12 hr races

Dawn Til Dusk...

Why I even entertained the idea of racing solo in a 12-hour race is beyond me, especially when in all my life, I have only “raced” a 13-mile loop, placing last, mind you...

It was 6am and I lay awake in my down sleeping bag, listening to the racers stir around me, car doors opening and closing, chains being lubed, coffee being brewed. There was only a hint of dawn, but the frost that blanketed the desert was a dead giveaway that that it was VERY cold outside my cocoon.

I continued to lie there, remembering how I scoffed at Hunter S. Thompson’s account of his Honolulu Marathon racing experience. Hung-over at 4am, peering thru his hotel window curtains, looking out at the racers lining up in the darkness below, knowing he should be among them, but instead opting to crawl back in bed and participate only thru the remote control and the local news channel. How could anyone be so unmotivated!?

read the rest