can contain a lot of life’s vicissitudes.

It’s big enough to go to hell and back, and still have time left over. ~Dan Fox

Lisa: Congrats to Roy and Sherry! Oh, and Sherry is the 1st Woman to complete this year’s VS500K! Woo!

Email from Carl Laniak at 10:20 am:

Tamez & Meador, 15 & 16

Roy Tamez – 7:00:42:51
Two hours later…
Sherry Meador – 7:02:42:52
She wants a yoohoo.

Carl

Lisa: There are now 21 runners and 2 teams out on the course. Here’s where they are:

Roy Tamez – 310 miles
Sherry Meador – 304 miles
Joseph Nance – 296 miles
John Adams – 296 miles
Charlie Taylor – 296 miles
Team Saturday – 296 miles
Team Dancing Bears – 291 miles
Jeff Stephens – 291 miles
Jeff McGonnell – 274 miles
Scott Krouse – 274 miles
Psyche Wimberly – 274 miles
Diane Bolton – 272 miles
David Wingard – 265 miles
Becky Lockard – 265 miles
Dallas Smith – 262 miles
Jeff Venable – 259 miles
Paul Heckert – 235 miles
Marcia Rasmussen – 233 miles
Jan Walker – 230 miles
Joe Kowalski – 217 miles
Brian Curro – 213 miles
Diane Taylor – 213 miles
TJ Nagies – 197 miles

I guess Team Dancing Bears is back on the road as Patrick has decided to continue on his own. Two more runners should be finishing any minute now and more are very close. Sadly, 4 runners are behind the Grim Reaper (219.8 miles which is the daily avg miles needed to complete the VS500K in 10 days). 🙁 But like Brad mentioned in his email below, they all are determined to make it so send them all the Run It Fast vibes you can today!

Email from Mike Dobies at 8:34 am:

Vol State – 168 Hour Update

Tracking Sheet:
http://www.tinyurl.com/Volstate2013

Map:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=200687420624110668378.0004e1c933660745f7095&msa=0&ll=35.619349,-89.01123&spn=1.998196,4.22699

Lisa: Here’s what happened overnight… 3 more runners finished in sub 7 days! John Price finished in 6:15:36:26, Jeff Kasal finished in 6:22:03:21, and Tim Purol finished in 6:22:03:22! Congrats to John, Jeff, and Tim!

Email from Carl Laniak at 7:33 am:

Kasal and purol – done

Sub 7 days.
They finished alone at the rock.
Race management had been up for 2 days and somehow didn’t make it to the Rock. Glad they stopped at the finishline.

Carl

Email from finisher Brad Compton at 6:53 am:

Driving home

Getting breakfast in Pelham – Harry & Ollie’s.  seen several runners.  No look of “quit” in any of their eyes; just grim determination.

Email from Laz at 12:16 am:

RE: John price – done.

06:15:36:26…

in the rain.

Email from Carl Laniak at 11:39 pm:

John price – done.

Time to follow

Carl

RIF #1 Joshua Holmes at the rock!

They are finishing fast and furious now. Well, relatively speaking. 🙂 But 3 runners finished over night and under the 6 day mark! Sadly, it looks like we lost another runner. Dusty Hardman dropped at 210 miles due to an injury. It was a tough day for a lot of people, let’s hope today is a better one for them out on the course.

I hope you’ll keep checking back throughout the day and until the last runner is in!

Links you might find fun/useful:

To catch up on previous days: Day1   Day2   Day3   Day4   Day5   Day6 

Last Annual Volstate 500K Spreadsheet & Map – for runner tracking (updated twice a day).
Carl’s 2013 Last Annual Volstate 500K Album, Day 2 Drive Thru, and Day 3 Photos

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:

Facebook post by Diane Bolton’s crew, Phil Min, earlier today showing life on the road for a VS500K runner:

Tweet from Dallas at 8:44 pm:

Lisa: Here are the Top 10, Top 3 Women, and Team Standings as of the 156 Hour Update:

