and thus begins the preliminary training that will decide whether or not i enter a particular race in late march. 

the run that saved the day

"Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens." - Epictetus  

"My hair... it's frozen... like, it's actually frozen... like, it's hard." - my Darling Little Sister

and...

"It's MAGICAL!!!!" - also from my Darling Little Sister (whilst flailing into above pose)

and because it's a great picture, my Inimitable Mother and Darling Little Sister in the snow:

...and because you're all sadists and wanted me to do these with my Darling Little Sister seated atop my frail, beaten, bloody, broken body:

and the "new cool" way to do the plank:

and for anyone wondering, i only managed to hold the straight-arm plank for 1:10 with the slight extra weight...

squeezing in a few at camp....

is there a better way to spend a tuesday evening?

10 easy with blake to loosen up...

woke up sick = no mt. mist.

dang.

it seemed like a good idea at the time, but it proved to be an ill-advised adventure.  as of today (saturday), i still don't have my voice back entirely...

the day is too nice not to run, so maybe this will burn off the remnants of the plague...

early easy 5

...here comes the sun, and i say....

running when i wanted, where i wanted, as short as i wanted, how i wanted, and at the pace i wanted, because i wanted to.

'twas tons o fun.

(occasional self-indulgent running isn't too bad...)

...because big boys like to play in the rain, too...

(made all the more amusing when i heard a little boy yell to his friends behind me, "did you see that guy running by in his underwear!?!?!?)

"No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently." - Agnes de Mille

(a lot like training...)

i wonder what the mail-lady thought when she saw me changing in my truck (a.k.a. locker room) alone in the parking lot...

"Mama exhorted her children at every opportunity to 'jump at de sun.'  We might not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the ground." - Zora Neale Hurston   (...and my Inimitable Mother...)

i think it's funny how you can be a source of support to someone even if you don't have a clue what to tell them to do.

easy run to let another guy with a lot on his mind run some of it out

(i just wish that someone didn't feel entitled to my backpack, computer, and digital camera while i was out running...)

spent the first half running out the frustration of a stolen laptop and the second half running from the demons that won't seem to leave me alone.

had to talk myself out the door for this one, which is odd considering how nice of a day it was, but it definitely turned out to be a nice one...

spring appetizer...

happy Singles Awareness Day to all of you in blog-land...

if the weather were any nicer for running, i'd have to pinch myself

i crossed paths with another runner a few times this evening.  i passed him going down one street, then caught him again when he cut straight through a block i circumnavigated.

this pattern repeated itself a few times until i began to catch him one last time going through downtown huntsville.  apparently he didn't like being passed.

the other runner markedly picked up his pace as i moved past him on the other side of the street.  i hope he didn't see me licking my chops.

as it became apparent that he wanted to test himself against me (or vice versa...), he started taking the same turns as me and matching my pace.  i picked up the pace just a bit, then let him catch back up.  again, i hope he didn't see my slight smirk of excitement.

once he caught up, i again took the pace up ever so slightly, and the process repeated itself another two or three times.

the other runner managed to last for around three quarters of a mile before fading into the night.  i don't know who he was, but he made my night.

(apologies for those sensitive to somewhat self-indulgent posts.  here, have some salt...)

fun run on the mountain

(parenthetical allusion)

enjoying the warm holiday

oh i wonder wonder...

was that just a punch to the face?  no.. just the wind...

running is what the cool kids do on friday nights...

moseying about...

Live not just the length of your life, live the width of it as well...

i was singing in my head while driving down the road, and before i knew what was going on, when i finished and looked up, i had already run a mile and a half...

run around town, followed by reading at a coffee/pizza place for hours:  yay fridays.

"My lips get stuck when I smile sometimes." - my Darling Little Sister

don't you love it when a car thinks that it's brave/bold enough to make eye contact with you right before speeding up so that it cuts you off in an intersection, right before it suddenly stops in the middle of said intersection (almost causing itself to be rear-ended by the car behind it), again making eye contact, and "politely" allowing you to cross by running around the car after already awkwardly stopping...

(i've really got to get back out on the trails...)

"Once the pursuit of truth begins to haunt the mind, it becomes an ideal never wholly attained." - Agnes E. Meyer

event = fun

run = eh

step 1:  right foot

step 2:  left foot

repeat as necessary, as necessary, as necessary, as necessary, as necessary as necessary...

previewing a potential cross country course for a coach friend who, for whatever reason, wanted my feedback...

on thursday i learned of a benefit 5k for a 17-year old with cancer, so i figured why not....

the boy for whom the race was held even ran the race, which was cool, and my Darling Little Sister came out and paced a friend of hers to a new PR.

good run.  good cause.

Daddy's 62nd birthday.

easy is not how i would describe today's mileage.

the ocho

getting a few in before helping officiate the shotput at a track meet.

because i'm obviously very adept at the shotput.

up at 3:45 after being at a track meet until midnight.

running mountain trails by 5:45 in driving rain and sky-illuminating lightning.

marking the course for a race that got canceled due to the weather.

awesome way to spend a saturday morning.

exploring trails outside carmel, ca

fun stuff.

Since to the awe of thy imperious wit
Our troublesome language bends, made only fit
With her tough thick-ribbed hoops to gird about
Thy giant fancy, which had proved too stout
For their soft melting phrases.

-Thomas Carew

finally overcame the plague enough to get a bit of a run in...

weeeeeeeeee

squeezing a few in before youth

5@5 whilst greeting an incoming thunderstorm.

first few a hair faster than 7 min/mile, working the last few down to 5 min/mile

(stuck on the treadmill, so i had to make it a bit more interesting...)

easy cruising around the scenic back country a little southwest of richmond

(exploring is fun...)

"There is no way to penetrate the surface of life but by attacking it earnestly at a particular point." - Charles Horton Cooley

"The self is not something ready-made, but something in continuous formation through choice of action." - John Dewey

"Walking is also an ambulation of mind." - Gretel Ehrlich

...applies to running, too.

Happy Easter to all...

"Obsessions and fixations are not really my field.  All I know, when the mind really grabs hold of something, look out." - Martin Sage & Sybil Adelman 

to ponder:  http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=3196152&page=0

to amuse:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twfTpdko6_E&feature=share

"I like the night. Without the dark, we'd never see the stars." - Stephenie Meyer

"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." - Jack London

oh so applicable to running, as it were...

short and sweet...

for those that saw the thread "to ponder" last friday (april 29), a response:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi0_sYun4n0 

i didn't know it got to 97 degrees in nebraska...

the sun is a mass of incandescent gas, a gigantic nuclear furnace

where hydrogen is built into helium at a temperature of millions of degrees.

