Blogging

Sorry to the readers of this blog. Life has been exciting, busy, and I'm finding myself completely without time or even interest to write anything. I'm taking a break from blogging. Not dismantling the blog permanently - yet. Maybe there will be a renewed interest later. But, before I leave, there were a few emails about Swan Crest.

* Yes, the 100 mile race went on and was, I think, a success. 20 out of 44 runners finished. Steve, Rebecca, Mike and I helped out at the Six Mile Aid Station. Steve and I left in a rush Thursday afternoon. I'd been teaching summer school and hadn't had time to properly prepare. In a panic, I had to call Rebecca to bring warm clothes and flashlights.

Seven people with heavy packs hiked up 3 miles to the aid station, filling MSR bags with creek water along the way. At various times, hardy volunteers hiked back down a half mile to refill the bags and hike them back up. After my second trip with two bags of water, I felt like a major wimp, thinking I was going to pass out. I didn't feel as bad, after one of the race directors carried up the same amount, saying "this totally sucks." The runners, both those that continued on at our mile 46.3 aid station and those who dropped, were completely amazing and motivating. At 11:30 pm, the last runner came through. We cleaned up camp in the dark, and hiked everything and everyone out, finishing up around 2 am. Steve and I slept hard, then drove the supplies to the finish line. We then spent the remainder of our time reading and sleeping. I skipped the 18 mile run and rescheduled it for next weekend due to general fatigue and a sore body. I do hope the race directors continue to put this one on. With a few tweaks, it will be awesome.

Enjoy the summer!