Top 10
1. Joe Fejes – 314 miles (Done! 3 days 8 hours 10 min 16 sec)
2. Alan Abbs – 314 miles (Done! 4 days 11 hours 31 min 27 sec
3. Sung Ho Choi – 314 miles (Done! 4 days 13 hours 39 min 52 sec)
4. John Fegyveresi – 314 miles (Done! 4 days 16 hours 19 min 1 sec)
5. Sal Coll – 314 miles (Done! 5 days 5 hours 52 min 42 sec)
6. Brad ComptonJim Ball – 314 miles (Done! 5 days 20 hours and 47 sec)
7. Jim Ball – 314 miles (Done! 5 days 21 hours and 20 sec)
8. Joshua Holmes – 314 miles (Done! 5 days 23 hours 17 min 7 sec)
9. Richard Westbrook – 314 miles (Done! 6 days 4 hours 56 min 16 sec)
10. Joel Gat – 314 miles (Done! 6 days 9 hours 8 min 35 sec)

Top 3 Women
1. Sherry Meador – 292 miles
2. Diane Bolton – 256 miles
3. Psyche Wimberly – 244 miles

Teams
1. Team Stinky Feet – 314 miles (Done! 2 days 19 hours 14 min 17 sec)
2. Team Country Gentlemen – 314 miles (Done! 4 days 4 hours 5 min 46 sec)
3. Team Two Step – 314 miles (Done! 4 days 12 hours 29 min 12 sec)
4. Team Saturday – 274 miles

Ray Krolewicz also finished today in 6 days 10 hours 38 min 53 sec. We had one more drop too so there are now 24 runners and 1 team that are still on the course:

John Price – 303 miles
Roy Tamez – 303 miles
Tim Purol – 300 miles
Jeff Kasal – 300 miles
Sherry Meador – 292 miles
Joseph Nance – 274 miles
John Adams – 274 miles
Charlie Taylor – 274 miles
Jeff Stephens – 274 miles
Team Saturday – 274 miles
Jeff McGonnell – 262 miles
Diane Bolton – 256 miles
Scott Krouse – 252 miles
Jeff Venable – 252 miles
Dallas Smith – 252 miles
David Wingard – 252 miles
Becky Lockard – 252 miles
Psyche Wimberly – 244 miles
Marcia Rasmussen – 217 miles
Jan Walker – 216 miles
Paul Heckert – 214 miles
Brian Curro – 203 miles
Diane Taylor – 203 miles
Joe Kowalski – 203 miles
TJ Nagies – 191 miles

It looks like there will be a bunch of finishes tonight too! Good luck everyone!

Email from Mike Dobies at 8:09 pm:

Vol State – 156 Hour Update

Tracking Sheet:
http://www.tinyurl.com/Volstate2013

Map:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=200687420624110668378.0004e1b9f6074cbd04b9f&msa=0&ll=35.429344,-86.627884&spn=0.250376,0.528374

Lisa: Yikes! I thought they might not run into the crazy TN storms this year!

Email from Carl Laniak at 5:21 pm:

Thunder and lightning

On the rock.
Rayk is on castle rock rd….out in it.

Carl

Lisa: LOL! Looks like Joel won the race to the rock! Congrats to Joel for making the top 10!

Email from Carl Laniak at 4:43 pm:

Joel Gat – 6:09:08:35

He made it, balls in tact….?

Carl

Email from Carl Laniak at 4:08 pm:

Racing at vol state

Joel gat and rayk are both on sand mountain. There are no ties at volstate. The afternoon sun is baking hot.
There is heavy rain and violent thunder in the distance.
We have set up a finish-order-line 30′ back of the rock. In case of a sprint finish, the first one to the line will have the privilege of walking to the rock first.

Carl

Lisa: We hope Jan doesn’t melt and that she finds something appetizing for dinner!

A gem of an email from Jan Walker sent at 2:03 pm:

Erica’s Huddle House Eggs…

Sorry, my brain is muddled at the moment and I can’t remember who Erica’s mom is, but thought I would tell her this…

I wholeheartedly agree that the Lewisburg Huddle House eggs are the best in the world. In fact, if the chicken that laid those eggs had been there, I’d have kissed her squarely on the beak!!’