(bonus points for catching the reference...)

there was nothing else to do, and the hotel hot tub was broken, so why not go run?

"I think that somehow, we learn who we really are and then live with that decision." - Eleanor Roosevelt

hardy har har...

"Most people ignore most poetry because most poetry ignores most people." - Adrian Mitchell

...running/runner analogy???

(and a big congrats to Phil McCarthy for setting a new American Record for the 48-hour run this weekend in NJ, racking up 257.34 miles over the course of the two days... very impressive...)

i've had my own "two-mile rule" for several years, but every now and then it takes quenton cassidy to remind me that you really can't tell how good or bad a run is going to be until you're over two miles in...

(...and tons of extra-special runner-bonus-points for catching the reference without google-ing it...)

"If there is anything the nonconformist hates worse than a conformist, it's another nonconformist who doesn't conform to the prevailing standard of nonconformity." - Bill Vaughan

"We live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities." - Oscar Wilde

it had been far too long since i got to click my heels...

i tried to take the day off, but driving home tonight i got the running itch and had to go out for a scratch.

and that's all i have to say about that.

there are a lot more people out than there were 50 degrees ago...

yep.  that's what i said.

after getting on a soap box earlier today about consistency in training, i tried really hard to skip my run today, but 'the addiction' got the better of me...

(and, as is often the case, the run i nearly missed turned out to be a great run...)

my running went well today.

how was your run today?

why not?

cotton row 10k.

race report?

(update:  in progress)

why not?

short on time = short on run

(funny, because typically i'm relatively tall...)

slow day for me, but rough day for Darling Little Sister.

8

Ridgecrest, CA

yep

?

oh yeah... that's why humidity is... fun...?

"Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute." - Josh Billings 

warmish

fun day, albeit a sad farewell to Schotz... The minnesota running scene will soon get a boost...

one foot in front of the other

repeat.

just about ready to commit to the next big one...

i had to really put it in today.

that's right puddy...

i whistled for a cab, and when it came near, the license plate said "fresh," and it had dice in the mirror.

the treadmill died just as i was getting warmed up...

mad dogs and englishmen

fun stuff

(isn't it always?)

a very happy birthday to my ever-Inimitable Mother, who, in her eternal defiance of logic, is yet again twenty-something for the twenty-somethingth year in a row.

Happy Birthday!!!!

...but chasing my youth group around six flags has to count for something, right???

believe it or not, it's fixing to start feeling a bit warm-ish outside...

so i just got verbal approval from my boss to take two weeks off in late october for my next big run....

stay tuned...

one two three four five six

000110

1x2x3

"To err is human, but to really foul things up takes a computer." - Farmers' Almanac (1978)

i love the weather.

it seems like one day we'll all be griping (what a great word) about how abnormally hot it is (funny how every year we seem to think the temps are "above average" all summer...), and like an answered prayer, rain comes to cool things down.

then, naturally, we all start griping about the rain.

i'll admit, i'm right there in the thick of it. when a storm blew through yesterday, i joined the chorus of "dad gummit!" (another great word), "it's gonna rain again..."

the really funny part is that, when i really sit down to examine it, i'd have it no other way. i love the "crappy" running days, the days not fit for man nor beast, the days when (while still in work clothes) i can't fathom being outside for more than a few minutes at a time. these are the days when i thrive.

100+ degrees with 115% humidity, you can bet the farm that i'll be out there logging the miles. 12 degrees with a wind chill of zero (hey.. that's cold down here), i'll come in with snot-sicles proudly affixed. hurricane winds (katrina was still a cat. 1 hurricane over starkville...), i'll ill-advisedly set forth to do battle with the elements.

i have no explanation for this seemingly deleterious compulsion to feed the addiction in the worst of conditions; at first i thought it was for the bragging rights, but then I realized that i've never told people about most of the weird-weather-runs.

i suspect, however, that quite a few of us in this somewhat eccentric pastime have the need to test things out. we run far. very far. then we run fast. then we come up with races like barkley, badwater, or arrowhead, and even though we run them, griping the whole way and cussing the next hill, i bet that we'd all be really pissed off if it got any easier.

we all have the disease; we all want the next challenge; we all want to weather the weather.

just because we can.

got to give a shout out to fatmanrunning .  yesterday, i got an email that sums it all up pretty well:

"I put on my shoes, immediately my shins began to hurt knowing what was to come. I ran anyway."

midnight run.

the runners were great.

the organization was a bit of a cluster.

planning....

time flies like the wind.

fruit flies like bananas.

"He attacked everything in life with a mix of extraordinary genius and naive incompetence, ant it was often difficult to tell which was which..." - Douglas Adams 

R

E

V

N

E

D

"It's innocence when it charms us, ignorance when it doesn't." - Mignon McLaughlin 

...kind of makes you wonder about our honest views of those not lucky enough to take part in our pastime...

i think it's time to get ready for another epic run... don't you?

that being the case, take a look:

AlabamaReliefRun

only time for a few at 0500, and working on website stuff for AlabamaReliefRun in the afternoon.

did i mention you should go check out AlabamaReliefRun ?

 ...because you should really take a look at AlabamaReliefRun ....

a little unexpected rabbit duty at a couple high school XC races.  fun (especially considering i had never seen the course before...)

getting a few in before campers showed up at the retreat.  absolutely fantastic scenery

free time at camp... what better way to fill it?

rainy night run through the remnants of tropical storm lee.

fantastic.

i've never run on the 22nd floor of a hotel before...

cool... (in my best "mesmerized 6-year-old voice)

a good goal to have:

"He can make me love something just by showing me the energy with which he loves it."

...on the rather pleasant San Antonio River Walk...

because on such a cool date as 9-10-11, it only seemed appropriate to go 12...

running because we can.

am: 5@5

pm: 5@5

symmetry's a great thing.

Got a revamped map and website up for my upcoming Alabama Relief Run

454 miles. Should be fun...

Check it out:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=216100759734377893211.0004acd350a6e216e9f47&ie=UTF8&ll=32.639375,-86.759033&spn=5.003804,9.744873&t=h&z=7&vpsrc=6

Main website and more info at:

http://www.alabamareliefrun.com/

http://www.facebook.com/AlabamaReliefRun

popular morning for 5 am running;  i saw a decent sized little group, two or three solo runners, and a couple couples.

