Subject: RR - how did it go
Date: Mon, 05 Feb 2001 21:45:58 -0800
From: Shannon Lyons <chaennnon@earthlink.net>

The Best Little Race in Texas:

You run five 20.1 mile loops around the lake, over the lake, (some
through the lake, I hear) past the dam, through the woods and swamp, on
fire road and on single track & no pavement, into a few mud puddles and
kick lots of tree roots down which are grabbing at the ankles of the
unwary.

Aid Stations: You have Start/Finish, #1, # 2 & #3 & #174 to deal with
and tasty red beans and rice or guzzling chicken soup for the cold and
faint and starving.  The bags line the road for easy crew access if you
are among the chosen. Weighing in each time passing Start/Finish is no
biggie as there are no lines at the scales and plenty of race volunteers
to tell you whether you are on the up or down side.  (The red beans and
rice is not as weighty as the three spare flashlights you forget are
under your shirt).  Between Stations 2 and 3 you go out to a dead end
and touch a dead tree then turn around and head back. In the dead of the
night, when you are cold, hungry, tired and tempted to wish you are
dead, Micky posts someone or something out by the dead tree to make sure
your feet don't turn you around too soon.

In the dark of the night coons are noisily scrambling away into the
bushes, I guess having had enough of this craziness.  Some of the way
the moon's brightness encourages many runners to travel without lights;
it's prettier that way, all the leaves and the road/trail dappled by
moon and star light and everyone has to shut the light off if only once
just to enjoy the full experience.

The weather takes its toll:  clothes claim some extra time (peel off to
shorts then refurbish at nightfall) because temps kinda climb from 30's
at start to 50's then down to 20's under that cold, wintery moonscape.

Boredom on these loops never finds you: you pass one another on the
trail, going and coming and soon recognize which runner is in the crazy
or sporty or painfully stylish garb.  You might even hear somebody
spoofing, "California Chicks Rule"! or comments: - the trail gossip -
"tell you later!" or your friends saying, "You bitch, you!" or "Who did
you do last night?"

The prettiest part lst time and this, is running under the moon, tapping
across the wooden bridge on its leaning stilts and peering into the
water, wondering just where and between which star-shimmered plants the
alligators are lurking if you happen to weave too near the edge and fall
over....

So what can I say, the coon does it to me again.

Ç