Of course I was so hungry by the time I made it to the HH, I would have eaten dog poop…and kissed the dog that laid it… Then asked for more…

Jan Walker
Slowly melting into a puddle that some other Vol St runner will sop up and squeeze into their water bottle…

Lisa: Oh yeah! 3 for 3! We at Run It Fast are so proud of Josh. He was in #beastmode out there, fighting food poisoning and a problem shin. He is tough!

Email from Carl Laniak at 11:05 am:

Joshua Holmes – sub 6

Josh is 3 for 3 at volstate

Forgot to copy down finish time before we came back up to the rock.
It was around 5:23:17:xx I think

Carl

Lisa: Here are the Top 10, Top 3 Women, and Team Standings as of the 144 Hour Update:

Top 10
1. Joe Fejes – 314 miles (Done! 3 days 8 hours 10 min 16 sec)
2. Alan Abbs – 314 miles (Done! 4 days 11 hours 31 min 27 sec
3. Sung Ho Choi – 314 miles (Done! 4 days 13 hours 39 min 52 sec)
4. John Fegyveresi – 314 miles (Done! 4 days 16 hours 19 min 1 sec)
5. Sal Coll – 314 miles (Done! 5 days 5 hours 52 min 42 sec)
6. Brad ComptonJim Ball – 314 miles (Done! 5 days 20 hours and 47 sec)
7. Jim Ball – 314 miles (Done! 5 days 21 hours and 20 sec)
8. Joshua Holmes – 314 miles (Done! 5 days 23 hours 17 min 7 sec)
9. Richard Westbrook – 298 miles
10. Ray Krolewicz and Joel Gat – 290 miles

Top 3 Women
1. Sherry Meador – 272 miles
2. Psyche Wimberly – 244 miles
3. Diane Bolton – 231 miles

Teams
1. Team Stinky Feet – 314 miles (Done! 2 days 19 hours 14 min 17 sec)
2. Team Country Gentlemen – 314 miles (Done! 4 days 4 hours 5 min 46 sec)
3. Team Two Step – 314 miles (Done! 4 days 12 hours 29 min 12 sec)
4. Team Saturday – 231 miles

The top 10 is almost complete! We should see Richard, Ray, and Joel finish today. Good luck to all the runners still on the course!

Email from Mike Dobies at 8:48 am:

Vol State – 144 Hour Update

Tracking Sheet:
http://www.tinyurl.com/Volstate2013

Map:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=200687420624110668378.0004e1b540d7faa685cbd&msa=0&ll=35.773258,-86.687622&spn=2.464453,5.410767

Lisa: There were 3 finishers last night while the rest of us were sleeping! Brad Compton, Jim Ball, and RIF #1 Joshua Holmes all finished sub 6. This is Josh’s 3rd consecutive VS500K finish! Congratulations to all 3!

Instagram post from Joshua:

Email from Carl Laniak at 4:46 am:

Jim ball – 5:21:00:20

Picture with bearded brad…

Carl

Email from Carl Laniak at 4:45 am:

5:20:00:47 – brad Compton

A monster push over the second half of the race.

Carl

Instagram from RIF #1 Josh

Day 6 of the Last Annual Vol State 500K! 2 runners have now completed the 314 mile trek and others are not far behind. They are doing what they need to do to survive out there, just like in Josh’s Instragram photo above. Whether it’s dealing with an angry shin, chaffing, blisters, or whatever. It’s all about managing the pain and suffering. And maybe blocking it out. Good luck to all the runners today!

Check back throughout the day to see how things are going out there!

Links you might find fun/useful:

To catch up on previous days: Day1   Day2   Day3   Day4   Day5  

Last Annual Volstate 500K Spreadsheet & Map – for runner tracking (updated twice a day).
Carl’s 2013 Last Annual Volstate 500K Album, Day 2 Drive Thru, and Day 3 Photos

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: Here are the Top 10, Top 3 Women, and Team Standings as of the 132 Hour Update:

Top 10
1. Joe Fejes – 314 miles (Done! 3 days 8 hours 10 min 16 sec)
2. Alan Abbs – 314 miles (Done! 4 days 11 hours 31 min 27 sec
3. Sung Ho Choi – 314 miles (Done! 4 days 13 hours 39 min 52 sec)
4. John Fegyveresi – 314 miles (Done! 4 days 16 hours 19 min 1 sec)
5. Sal Coll – 314 miles (Done! 5 days 5 hours 52 min 42 sec)
6. Jim Ball – 300 miles
7. Brad Compton – 295 miles
8. Joshua Holmes – 290 miles
9. Richard Westbrook – 272 miles
10. Ray Krolewicz and Joel Gat – 263 miles

Top 3 Women
1. Sherry Meador – 252 miles
2. Psyche Wimberly – 233 miles
3. Diane Bolton – 222 miles

Teams
1. Team Stinky Feet – 314 miles (Done! 2 days 19 hours 14 min 17 sec)
2. Team Country Gentlemen – 314 miles (Done! 4 days 4 hours 5 min 46 sec)
3. Team Two Step – 314 miles (Done! 4 days 12 hours 29 min 12 sec)
4. Team Saturday – 206 miles (No check in at 132 hours)

1 more runner finished today and I’m sure we will see more before the morning check-in. Looks like it was a tough day out there. Let’s hope tomorrow is a little better for them.

Email from Mike Dobies at 9:33 pm:

Vol State – 132 Hour Update

Tracking Sheet:
http://www.tinyurl.com/Volstate2013

Map:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=200687420624110668378.0004e1abe2a0aed438945&msa=0&ll=35.773258,-87.407227&spn=2.464453,5.410767

Email from Laz at 5:52 pm:

these people need help (5.5 days)

“i’m ready to quit.”
“you don’t want to quit. you only have 16 miles to go.”
“I am out of water.”
“you are only 200 yards from a store.”
“I don’t think I can make it.”

“someone needs to come and get me”
“are you sure?”
“i just took 2 hours to go 1/2 mile.”

“my feet are covered with blisters and my legs don’t work.”

“i am getting a room and going down.
i don’t know if i will get back up.”

“i am 2 miles from wartrace and there is a fork in the road. i don’t know which way to go.”

“please help me.
i have been sitting in the shade for 2 hours and i don’t remember which way i was going when i got here?”

the only sure way to know that carl has finally dozed off;
his phone rings.
there are some desperate people out there,
and they think carl is the “nice” one….

these people are in trouble.

serious heat showed its ugly face today.
and those who failed to muster superhuman performances are paying the price.
tomorrow should be even hotter.

but relief is on the forecast for Thursday…

severe thunderstorms all day and night.

they call it the vol-state.

laz

Email from Carl Laniak at 1:27 pm:

5:05:52:42 – sal coll

His 2nd finish and a PR.

Carl

Lisa: By the way, John Fegyveresi is one of the few runners to finish the Barkley Marathons. He completed it in 2012 in 59:41:21.

Facebook Post from Diane Bolton’s crew Phil Min (Diane is looking great – Go Diane!):

Lisa: Abi Meadows shared her photos from yesterday. They are very cool: Vol State 2013 7/15/13

Lisa: Here are the Top 10, Top 3 Women, and Team Standings as of the 120 Hour Update:

Top 10
1. Joe Fejes – 314 miles (Done! 3 days 8 hours 10 min 16 sec)
2. Alan Abbs – 314 miles (Done! 4 days 11 hours 31 min 27 sec
3. Sung Ho Choi – 314 miles (Done! 4 days 13 hours 39 min 52 sec)
4. John Fegyveresi – 314 miles (Done! 4 days 16 hours 19 min 1 sec)
5. Sal Coll – 295 miles
6. Jim Ball – 279 miles
7. Joshua Holmes – 266 miles
8. Brad Compton – 260 miles
9. Richard Westbrook – 240 miles
10. Ray Krolewicz, Sherry Meador, and Joel Gat – 233 miles

Top 3 Women
1. Sherry Meador – 233 miles
2. Psyche Wimberly – 215 miles
3. Dusty Hardman – 202 miles

Teams
1. Team Stinky Feet – 314 miles (Done! 2 days 19 hours 14 min 17 sec)
2. Team Country Gentlemen – 314 miles (Done! 4 days 4 hours 5 min 46 sec)
3. Team Two Step – 314 miles (Done! 4 days 12 hours 29 min 12 sec)
4. Team Saturday – 206 miles

4 runners and 3 teams are done now! Who will finish today?

