At 5 a.m. on
Saturday, my good friend June Leland will embark on another in a long line of
adventures. She'll be running her first 100 mile ultra marathon in Huntsville, Texas
June's running buddies can't be there with her, but we'll all be there in spirit. Last summer when June did her first 100K/62 mile race, the Vermont 100 Endurance Race, her friends each wrote an inspirational message, one for each mile, which June then carried with her in a little plastic bag. We’ve added a few more messages to bring that collection to 100. In this way, one of June's friends will be accompanying her along every mile.
The course consists of five, twenty mile loops. I suggested that I would think that would be preferable to an out and back course. I can't imagine having run forty miles and knowing, in your head, that you're still running away from the start; also, I thought it would be sort of comforting to see familiar territory after the first lap, and most importantly, I thought it would make it easier to get back to your 'drop bag' to access supplies, etc.