...and everyone wish my Darling Little Sister a happy birthday today!  if my math is correct (and given the conclusion it points toward, i'm not so sure my math is correct...), she turns 18 today...

(still Darling Little Sis...)

am: 5@5

pm: 5@6

yup.

just posted this to a blogspot and figured i'd copy it here:

Anyone that's followed the musings of this blog no doubt realizes that I've got something of a propensity for attempting slightly unconventional running stunts (among others), and boy, do I have a doozy...

However, as with any event worth noting, there is a bit of background that should be understood.  The best background to know is that I really wanted to run Vol State this year.

For various reasons, both running related, and deeply personal, Vol State was an event toward which I felt a very strong calling this year.  For those unfamiliar with the affair that is The Last Annual Vol State Road Race, it is a 500k run, mostly across Tennessee, but which briefly crosses at least five states (MO, KY, TN, AL, and GA).  It starts with a ferry ride across the MS River, and ends somewhat unassumingly at Castle Rock, GA.  No entry fee.  No aid stations.  No excuses.  Either you finish, or you quit.  A truly epic undertaking (at least in my mind), I wanted to take a stab at it.

At first, I thought I would have a training course for work in the week prior to the start, which, although it would have put me at roughly a 1.5 day late start, I considered an acceptable obstacle.  Rather than try to win the race, I would simply see how many people I could pass and still stay under the time limit (and, truth be told, I would probably keep up with my personal running time to compare with the winning time...).  This seemed like a grand plan, with my puddy from Starkvegas ready to come crew for me.

Then another work trip came up that took up the entire week of Vol State, which effectively killed the idea.  Dang.

However, by the time of the final nixing of my Vol State attempt, something of a calamity had befallen the state of Alabama.  On April 27, a series of storms ripped through the state, devastating quite a few towns, killing over 200 people, and causing untold damage.  On April 27, I was in Kentucky, watching helplessly, hoping that my family and friends were alright, and being told NOT to immediately come home to help; I would be turned away by the National Guard and other authorities if I tried.  For those that know me, you know that this goes against every instinct in my body.

But in the frustration came an idea.   I couldn't run across Tennessee, but I could run across Alabama.  And now I had a cause I could rally around and hopefully get others to support along with me.  I would be remiss if I didn't mention that running across Alabama is an idea I gleaned from an event several years ago, the Run Across Alabama for Elliott (see http://runacrossalabama.com/ ).  But in the Run Across AL, the route went east-to-west; to my knowledge, no one had ever attempted a north-south or south-north crossing.

Slowly the idea took shape:  I would run the length of Alabama, from the Gulf Coast to the Alabama-Tennessee state line as a tornado relief effort.  Being that the run wasn't necessarily designed to be particularly fast,  a little distance was added in to allow me to run along a couple of the tornado paths, one in Tuscaloosa, which was perhaps the highest-profile city hit, and one that tracked along northern part of the state, through Hackleburg, Phil Campbell, Moulton, Athens, Harvest, and other towns.

After a few tweaks and additions, the total distance is currently set at 454 miles, over 100 miles farther than Vol State.  Apparently I would not be deprived of the epic run...

Now getting the word out about the run is perhaps my biggest obstacle.  Self-publicity is, quite frankly, not my forte'.   I figured I would need to give it a name for reference purposes, and after a few consultations with a group of email contacts, I decided on a name that described the effort simply, and appealed to my love of both acronyms and pirates:  the Alabama Relief Run or ARR!

I'm working with quite a few folks I know around here to spread the word, with Helms IT Services graciously putting together a website for me, and plenty of help from Eric Charette on the little widgets all over, and I even created a Facebook page and Twitter feed for the event (again, those that know me will see the humor in this...).  Hopefully this will be a big enough event to cause a real difference to those affected by the storms.  I know it will be a huge event in my life, and now I'm in too deep to bail out, so full steam ahead...

I'll try to keep this blog updated with the latest developments, but should anyone want to learn about the run, all kinds of good info, including a route map and daily mileage goals can be found at the website, which is at:


http://www.alabamareliefrun.com/
http://www.facebook.com/AlabamaReliefRun

 

just enough to get the blood flowing.

i hope everyone celebrated International Talk Like A Pirate Day!  it's the best day of the yarrrr!

sometimes some is better than none, and with something doing something to something in my stomach, i'm just glad i could get something rather than nothing...

One month away from the start of the Alabama Relief Run!  It's close enough to have me a bit anxious, but excited nonetheless.  Training is in full swing, I've got a couple newspaper articles that should be coming out in the next week, and slowly I'm getting the word out to more and more people.

Check out what all the fuss is about at:

http://www.alabamareliefrun.com/

http://www.facebook.com/AlabamaReliefRun

interesting...

was going to be a bit farther, but with a gut acting up yesterday, i was a bit hesitant to make the home to XC meet traverse... 

http://www.alabamareliefrun.com/

"The things that one most wants to do are the things that are probably the most worth doing." - Winifred Holtby 

am 5@5

pm 7@5

working out a few kinks in the donation web portal on the Alabama Relief Run website.  should all be fixed very shortly...

http://www.alabamareliefrun.com/

http://www.facebook.com/AlabamaReliefRun

am: 5@5

pm: didn't get to run because i had to get back to watch Darling Little Sister in the homecoming parade... she's on the homecoming court.... (and if it is a merit-based OR an appearance-based system, none of the other girls has a chance.  not a biased opinion, just stating facts)

haiku are easy

but sometimes they don't make sense

refrigerator

everyone congratulate my Darling Little Sister for getting HOMECOMING QUEEN!!!!!!!

so i got to take my sister to a football game last night, and they gave her a crown...

nice run to the jesse owens xc invitational to watch Darling Little Sis (aka, Homecoming Queen Sis) along with 5000 of her closest running buddies.

only 3 weeks until the start of the Alabama Relief Run!

http://www.alabamareliefrun.com/

http://www.facebook.com/AlabamaReliefRun

am 5@5

pm 5@5

...i guess you could call me a creature of habit...

so i had a radio interview today on the Griff Show on a sports radio station... they made a podcast out of it, so if you'd like to hear 11 minutes of the soothing sounds of my melodic voice (no comments from the peanut gallery...), here you go:

http://griffshow.podomatic.com/entry/2011-10-03T15_11_57-07_00

"Train up a fig tree in the way it should go, and when you are old sit under the shade of it." - Chuck Dickens 

"They're the chicken people." - my ever Inimitable Mother

took a little run over to watch Darling Little Sister at a nearby xc meet.  always a fun way to spend a morning...

also, just posted up another somewhat humorously awkward video update on the Alabama Relief Run (   www.alabamareliefrun.com     facebook.com/AlabamaReliefRun  ) .  check it out...

http://www.youtube.com/user/jrn47again

"Fidelity to commitment in the face of doubts and fears is a very spiritual thing." 