Email from Mike Dobies at 11:27 am:

Vol State – 120 Hour Update

Tracking Sheet:
http://www.tinyurl.com/Volstate2013

Map:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=200687420624110668378.0004e1a353bfd90c964ef&msa=0&ll=35.514343,-86.377258&spn=1.236278,2.705383

Sorry for the delay, but my vacation is over… and my boss doesn’t have the same enthusiasm for Vol State that I do.

Also, fixed the “Race Time:” in the script to show finishing times, if applicable. (I’ll fix the old maps when I get a chance.)

Email from Laz at 9:58 am:

the great road race (5 days)

the winners are already back at work,
but the racing continues.

sal coll looks to be next in line to finish.
he passed jim ball last night on the mountain
(after a heated 2-day pursuit).
as sal described the dramatic moment;
“he was sitting on a bench in monteagle.”

there is a lot of passing back and forth.
but passes in the last 30 or 40 miles are significant.

individual struggles continue all the way back.
struggles against the race,
struggles against other runners.
struggles against a variety of physical ailments.

on the other hand,
impromptu teams face the demons together.
after days and nights spent on the road
total strangers have become fast friends and staunch allies.

the biggest battles are being fought by those dueling with oprah.

after a valiant fight,
tj watched oprah go past last night.
he has a crew now,
so he can make a last desperate attempt to reel her back in.
(we won’t go and do a manatory pick-up if he is self reliant)
but oprah is relentless, if slow.

her pace never varies.

the teams of walker & taylor,
and kowalski & giant backpack
staved off disaster last night;
linden to Columbia is always a challenge at the back of the pack,
forcing strategy changes to reach the halfway mark
ahead of the cutoff.

jan/diane and joe/GB made it,
but oprah remains just out of sight behind them.
their battles are far from over.
every day will be a challenge from here on out
cutoff by cutoff
to reach that magic mark before oprah,
and buy another day on the road.

the winners are already back at work…

for those battling oprah,
the race is only half over.

laz

Lisa: Ah…life on the road! LOL!

Lisa: The worst part about living on the west coast is I feel like I miss so much! Here’s what happened overnight and this morning so far…

Instagram post from Josh at 8:53 am:

Tweet from Dallas at 7:02 am:

Tweet from Josh at 6:45 am:

Tweet from Dusty Hardman @notfastsoigofar at 6:01 am:

Email from Carl Laniak at 12:06 am:

John fegyveresi – 4:16:19:01

Tread was worn off of his shoes, he ate it in the mud pit at mile 313.5

Carl

Bench of Despair

Yesterday saw the crowning of a new King of the Road. Joe Fejes was this year’s winner and he set a course record while he was at it! He shaved over 9 hours off the old record and completed the VS500K in 3 days 8 hours 10 min 16 sec. 9 hours! Only in a race like this could that be conceivable. The old record stood for 8 years and you have to wonder how long this one will stand. The race is gaining in popularity so more and more “fast” people may have a go at it.

Who will finish today? Check back throughout the day to find out!

Links you might find fun/useful:

To catch up on previous days: Day1   Day2   Day3   Day4  

Last Annual Volstate 500K Spreadsheet & Map – for runner tracking (updated twice a day).
Carl’s 2013 Last Annual Volstate 500K Album, Day 2 Drive Thru, and Day 3 Photos

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: Here are the Top 10, Top 3 Women, and Team Standings as of the 108 Hour Update:

Top 10
1. Joe Fejes – 314 miles (Done! 3 days 8 hours 10 min 16 sec)
2. Alan Abbs – 314 miles (Done! 4 days 11 hours 31 min 27 sec
3. Sung Ho Choi – 308 miles (Now done! 4 days 13 hours 39 min 52 sec)
4. John Fegyveresi – 300 miles
5. Jim Ball – 262 miles
6. Sal Coll – 250 miles
7. Joshua Holmes – 241 miles
8. Brad Compton – 233 miles
9. Ray Krolewicz – 223 miles
10. Richard Westbrook, Roy Tamez, Tim Purol, Jeff Kasal – 222 miles

Top 3 Women
1. Sherry Meador – 218 miles
2. Psyche Wimberly – 203 miles
3. Dusty Hardman – 186 miles

Teams
1. Team Stinky Feet – 314 miles (Done! 2 days 19 hours 14 min 17 sec)
2. Team Country Gentlemen – 314 miles (Done! No time posted yet though)
3. Team Two Step – 311 miles
4. Team Saturday – 190 miles

A flurry of finishes today! And more should be coming in any minute now. What a day!

