An Awakening

I got home around 9:30 Saturday night after cleaning up from the Super Marathon. The last runner came in a little after 7. I drove back to Tulsa, took Ron M. home, went to bed, got up, took a long, hot shower, went for a nice breakfast, then got back on the road to Afton around 6:45 a.m.

The countryside was enshrouded in fog as soon as I left the city limits of Tulsa. Then, just west of Claremore, I saw them. The runners! There they were, one by one emerging from the fog and darkness, with little blinking lights on their hats and covered in reflective tape, still running... running... running!

Prior to this, I must admit I was thinking that these long-distance runners must be a little crazy to want to indulge in this strenuous sport -- a very different breed from lazy me. But seeing them plod along in the cold, dense fog, strung out for miles, still running after 12 hours while I've been indulging my own comfort-based activities, moved me to tears. Whatever their motivation for doing this, they deserve nothing but my admiration and respect. Each and every runner got a headlight blink and a thumbs-up from me as I passed them, and surprisingly, almost all of them waved back!

More race photos by Brad at the end of this post.

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Once in Afton, I spent part of the morning cleaning up what was left from Saturday's mob scene. My first visitors were a very attractive and friendly couple from Torino, Italy, traveling part of Route 66 as well as the Grand Canyon, NYC, and Niagara Falls.

Later, a group from Grove High School came in to take some Senior pictures next to the old cars. Betty W. came in and helped me with the last of the cleanup, and Robin and Phil stopped in, too. The plumbers were here running the gas line to the new building, too. Since I was a little tired today, and since visitors stopped coming around 2 p.m., I closed up 20 minutes early and drove home.

Here are a few more of Brad's great photos of the race.

Visitor Count: A Bazillion!

The first runner hits the Ribbon Road on Route 66 outside of Afton -- Photo by Sarah D.

The Mother Road 100 Super Marathon was responsible for the first time Afton Station has had more visitors than we could count! What a day! And my little band of volunteers, all "super marathon virgins", learned so much from the experience.

First, thanks so much to the incredible volunteers: Robin (who was in charge of sales and sold almost $400 in merchandise), Ron M. (in charge of drinks and much more), Betty W. and Tattoo Man (who manned the food table), Betty B. (who sorted out and distributed the "drop bags", among other tasks), Marly (who did just about everything else, including running to the Dollar Store for another two cases of noodle soup), Brad and LaSandra (who showed up and surprised me, then stayed and worked to the bitter end. Brad also took some awesome photos), Phil (who worked while wounded for a while), and my kid Sarah (who was in charge of runner weigh-ins until her dad came and took her away).
Most of the crew --from left, Sarah, member of marathon crew in background, Tattoo Man, Marlene (Betty W's sister), LaSandra, Betty B., Robin, Betty W.

None of us knew what we were doing, but with the help of some folks from the race committee, by the time the first of the 178 runners arrived we were somewhat organized. The runners were a delightful group, much more delightful than I'd be if I'd just run 33 miles and still had 67 more to go! Besides a couple of blisters, they all seemed to be doing well and were in good shape.

Here's what we learned:
* They sure love warm noodle soup! We went through many gallons.
* They sure love PB &J sandwiches! We ran out!
* They sure love gummy bears, bananas and trail mix.
* They don't really love pretzels, energy bars, fig newtons, and cut-up oranges.
* As expected, they went through gallons of water and Gatorade.
* They wanted potatoes, and I didn't have any because I thought it was weird. Who knew?
* Ron M. and Brad both took photos. Some are here, and I'll save some for tomorrow.
* They nearly all had pit crews, usually consisting of several people in cars tracking them. That's what accounts for the mob scene we had all day at the Station, at least 300 folks, probably more.

The majority of the runners came in between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. They weighed in, changed clothes, grabbed some food and drink, massaged their feet, and headed out again. The whole thing was incredibly fun, entertaining, and exhausting.


Sarah at the weighing-in station

Phil Rosenstein and his girlfriend. See blog entry from Oct. 2, 2008. Nice to see him again!

Runners were still arriving well after dark

There will be lots more photos and lots more to this interesting story tomorrow. For now, good night!

Excuses, Excuses

Here's why I probably won't be blogging for a few days. I'm getting ready for the Mother Road 100 SuperMarathon on Saturday. No, of course I'm not running in it! (If you thought that, you've obviously never met me!) But it's taking a lot of preparation for Afton Station's role as an aid station, preparing food, etc. And on top of that, my daughter Sarah is arriving today for a 6-day visit! Therefore, I'll probably be absent a bit, but don't give up on me. I'll be baaaaaack!

Good luck to all the marathon runners. Running 100 miles is almost inconceivable for me. I have great admiration and respect for those who are participating. I also thank all the volunteers who are going to be helping out at Afton Station on Saturday.