12 days

http://www.alabamareliefrun.com/

"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death." - Harold Wilson

11 days

http://www.alabamareliefrun.com/

am 5@5

"Tis an ill wind that blows no minds." - Malaclypse the Younger

10 days

http://www.alabamareliefrun.com/

"Mama exhorted her children at every opportunity to 'jump at de sun.' We might not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the ground." - Zora Neale Hurston

9 days

http://www.alabamareliefrun.com/

"You must pray that the way be long, full of adventures and experiences." - Constantine Peter Cavafy

8 days

http://www.alabamareliefrun.com/

"All sanity depends on this: that it should be a delight to feel heat strike the skin, a delight to stand upright, knowing the bones are moving easily under the flesh." - Doris Lessin

7 days

http://www.alabamareliefrun.com/

time for another two videos about the Alabama Relief Run!  enjoy...

6 days

http://www.alabamareliefrun.com/

"We go where our vision is." - Joseph Murphy

5 days

http://www.alabamareliefrun.com/

"I really do believe I can accomplish a great deal with a big grin, I know some people find that disconcerting, but that doesn't matter." - Beverly Sills

4 days

http://www.alabamareliefrun.com/

When all else fails, just run a really long way.

3 days

http://www.alabamareliefrun.com/

2 days

http://www.alabamareliefrun.com/

"The people that I have met are not foolish; they are aware of how tired and cold and hungry and frightened and hurting and discouraged and disoriented and how possibly injured they will become. They know they will face great physical, mental, emotional, and possibly spiritual challenges as they make their way to the finish. This is what they are racing against. This is their challenge. This is what I admire." - Carolyn Erdman

1 day

http://www.alabamareliefrun.com/

let's do it.

day 1 of the Alabama Relief Run in the books.  quote of the day: "Alright, John, this is where you get out of the van..."

 http://www.alabamareliefrun.com/

Alabama Relief Run Day 2.

www.alabamareliefrun.com

facebook.com/AlabamaReliefRun

Day 3 of the Alabama Relief Run

(am i at the top of the mileage board yet?)

www.alabamareliefrun.com

facebook.com/AlabamaReliefRun

feet.

shouldn't.

hurt.

this.

bad.

www.alabamareliefrun.com

rough start, which translated into a bit of a recovery day... back at it hard tomorrow...

www.alabamareliefrun.com

facebook.com/alabamareliefrun

great Day 6 of the Alabama Relief Run.  the gravity of the day (the six-month anniversary of the April 27 tornadoes) was made clear when we ran through a rural area  of tornado damage.

i must say, the day was made even better by the presence of my good puddy mattaddy (it's a native hawaiian name) aka, fatmanrunning here on FRB...

Day 7 of the Alabama Relief Run.

Blazing, thanks to pacers Eric Fritz and Jon Elmore (jelmo on the blog...)

Got to run by a huge swath of damage around here and got to meet the people from the Wrangler plant that was destroyed in the tornado (with them inside...), which was pretty moving for me...

www.alabamareliefrun.com

facebook.com/AlabamaReliefRun

Day 8 of the Alabama Relief Run in the books!  Only 2 more days! Got to meet some folks in Phil Campbell, AL who were really affected by the tornadoes, which was pretty cool.  One 70+ lady laced up her shoes and even ran with my Inimitable Mother and me for a bit!

www.alabamareliefrun.com

facebook.com/AlabamaReliefRun

day 9 of the Alabama Relief Run.   one more day...

www.alabamareliefrun.com

facebook.com/AlabamaReliefRun

finished up the Alabama Relief Run today.  10 days. 387 miles.  awesome run. (and, in case you were wondering, yes, i did give a good heel click at the finish... that was caught on camera by a local news station that aired it on the 6 o'clock news...)

www.alabamareliefrun.com

facebook.com/alabamareliefrun

systems check:  just trying to see if everything is back in working order or not...

My apologies if this run report gets out of hand, but attempting to describe a 376-mile run might be a bit tricky...

The preparations went according to plan. My two-a-day runs successfully made 5am running a natural habit rather than a painful, stiff, loathsome task, and afternoon runs were just icing on the cake. Admittedly, my long-runs left a little to be desired, but I was banking on a solid running history to help with the mental aspects so inherent within the long-run side of training. I had made something of a calculated gamble by taking a slightly alternate training philosophy building up to the run; rather than arrive at the start in peak physical condition, I had opted to arrive in decent condition, focusing more on the mental side of training. This decision was made with the idea that when you are on the absolute razor's edge of fitness, falling off the other side into injury is a very real risk, and pounding the pavement day after day after day after day seemed like a powder keg of injuries waiting to be lit. I didn't want to provide a spark.

Finally, after months of preparation, it came time to get the show on the road. My crew of Tony Bolan and Dannie Cutts loaded into the van with me and headed down to Gulf Shores for what would turn out to be quite an odyssey. The dichotomy never ceases to amaze me; the ease of the 6-hour drive southward belied the imminently contrasting 10-day return trip.

We arose ever-so-early the morning of Day 1 of the Alabama Relief Run to get a good start to the longest scheduled day. After donning all appropriate gear, we headed to the southern terminus of AL Hwy 59 at the beach in Gulf Shores, took the requisite pictures with one foot in the Gulf, and I was off and running. For whatever reason, the magnitude of the task at hand was driven home by a simple statement from Dannie when we pulled into the parking lot next to the beach. "Okay, John, this is where you get out of the van."



After a short stop or two making sure we had safely extricated ourselves from the city of Gulf Shores and crossed the Intercoastal Waterway, Tony and Dannie began what would become an all-too-oft repeated pattern of driving 5 miles up the road and waiting. I made it to the first several aid stops entirely too quickly, still burning off the adrenaline that accompanies the beginning of anxiously awaited events, but soon enough, I settled into a relatively "sustainable" pace.