Email from Mike Dobies at 10:05 pm:

Vol State – 108 Hour Update

Tracking Sheet:
http://www.tinyurl.com/Volstate2013

Map:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=200687420624110668378.0004e19836ad260c6d1b9&msa=0&ll=35.871247,-89.923096&spn=2.270096,5.410767

Lisa: Congrats to Bruce for being 3rd to the rock!

Email from Carl Laniak at 9:21 pm:

4:13:39:52 – Bruce Sung Ho Choi

“Can I get a ride”

Carl

Lisa: Alan Abbs is 2nd at the 2013 Last Annual Vol State 500K…and he did it uncrewed and set a new uncrewed course record! Congratulations Alan!

Email from Carl Laniak at 7:15 pm:

Alan Abbs – 4:11:31:27

Sub 4.5 days!

Carl

Lisa: That’s one way to deal with the dogs! That or pepper spray.

Tweet from Dallas at 7:06 pm:

Lisa: Did you see Laz’s reference to Oprah in his email this morning?

but it is the way of the world.
the strong cannot carry the weak forever.
sooner or later the choice is whether one will survive,
or both will fall to oprah.

There have been other references to her throughout the race as well. So you may be wondering what’s going on with Oprah. Well, I mentioned before that there is no money or bling prize for winning or completing the Last Annual Vol State 500K. In fact, there isn’t even an entrance fee. You just show up at the ferry. And while this is a pretty laid back race, you do still have to meet cut-offs because you only have 10 days to finish it. In this screen capture of the 2013 VS500K map, the runners are represented by numbers and then there’s the Grim Reaper. The Grim Reaper is the pace you must stay at to complete the race in 10 Days. If you’re behind him…adios!

Now, I’m not saying the Grim Reaper and Oprah are one in the same but here’s an excerpt from one of Laz’s emails from last year:

16) oprah 224- everyone keeps asking; “who is oprah?”
you know who oprah is.
she is the spectre that trails the pack at the vol state.
she is the “real” world. where celebrity is the most important thing,
and there are no lonely figures alongside the road, chasing dreams.

laz

Spectre…Oprah…Grim Reaper…same difference! Don’t fear the reaper but you better keep moving!

Instagram post from Josh at 2:53 pm:

Lisa: Tweets from Dusty Hardman (@notfastsoigorfar) and Dallas Smith about life on the road in the VS500K:

Sometimes, it’s about enjoying the simple things in life! Also, in the last tweet by Dallas, he mentions the location of hotels being important. That’s because uncrewed runners are not allowed to accept rides to/from hotels. They must get to them using their own two legs and since no one wants to add miles, you either sleep in a hotel when you get to it or find somewhere else to sleep…like a cemetery!

Make sure you follow Dusty and Dallas so you don’t miss all the fun out there!

Lisa: Abi Meadows was kind enough to share her pics of July 13 -14 with the list. Check them out!

Email from Laz at 9:25 am:

Vol State – 96 Hour Update

vol state trivia:

on day one we suggested jim ball consider calling 911,
after he collapsed in a ditch.
he waved off the suggestion.

check out who is in third among the screwed runners.

laz (do not try this at home)

Lisa: Here are the Top 10, Top 3 Women, and Team Standings

Top 10
1. Joe Fejes – 314 miles (Done! 3 days 8 hours 10 min 16 sec)
2. Alan Abbs – 282 miles
3. John Fegyveresi – 266 miles
4. Sung Ho Choi – 264 miles
5. Jim Ball – 230 miles
6. Sal Coll – 223 miles
7. Joshua Holmes – 218 miles
8. Ray Krolewicz – 208 miles
9. Brad Compton – 206 miles
10. Charlie Taylor – 196 miles

Top 3 Women
1. Sherry Meador – 192 miles
2. Psyche Wimberly – 178 miles
3. Dusty Hardman – 161 miles

Teams
1. Team Stinky Feet – 314 miles (Done! 2 days 19 hours 14 min 17 sec)
2. Team Country Gentlemen – 300 miles
3. Team Two Step – 250 miles
4. Team Saturday – 149 miles

Looks like we will be seeing more finishers today! Team Country Gentlemen could be there as I write this and Alan Abbs is right behind them. No drops overnight so that’s a good thing. Let’s hope they all have good days out there!

