Now playing: Flogging Molly - If I Ever Leave This World Alive
via FoxyTunes For some unknown reason, I have once again allowed the voice of the devil himself (Ron Foster) override the little voice of reason that subsides inside my pea sized brain.
"Come on Benny, if your doing a 60K you might as well just do the 50 miler." I don't know if it was sleep deprivation, fatigue or just shear stupidity that made this ludicrous statement seem logical @ 2 am and 20 miles into a training run, but he had planted another seed in my mind.
This man-devil I know as Ron Foster has suggested some far fetched ideas to me, when it comes to the realm of running, and each time I bite the bait....hook...line....& sinker! We are unsure of how we truly met but one thing is for certain: I am glad we did. We have shared many a great running experiences together. Here is a list of a few of them:
- River to River Relay - An 80 mile 8 person relay across the southern tip of Illinois from the Mississippi River to the Ohio River. The relay is just that, a relay. Bring a van load of strangers and see how much you can learn about each other and keep doing it year after year. We have been graced with good fortune and ran the race the last six (soon to be seven) years. PS- It's HILLY and listen for the Honkin' WooHoos.
- Pikes Peak Marathon 2003 - Why not... you want a real challenge for your second marathon.
- Hoosier 200 Relay- This race was awesome. It was from Evansville, IN to Bloomington,IN via the most rural route you could imagine (200+ miles worth). We did this relay with 11 people the first year and then decided to do the ultra-thang. We headed out with 6 the second year and then down to 5 the final year of the race. All I can say is that Indiana in July is HOT & HUMID.......I feel sorry for the people renting the van that we violated with our mass gallons of sweat. I kid you not....the seats squished when we sat in them, from being so concentrated with sweat. This race no longer exists.
- IU Mini- Ron, Kelli, Cheryl, and myself ran in the inaugural year of this race in our hometown and it was a blast. Ron & I hit EVERY slip and slide outside the Greek places on campus. By the way here is a formula for pain: 13.1 miles+beer+slip & slides+laundry detergent (used for afore mentioned slides)= Chemical burns/chaffing of inner thighs that makes two grown men cry when taking their respective post race showers.
- Chicago Marathon- This was two fellow WooHoo's first marathon. We arrived @ the massive start line (35,000+) only to here a loud "WooHoo!" and voila ...we found our fellow WooHoo, Chris Kohler. It was fate and we all enjoyed a painful jaunt around Chicago.
- Pikes Peak Ascent & Marathon- Better known as "The Double" to people living in Colorado but to us flatlanders it translates to "Are you sick in the head?". The Devil convinced Kirk & I to do the Double in honor of the 50th running of Pikes Peak. We experienced every type of weather during the ascent (day #1)...sun, rain, fog, sleet, hail, lightning, and eventually awaiting us with open arms @ the summit was a blizzard that snowed us in for several hours. Day #2, the marathon, was less of a challenge from a meteorological view but very strenuous for us boys from Indiana. We did manage to do the ascent portion faster the second day and we bettered out marathon time from two years prior.
- Red Eye Relay- An all night relay here in Bloomington, IN. This race ended up being the brainchild of Jamie & Jason Feagan who organized and directed the Hoosier 200 series (now may it RIP). A 100+ mile relay consisting of two 52 mile loops in flat (HAHAHAHA) old Bloomington and it's countryside. If you run it, stop by the Porthole Bar and Grill for a late night PBR.
- Owen Putnam State Forest 50k- There is no active link for this site but it is an awesome event and very challenging. This was my first 50k and it was a solo event since Ron (who convinced me to sign up) couldn't make it for some reason. None the less it was a scenic stroll over some 'gently' rolling hills of southern Indiana.
WooHoo,
Benny