The rest of Day 1 passed relatively uneventfully. The distance, along with some pretty strong headwinds eventually took their toll, so the 5-mile legs gradually shortened to 4-mile legs, which, in turn, eventually turned into 3-mile legs, and various stops were punctuated with humorously appropriate landmarks or crew antics, such as Tony playing portions of the Forrest Gump soundtrack on his iPad. The end of the day foreshadowed days to come, however, with several miles run on dark, winding roads. I'm not sure who was more nervous at that point, me or the crew...


Listening to "Against the Wind" from the Forrest Gump Soundtrack...

I came to the end of my first day of the ARR. 57.7 miles in the bank, and the longest day of the run in the books. I piled into the van at the designated end point for the day, and we made our way back to the hotel in Bay Minette, roughly 10 or 15 miles back. (I commented on how depressing it was that we made it back to Bay Minette so quickly when I had just spent hours running away from it). I set my own precedent for nightly rituals by showering off (much to Tony and Dannie's relief....), eating the pizza we had ordered, posting updates online, and crashing out on the bed.

4am of Day 2 arrived. Holy crap it's early. What have I gotten myself into? Everything is tight. I'm too sore to walk. My feet hurt. Bad. I've hardly even started this thing. How did I expect to keep this up for 9 MORE DAYS? It's too big. I'm not ready. I should have known...

Stop. Can't let those thoughts creep in...

I knew waking up on Day 2 would be a mental battle. So many miles already covered (nearly 100k...), and yet sooooooo early in the overall progress of the run. My spirits were lifted when I looked over to see that my brother Peter had arrived sometime during the night to assume pacing duties for the day. He knew I needed the help that day, but with the mental beat-down that accompanied the 57 solo miles of Day 1, he'll never fully know just how crucial he was in the continuation and eventual success of the run.


Shady looking character...

We made our way out to where we had left off the night before. Still dark. Peter and I strapped our headlamps on and wandered out into the darkness as Tony and Dannie drove on by to find a place to meet us 5 miles up. It was nice having some company out there. As tends to be the case when he's come out to run with me on various other ultra adventures, the conversations and commentary that come along with Peter's pacing proved to be a source of substantial amusement. I *almost* forgot how intimidated I was with the distance.

Peter and I made it to the first crew stop of the day soon enough, Peter still digesting something of a life-altering, transcendental experience (if you want more details, you'll have to ask him; all I know is that several state and federal agencies subsequently got involved, sealed off the area, generated a cover story of "abnormal floral/faunal activity," and soon reported the existence of 3 newly discovered species). Tony and Dannie had to work for a while to calm him down enough to even speak coherently...


Why is Peter's right sleeve pulled up?

The next several legs went by relatively well, and at the 20-mile mark for the day, Peter decided to take a bit of a break to rest his aching knees. He had been working under a house for Alabama Rural Ministry (ARM) the day before, which banged up his already tricky knees, so I was thrilled to have had him that long. He had gotten me through the crucial early miles and into a good running rhythm. The following solo 18 miles went by rather well, and Peter even came back in for the last 12 of the day.


The Brothers Nevels... Getting it done...


Good Times during the Alabama Relief Run

After the last few (dark) miles of the day, Peter and I piled back into the van and were taken back to the hotel we had checked into in Monroeville. Dannie went out for food and supplies while I tended to online updates and cleaning up. Peter grabbed the food and had to head back to Auburn that night; I'm not sure which was tougher for him, the 32 miles or the 2+ hour drive back afterward. In any case, he lived up to everything I had hoped for his pacing day. Job well done.

Day 3 came with the same aches and pains of Day 2, but the mental battle was just a little easier. I was over 107 miles into this and had no intention of letting a little foot soreness stop me...

The first few legs came and went, largely without incident. The first real internal battle occured during the fourth leg of the day. We had noticed that the next town up the road, Grove Hill, was 6 miles away, so when asked "how brave are you?" by Tony, I accepted the challenge to add the extra mile (sounds easy.. it's just one more mile... but at that point I really had to think about it...) to get into town. Sometime around mile 4 of that leg, Real Bonk #1 hit.

I've hit "the wall" of the marathon before. Yeah, it sucks, but you can get through it. I've noticed that when I get really strung out in ultras, say around mile 60 of a 100-mile race, I'll run into Real Bonks. This is when your body is rebelling from what you're asking it to do (run), just like in "the wall," but in a more coercive fashion, but the real danger of Real Bonks lies in the added mental battle. I had managed to hold off the Real Bonks up to this point with good nutrition/hydration, and sufficiently short days, but I hit it hard coming into Grove Hill, which much to my chagrin, was actually located on top of a hill. Fortunately, with a good stop and an upbeat crew, I got over my little bout of self-pity, got to feeling a little better, and got back on the road, finally getting to Dixon Mills to stop for the day.


Real Bonk #1 in Grove Hill

Compared to the way I felt at the end of Day 3, the start of Day 4 wasn't *that* bad. I was kind of getting my mind wrapped around the morning routine of waking up in pain and running nonetheless, and much to my surprise, I usually loosened up rather well (although the foot pain never really went away...) I made my way northward, having a pretty good day as the temps pleasantly rose and I made my way through several small towns, the crew performing fantastically as always.


Rarin' to go...


Going.... kinda....


Warming up yet?


Good spirits in Demopolis

The day went by pretty well until the last few miles. I had come into and out of Demopolis still feeling pretty good, but as I made my way back out of town and onto some pretty rural stretches of highway, the miles seemed to start dragging. The last two stretches of three or four miles apiece seemed to last......for.......ever......, and yet another Real Bonk took a firm grasp. I ended the day by collapsing into the van, the weight of the day illustrated well by a photo I didn't even know was taken until we uploaded it online; it shows me in my typical post-run position for a given afternoon: curled up in the fetal position in the back seat of the van, trying to hold it together while keeping my feet out of contact with anything else...


The toll it takes...

Day 5 was a landmark day, for multiple reasons. I knew that we were scheduled to meet a substantial crowd when we arrived in Tuscaloosa that day, to which I was really looking forward. The day got started just like the previous few, with me hobbling off into the darkness, eventually breaking out into a jog, while Dannie and Tony drove 5 miles up the road. I was running pretty well, all things considered, for the first two and a half or three miles. Then the wheels came off. I have heard it said that "You will be wistful for the wall of the marathon when you are in the Death Grip of the ultra," and in my vanity I thought I knew what that meant, but the morning of Day 5 taught me otherwise.