By the way, did you know there is no prize or medal for this race? And that the only title that matters is King of the Road? The people who run this don’t do it for the glory or the money or the bling. They do it to see if they can and to find out what they are made of!

Email from Laz at 9:20 am:

human dynamics after 4 days on the road

you might not expect it,
but the vol-state is an excellent place to study human behavior.
4 days into this ordeal,
and all the pretenses have been stripped away.

with a world reduced to concerns for food and water,
a safe place to shit,
and maybe, on a good day, shelter for sleeping,
people soon become who they really are.
after 4 days on the road,
everyone is who they really are.

it is refreshing that most rise to the challenge,
rather than sink to the situation.

group dynamics;
runners pair up.
sometimes, maybe most of the time,
they combine their strengths,
each providing an extra facet to the other.
humans can be stronger together,
than the sum of the parts.

sometimes,
their weaknesses play off one another,
and the team dynamic pulls them into a vortex of failure.
the stronger member has to realize that they must abandon their companion
(because forming a weak team does not prevent growing attached)
humans together can be weaker than the sum of the parts.

sometimes, even in a good team,
the strong must abandon the weak.
it is sad,
but it is the way of the world.
the strong cannot carry the weak forever.
sooner or later the choice is whether one will survive,
or both will fall to oprah.

relays, and crew-runner teams plan to be together from the start to the finish.
the crucible of the vol-state either forges unbreakable bonds,
or melts away the bonds that connect the runners.
relay runners are likely to embrace at the rock.
or they may pull me aside when I stop to check on them;
each telling me that the other;
“has lost his mind.”

the crew can watch their runner persevere;
to suffer from severe discomfort, fatigue,
and feel this growing pride inside for what the runner has accomplished.
regardless of place or time
because what you accomplish out here is not measured by where you finish.
no one prolongs the ordeal in order  to “make it easier”
the longer it takes, the harder it is.
what you accomplish is measured by where you get.
every runner who reaches the rock
is, in that moment, greatness.

the runner either sees the crew as saviors,
as angels whose presence makes this hell bearable.
or they can grouse and complain about the crew’s failures.
failures to anticipate their needs,
and have exactly what is wanted,
exactly when it is desired.

of course there is no magic provision
that will take away the reality of 4 days and nights on the road.

but it is the screwed runners who reveal themselves under the brightest lights of all.
the screwed vol-state is an unimaginable test of will and endurance.
no one who drops can be faulted by those who were not there.
there are,
once you get out of the ferry’s shadow,
countless reasons to stop….

all of them are good reasons.
the vol-state is not kind to your body or your mind.

there is but one reason to continue;
you set out to do this thing,
and you refuse to be stopped.

and this is the only thing it takes to finish the race;
the refusal to be stopped.

all the little veteran tricks of the trade,
you will learn.
no one will have to instruct you.
the road is an effective teacher.

all the smiling faces, and happy voices we see and hear
during call-ins, and drive-thrus;
I cannot explain them.
I get why they are so joyous at the rock.
the hell is over.
they DID IT!
but how can they be so cheerful,
when an end to the hell is not even within reach of imagination?

there have not yet been enough vol-states
to get the human dynamic,
which makes them happy in the face of intolerable conditions.

maybe one day I will understand those people.

laz

Email from Mike Dobies at 8:54 am:

Vol State – 96 Hour Update

Tracking Sheet:
http://www.tinyurl.com/Volstate2013

Map:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=200687420624110668378.0004e18d1c17c99012e45&msa=0&ll=35.89795,-87.451172&spn=2.269331,5.410767