The 14th State's 100

I'm back in Tampa Town! YipF'ingE! I drove only 3518.7 miles in 8 days, no problem Bert (from what commercial, you get it, I'll buy you an I tunes album! First correct post only!)

It was a great experience, Vermont. We had it all. Camaraderie (sure was fun being there with Jon, Woody, Becky + 3), Camping (4 days at beautiful Mt. Ascutney State Park in Vermont), cramping (even 72 miles will do that to you), and cramming (yeah, I think Jon was planning to move to Vermont, because I brought all of his stuff up in my Honda Fit, now called a Honda it-may-not-Fit!) Sadly, the race, well, we've all had better. I don't know why it turned bad, but it did. Thank God for Jon carrying the Florida banner.

Becky ran great. I am so proud of her! Yall, she was a downhill maven. I bet she was in the top 10 women when we had to drop at 72. We were running at just under 24 hour pace, and for 70 miles we ran so well. Becky showed no signs of weakness, fatigue, and never complained once, not once! For 70 miles we were just up and down, cruising along. As a matter of fact, between 32 and 36 I hit a bad patch and wondered if I should try to keep up with her or just let her go, I didn't want to hold her back. But I knew that it's never as bad as it seems, so I hung in there and by 36 miles I was feeling great. I felt I could fly. I should have remembered that it's never as good as it seems either. Because when we finished what for me is the toughest climb on the course from 70-72 Becky took one look at the woods we about to head in to and just stopped. She said, "Andy, I can't go in there, I won't be able to come out."I'm telling you I was shocked. This trooper had been cruising with no hint of trouble. I said, "well, let's just walk to the next aid station and then we'll see what's what and who's who."Going to the next aid station meant continuing up a nasty looking hill in the woods, so we decided to take refuge on the porch of an abandoned house right off of the trail. We rested there and tried to nap for about 45 minutes. Still Becky felt no better, she felt worse. I know she was giving it her all so I went for help. I ran into my friend Chrissy Weiss, and her pacer a local gal named Andi. Andi took one look at Becky and suggested she stay on the porch while she ran ahead to the next aid station and sent for help. We agreed to this.

Help came in the form of an extended cab pick-up truck after we'd been idle for about 1 1/2 hours after we'd stopped. At this time Becky was in no better shape than when we stopped. She made the right decision to stop. Becky was so kind, so said, "It's ok with me if you continue."I said "Thanks, but it's not ok with me." There is no way I could just dump her in that pick-up truck. I rode back to the medical tent with her where I called her husband. I sat on a cot next to Becky as they put blankets and hot packs on her. Joe showed up shortly and we went back to the campsite. It was my great pleasure to share her experience.

I have finished 8 x 100 mile races, but I have never given more effort than she gave that day. For 72 miles she was a warrior, that's good enough for me!

AndyMan