Suddenly, with little to no warning, I simply couldn't run. It wasn't a physical pain issue, but in a way that defies description, I just could not run. The log trucks that I had been battling for days seemed bigger, closer, hurling even more bits of pine shrapnel than days prior. The sparse vehicles out at 5am seemed to multiply, forcing me over onto the nonexistent shoulder to stop and bear the brunt of their hurricane-force wind shears. The damp cold seemed to saturate every fiber of my being as I placed one foot unsuredly in front of the other...

As these scenarios hit me, the mental demons saw a chink in my armor and swarmed from the depths of my own personal hell to drag me back down. I stumbled onward through the darkness (normal walking was another casualty of the predicament, slightly controlled falling forward is probably a more accurate description), the hellacious weight of the run dominating my thoughts...

I'm not even halfway there.
I can't make the schedule of the day.
I can't fight this foot pain any longer.
I can't take a single decent WALKING stride; how can I possibly run another couple HUNDRED?

...and then the even more insidious thoughts started creeping in... the ones where your brain has switched sides and is trying to trick you into giving up...

I've already gone 200 miles, no one will think any less of me for stopping now...
I've already got a huge distance PR, one that most people won't ever catch...
I've gotten enough people's attention; Habitat will get plenty of donations based on what I've already done...
You're hurting so bad, all you've got to do is say the word, and it will be over...
You're being inconsiderate to your crew if you make them worry about you like this...
You can make this suffering end...
It'll be okay... just say the word...

I grappled with these thoughts for what felt like an eternity in the cold, dark morning, when I finally saw the glint of my headlamp's reflection off the van. As I approached I saw Tony and Dannie standing in the road, shouting something, which I eventually figured out was something about how I was feeling. All I managed as a response was "I just need to sit down for a minute..." They had noticed that I was running late getting to them and were very nervously waiting just a couple more minutes before getting back in the van to head back down the road to look for me.

The next few hours are lost in a blur to me. I fear that they are painfully etched on my crew's memories. I know that I couldn't lift my head up without severe dizziness and nausea, and Tony, a former Air Force medic, said I was glassy-eyed and hypothermic, which I assume was a consequence of my slowly walking rather than running. At some point I went from sitting in a chair on the side of the road to the van, heat cranked up all the way, where I apparently spent around 2 hours before getting to the point of not shivering (with Dannie and Tony sweating their butts off... sorry guys....).

As the hours wore on, I slowly came out of the haze, regaining some body heat and getting some food and fluid in me. At some point, my Inimitable Mother arrived (another odd feeling for me was noting that when she got there, the sun was out and high in the sky... when did that happen? It was still pitch black outside when I stumbled to the van... had I been out of it for that long?) With the weird time-warp of seemingly instantaneously going from total darkness of early morning to broad daylight, the tide of battle turned against the mental demons. It was at some point during this episode that I had to make the very conscious decision to continue rather than throw in the towel. I don't know if it was out of bullheadedness or continuing delirium, but regardless of the source, the outcome was the decision that "dammit, i've come this far; i'm gonna finish this thing!"

Tony's criterion for letting me get back on the road was clear, cognizant eyes, and at some point I got there. With my Inimitable Mother by my side, we told the crew to go 1 mile up the road and that I was walking every step of this mile. I made it through the mile, had a bit of down time to rest as a news crew met us for the first interview since beginning of the run, and went out for another, then two more, with a little more confidence with every yard passing under our feet. Somehow I had made it out of the woods...


My Inimitable Mother and Me


Eyes clear enough, Tony?

In stark contrast to the beginning of the day, Day 5 ended in a fantastic parade through town. Over the previous few days, the crew and I had been in contact with both Habitat for Humanity of Tuscaloosa and the organization Rebuild Tuscaloosa, both of which had helped put together a great event for the end of the day. I met up with people from both groups in a park on the edge of Tuscaloosa, and along a with a police escort, 20 or 30 of us had a lane to ourselves at rush hour to run down 15th Street, a main artery of Tuscaloosa, before turning into campus and ending at Bryant-Denny Stadium, with a Pep Band from the Million Dollar Band, Bama's marching band who had been contacted and recruited by a friend of a friend, playing as we ran by the onlooking statues of all of UA's national championship coaches. As we ran through town, Leah of Rebuild Tuscaloosa was pointing out the damaged areas of town, bringing a very real sense of why I was running. Awesome way to end the day. (The Dreamland Ribs we had later weren't a bad way to cap it off, either...)






Heading down 15th St.

The next morning came early, but heading off into the darkness wasn't nearly as bad on the heels of Day 5's finish. On Day 6 I had the pleasure of being joined for a few miles by my good puddy Mataddy, a friend from college, who had driven over the night before to run a few miles with me. (In case you're wondering where a name like "Mataddy" comes from, it's a native Hawaiian name stemming from an ancient legend upon which I had the pleasure of expounding in a brief video interview at a crew spot; I'm still awaiting the publication of this documentary)




Doing a phone interview on the Griff Show... or maybe talking about the Legend of the Mataddy...

Day 6 was significant for more than simply good crewing and pacing, it was also October 27, which was the 6-month anniversary of the April 27 storms, which given the motivation behind the run, was a notable occurrence. I had seen some damage in Tuscaloosa, but a huge swath of rural destruction caught my eye on the road on Day 6. As Mataddy and I neared a crew stop, we saw quite a few trees down in a clear path that the tornado took, and when we got to the van, we realized that the nice pulloff that Tony and Dannie had found was actually a driveway for what used to be a house. I had seen slabs before, but out here in the middle of rural Tuscaloosa County, with on one and nothing around, it was different. This house, for whatever reason, put a hauntingly real spin on what had happened here half a year ago. Sobering. Here, more than before, the point was driven home: this run was bigger than me. It was about more than me. I had made that statement earlier, but the remains of the house made it abundantly clear that I had a reason for this run, and I was going to put everything I had into it before letting the demons of Day 5 get the better of me.




Why We Run

The rest of Day 6 went by rather well. Mataddy completing his pacing duties, and SuperCrew Dannie and Tony still performing at an unbelievably phenomenal level, we called it a day in Fayette, grabbing a bite to eat at Pizza Hut before calling it a day.


