Syllamos 125k. I'll make it short: No flats or mechanicals but I did run out of water twice so I suffered from dehydration and fell into the pit of despair - the life sucking machine was thrown to 50.
Out of 156 registered, only 57 finished. Somehow Steph and I managed to be among the 57. I heard only 137 out of 300 50mile racers finished. It was brutal: the aid stations looked like a MASH tent in a warzone by the end.
In races like these where you come to the same aid stations multiple times, the middle of the 100mile race gets mixed in with the back of the 50 mile race. I got to witness the transformation of the aid workers from cheery and motivating to beat down and impatient. Granted, I would not sit outside in the heat for eight hours to manage a sale of knick knacks in my front yard so I really don't even know where these generous people with positive attitudes come from; maybe they bus them in from local churches? If ever I am roped into working one, It would not be long before I took a box of cookies and hid from the wretches behind a shade tree and wait for it all to end. Maybe that is why the put the aids in the middle of absolute nowhere... not for the benefit of the racers, but to keep the volunteers from wandering off!
At the very least, It was an eye-opening reminder that the volunteer aid worker is not who we should be confiding in during our darkest moments on an endurance race course. Even a seasoned bar tender could not carry the burden of 300 successive cries of despair without it taking a toll.
Out of 156 registered, only 57 finished. Somehow Steph and I managed to be among the 57. I heard only 137 out of 300 50mile racers finished. It was brutal: the aid stations looked like a MASH tent in a warzone by the end.
In races like these where you come to the same aid stations multiple times, the middle of the 100mile race gets mixed in with the back of the 50 mile race. I got to witness the transformation of the aid workers from cheery and motivating to beat down and impatient. Granted, I would not sit outside in the heat for eight hours to manage a sale of knick knacks in my front yard so I really don't even know where these generous people with positive attitudes come from; maybe they bus them in from local churches? If ever I am roped into working one, It would not be long before I took a box of cookies and hid from the wretches behind a shade tree and wait for it all to end. Maybe that is why the put the aids in the middle of absolute nowhere... not for the benefit of the racers, but to keep the volunteers from wandering off!
At the very least, It was an eye-opening reminder that the volunteer aid worker is not who we should be confiding in during our darkest moments on an endurance race course. Even a seasoned bar tender could not carry the burden of 300 successive cries of despair without it taking a toll.
Here is my wife: I do not know how or from where she maintains such a positive attitude. I came across the line in tears. She came across it all smiles. Even though I had about 30 minutes to recover while waiting for her to finish, I still wanted to say “what do you have to be so happy about?”
We could all use a little Stephanie positivity in our lives.
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