Last Steps of the Day

Day 7 started with a bit of a delay. A cold front had come through, dumping rain on the area, which normally wouldn't stop me; however, with narrow roads and ever-unpredictable drivers, we decided that a delay in the start in the interest of health and safety was in order. This did not hurt my feelings, as I got some extra sleep after making the decision circa 4am. We all made the most of the delay, as Tony and Dannie took care of some laundry, and we all got a more substantial breakfast than we had had in days. In the mean time, a complement to the crew arrived, as Eric Fritz showed up to pace with Suzanne Erickson to crew, followed shortly by Jon and Kelly Elmore, who would take turns pacing. We were finally getting far enough north in the state to know people interested in coming out to pace. Thank goodness...

As the rain lightened, we got out on the road, and off we went. Jon and Fritz were blazing up the road, with me in tow. Truth be told, it was a little different, but a nice change in pace to stretch out the legs and have a very definite group with whom to keep up. In an odd way, the faster pace was a mental break for me, as the physicality of it wasn't tooooooo bad, and they were the ones setting the pace, taking that responsibility off me.



An interesting event occured on the road at the Bobo Store stop, a lady who had heard what we were doing just drove up and handed us a bunch of $20 bills for the cause and directing us to a restaurant up the road in Winfield. We ran on up the road a few more miles, and when we got into Winfield, the mayor met us at Aroma's Cafe', where we were treated to dinner on the house and regaled with local stories and history. With full stomachs, Elmore, Fritz, and I took back off through Winfield, with a police escort this time, and made our way to Guin (passing through the distinctly different town of Gu-Win en route...)


Excited to be eating well in Winfield



We ended our day in Hackleburg, site of the Wrangler Distribution Center that was destroyed, along with much of the rest of town. Our end-point was the Panther Mart, which was partially destroyed in the storms, but as a hub of town was rebuilt first. There we met 16 employees of Wrangler, some of whom were in the plant when it was torn apart by the tornado. It was great to get to talk to these folks, who were not only glad to listen to my story, they were glad I was raising awareness for theirs. Perhaps the most meaningful takeaway from meeting the Wrangler Plant workers was the incredibly positive outlook they all had. This was a sentiment held by all the people we met along the way who were dealing with the aftermath of the storms. The overwhelming positive outlook of these people was a true testament to their collective character.


The Resilient People of Hackleburg

The night of Day 7, we were hosted by the Police Chief of Hackleburg. Arrangements had been made days in advance, but somewhere along the way some lines were crossed, because we were informed by the chief himself that he had only heard of our arrival about an hour or so before we came into town. Regardless, he housed us in a 14-foot travel trailer he had in his yard, and even bought us a propane heater and kept his house unlocked so that I could get a shower. The reality of the situation was even further demonstrated by the fact that the police chief, who was charged with keeping order in town during the chaos of the immediate aftermath of the storms and the ensuing months/years of recovery, had lost his own house in the storms and was in the midst of rebuilding. Even so, he was willing to host an eccentric runner and his crew, and he was anxious to tell us about his son's role as the starting quarterback for the high school football team.



Day 8 got off to a pretty good start. It was likely the coldest morning of the run, but I was moving well and in good spirits (this was particularly important that morning, because if you've ever been on Hwy 43 heading north out of Hackleburg, you've seen some rather impressive rollercoaster hills that get darker and colder in the valleys...) In any case, I made it to the first crew stop (yep, you guessed it... 5 miles up the road...) and hopped into the van to warm back up before hitting the road again. While thawing, who should drive up but my Inimitable Mother, who accompanied me the rest of the way into Phil Campbell, the road to which included another hill or two...

As we approached Phil Campbell, a police officer met us on the road and escorted us into town, but what caught my attention was the surrounding area. Even 6 months after the storms, the devastation was still very apparent, but on an even more important level, the amount of new construction occurring was amazing. My Inimitable Mother and I made our way into town, noting structures in varying stages of demolition and, conversely, in progressive stages of construction, a truly inspiring run through town.


Coming into Phil Campbell

When we got into downtown Phil Campbell, we were greeted by a group of local folks who had heard about the run and wanted to come say hi. Yet again I was taken aback at their overwhelmingly positive attitudes, and I was humbled by their gratefulness for my effort (they thought far too highly of me, as evidenced by their kind words, and shown clearly by a boy, probably 8 or 9 years old, who wanted his picture taken with me and just stood and stared he met me, having to be reminded that his name was Austin by his mother; I wish I had that picture...)




We met some great people in Phil Campbell

While we were there, a fellow name Andrew Reed was filming our run through town and got an interview with me. Andrew is finishing up a documentary of the aftermath of the storms in Phil Campbell and was putting together an epilogue of continuing efforts; I am flattered that he wanted to make a brief segment about me, which he posted online at http://youtu.be/03rQVS9ABvo

After we had met with the people of Phil Campbell for 45 minutes or an hour, we began making our way out of town, but on our way out, a car pulled up, and a spry lady, seventy-something years young, hopped out. She had met us downtown earlier and jokingly mentioned that she wished she could get out there with us, to which we had told her to grab her shoes and come on. Lo and behold, there she was, pointing at her feet, indicating that she had changed into her walking shoes, and she proceeded to run with us for a couple hundred yards, and then walked for around a quarter mile, telling us about all the people that passed us on the road.

We made our way out of town, and soon we were joined by several die-hard members of the Austin High School XC team, along with their coach and a couple parents. The runners were a nice addition to the day; I thoroughly enjoyed the company, and I think most of them enjoyed the somewhat adventurous nature of the run, many of them even getting distance PR's for the day. A couple of the guys even sprinted to their finish point.






A-High XC Representin....

After a while, as was inevitably the case, their time on the road ended, and we only a couple hearty souls were left, including Kelly Elmore, Austin XC coach, Barbara Dunn, mother of a couple former AHS runners (both of whom are currently on collegiate track/XC rosters...), Jon Elmore, who would drive his van up the road to the next crew spot, then tempo run back to wherever we were, run back to the crew spot, and repeat the process, and toward the end, my ever-Inimitable Mother. I've got to brag on her, because she pushed through the mental and physical trials to end up toughing out over 18 miles that day, a big single day distance PR for her.



I just think this is a really cool picture and should be on an album cover somewhere...

We ended the day (in the daylight!) in Moulton, reaching the town square right at dusk, at which point we met Lynn and Melissa Williams, who led us to Melissa's parents' house, where we were being hosted for the night. After cleaning up a bit, Melissa fed us some glorious lasagna, followed by her famous brownies, a phenomenal meal to say the least. After finding internet to post the standard online stuff and grabbing a milkshake, I got back to the house and went promptly to sleep.


Finishing in the daylight!
(and what's that growth on Elmore's head???)

The morning of Day 9 got off to a great start; the night before, my Darling Little Sister Lynn had joined us and was starting the day with me; this would be the first morning I had had company at the start in the dark since Day 2 with Peter. We got on the road, and although it was a bit chilly, it was an enjoyable few miles in the dark. Lynn ran the first 8 with me before I asked her to ride for a few miles in the interest of saving her legs a bit (she had to run her sectional cross country meet a mere 4 days afterward...). She had made the typically tough first few miles rather enjoyable, and now that the sun was up and warming things nicely, she took a well-earned nap in the van while I made my way up and over Trinity Mountain (much bigger than I remember...), working my way toward Decatur.


Lynn meeting up with me after Day 8, ready to run...


...and then all tuckered out after a bunch of early-morning miles...

As I made came away from Trinity and toward Decatur, I was greeted on the side of the road by Rodney Darby and his wife, who had been following me online and came out to say hi. Rodney is a branch chief in my office at USACE (I'm but a lowly engineer...), and after talking with them for a few minutes, Rodney handed his wife the contents of his pockets and asked her to meet us up the road in a mile or so; he was going to run with me a bit. So, still in his sandals, we took off down the road, and after the first mile, he decided to go another! Eventually we got to the next crew stop, where his wife had found the crew van and was waiting, and we talked for a while about how the run was going before going our own ways...

At this point, my Darling Little Sister came back out of the van to run into Decatur with me, which was great company to have. We made our way into town to be greeted by a huge crowd outside the Princess Theatre, many of whom were wearing Alabama Relief Run t-shirts. I sat and visited with the ever-growing crowd for around an hour and a half before hitting the road again, except now we had a veritable entourage and a police escort, who got us across the somewhat less than runner-friendly TN River bridge (a run that many runners have wanted to do...) Once over the river, we made our way northward (as always..) toward Limestone County. The group consisted of quite a few friends, former teammates, Darling Little Sister, and Bruce McLellan, editor of the Decatur Daily, who helped get the word out about the run. It is worth noting here that I suspect quite a few drivers were somewhat surprised to see us, because part of the group that joined me was ultrarunning couple Rob and Kathy Youngren. This wouldn't be odd except for the fact that Rob was nursing a stress fracture, which had him off running for a while; not to miss an opportunity to take part in the ARR, Rob simply hopped on his unicycle and uni'd the entire 20 mile remaining distance of the day....


Running toward Athens with Rob on his unicycle in the background...



We made our way into Limestone County, various people joining in on the run here and there, eventually making our way to the eastern side of the county, which had been hit pretty hard in the storms. Glen King, another runner from Athens, was pointing out landmarks and tornado paths through the county, and for the last mile or so, Braden Preston, a coworker of mine, joined us. Braden joined Glen in telling us about the area, including pointing out his house under construction, which is nearly finished; it was destroyed on April 27, and according to Braden, even now he is still about 2 weeks behind where he was before the storms.


I'm such a diva... getting a chair while everyone just stands around and waits...
(tour guide Glen King on the far right)

We finished Day 9 right around dusk, with a few of the youth from my youth group coming out for the last half mile or so along with Davy Helms, a friend and youth worker who is also the architect and chief technician of the ARR website. Since we were so close to home, Tony, Dannie, and I made our way back to Decatur for the night to sleep in our own beds, but not before grabbing an overly nutritious meal from Camino Real, which has been voted in the Nevels Universal Polling System to be the best Mexican restaurant for the last 11 years.


uh-oh... I've riled up the Inimitable Mother about something...
(Helms IT Services doing recon work in the background...)

1 more day.

The start of Day 10 was particularly nice. This is due to the fact that we got to start a couple hours later in broad daylight, we got some extra sleep, it was a short day, and it was the last day (believe it or not, a bittersweet thought....). In any case, we got underway around 8:20, and I had been less than a mile before a van pulled off to the side to let a few passengers out to run with me. We made our way down the road to the first crew stop, where we had an impromptu interview with Chris Welch, one of the runners that had just joined me, who is also a reporter for the Huntsville Times and really helped get the word out about the run.



Got some company early

We made our way down the road, eventually taking the last turn of the run, which was significant to me. We still had 9 or 10 miles left, but it was a straight shot to the Tennessee Line...

Right about that time, we met Tabitha Davis, a coworker, and her daugher Shaun-Pri, who joined us for the remainder of the run. Shaun-Pri is a quick sprinter, but she toughed out 10 miles with us, finishing up the day with a distance PR for herself (and probably a few stories as well...). Over the remaining few miles, a few more runners joined and left, but before I knew it, we were less than a mile from the finish. As we began cresting a little rise next to a field, Tony drove by in the van and said, "You see that steeple over the hill? That's where you're going!" The finish was in sight.


I can see it.

We crested the hill, and I saw State Line Road and the Tennessee State Line sign, and my pace quickened. I saw a large group from Holmes Street UMC, where I am the youth director, but my full attention was on the line. I lengthened out my stride a bit, quickened the pace, and as I crossed the line, I jumped up and gave a heel click, which has become a traditional finishing celebration for me in tough races. (and it was caught on camera by the WAFF Channel 48 news crew...)


I've been looking for this sign for a week and a half...

I was done. 376 miles. 10 days. Countless stories.

We took pictures and talked with the people who had come out to see the finish, and before long, to bring his comment from Day 1 full circle, Dannie said, "OK, John, you can get back in the van now."







Almost two weeks have passed since I finished, and I'm still trying to wrap my mind around all that happened on our trek up the state. Tony, Dannie, and I saw so much, did so much, went so far, it's difficult to even try to capture any substantial portion of it in writing. As I look over what I've written for the run, I keep remembering more that happened each day. It was truly an amazing experience for me, and I am eternally grateful for Dannie and Tony for facilitating it, pulling me through it, and supporting me the whole way. This run was bigger than just me; I just ran. The Alabama Relief Run was a collective effort of countless people and organizations to bring awareness back on the continuing recovery effort of those picking up the pieces of their lives in the wake of the April 27 tornadoes. I was just lucky enough to be a part of it.


Tony (left) and Dannie (right) pulled me through a lot and were the best crew a runner could imagine. They are the reason this thing worked.

We did it, guys. We did it.