American Odyssey (AOR) - Chapter 3 - Into the Night

It was good to see our Van 2 team mates. This was the first we had seen them since we headed off at the start.

As for our van, we were having a blast. Everyone knew at least one other person before they arrived in person, but we quickly became fast friends. As we drove along, we cheered for all of the runners that we passed, even gave a few a hard time, like the guy that passed Taryn half way up her climb on leg 6.

Now we've got 6 hours to kill.

From the end of leg 6, we headed out to the town of Rouzerville, PA, where we were told that the townspeople were very excited we were coming. They had a little reception set up in the Lowe's/Wal Mart parking lot. When we arrived, we went through their little set up and the off to the Subway at Wal Mart for lunch.

While we were in Rouzerville, the local paper was crawling all over the place. They interviewed a bunch of us and Natalie and I even got a mention. Check out the article by clicking here.

We hung out in Rouzerville until the team caught up with us and then we headed down to the next transition point for leg 13 in Smithsburg, MD. On the way, we continued to shout out to the runners. There were three legs starting or ending in Smithsburg, so it was a welcome transition point where we could hang for an hour or two until we were back on the clock. For the first time, we emptied the van of blankets and chairs and just chilled on the school grounds.

As the afternoon wore on, it would soon be Karen's turn to run. Dusk was approaching, so we got her outfitted in a safety vest and red blinky lights for her run. This run was fairly hilly and she struggled. When she arrived at her transition, she was in obvious pain from a cramp in her butt. Actually, what she screamed was: "I have a mixer in my ass!" Yeah, it's funny now, but it wasn't then. Actually, I must admit it was funny then, but I've got a sick sense of humor.

Karen trying to stretch the mixer out of her butt.

Ann Marie was the first to don a headlight, as we would all do until daybreak. She ran her leg and then I was back up.

This was my first night run ever. Though I thought it would be a cool experience, I'm not sure I'll voluntarily do it again. It's kinda freaky being out there on the strange roads. You hear dogs barking and have no idea if they're chained up or not. Then there are the locals: we're in farming community and the locals are most certainly not expecting to see us. They're also not used to seeing runners on their roads. You could tell when they were forced to stop or slow that they didn't like us one bit. Even the runner's waive didn't help. Okay, screw 'em! Enough on the locals.

My leg included a 1 mile incline at a reported 5%. The damned road seemed to go on forever. My speed had slowed and I was sweating like a pig in the high humidity of the night. As I slowed, the sweat was leaking right into my eyes and I could barely see. Just then, my team van pulls up and I'm able to wash out my eyes and get on with the run. As I reach the summit of the hill, I can see the lights of Boonsboro. Kinda like an oasis. Well, that's what they were calling it anyway. I finished the 4.6 mile leg in about 47 minutes. Not too bad. Now, where's Matt. Oh Matt? Where the hell are you, Matt. Seems ole Matt was delayed in the men's room. Oy! About 5 minutes later, Matt is found and he's off into the night.

The Boonsboro Oasis was a pretty cool setup. 5 legs started and/or ended at Boonsboro, including the next transition to Van 2. The setup was at the Boonsboro school complex, with a high, middle and elementary all sharing the same property. There was a live band, shower facilities and some of the high school clubs were selling hot food and snacks. I got a couple of slices of not-so-hot pizza and then signed up for a massage. Both vans were now here. Van 2 struggled to sleep in the close quarters, but they'd be on the clock before too long to run through the night. It was also pretty loud with the live band playing outside.

It was nice to hang out with some of the Van 2 folks. Nat and I had a quiet couple of moments before she went for her massage. When my turn was up, I took 15 minutes on nothing but my feet. Wow, what a great 15 minutes that was. I didn't even want to walk on them they felt so good. Suddenly the blister that had formed on my right big toe was no longer a factor.

Matt finished his leg, then he ran with Dan on his leg. Taryn then went out for a short 3.3 miler. At last, we were done leg 2. It was pushing 2 am now and we were starting to feel the effects of a very long day. Next stop, Antietam Battlefield for our next transition.

Antietam was the bloodiest one day battle of the civil war with 23,000 soldiers losing their lives. Question was, how would 100 vans full of runners fare in the darkness of the battlefield.

When we arrived, we found some parking but the place was very dark. In front of us were civil war cannons and some kind of building, but we saw no restroom facilities. Apparently, neither did anyone else. I can only imagine what that place looked like in the daylight. Sleep was gonna be tough. Dan decided he'd go sleep on a cannon. Yes, you read that correctly, Dan slept on a cannon. He said that he knew his opportunity to ever sleep on a cannon again might never come. Well, no shit! Taryn went out and found some real estate and sacked out on the battle field somewhere. That left Karen and I in the two front seats, Ann Marie sacked out on the middle bench and Matt out on the back bench. Somehow I think Karen and I got the short end. We figure we each got a good half hour of sleep. The others, maybe an hour or two.

By 5 am, we were all starting to wake. Time to find some coffee. I felt drunk, having not had nearly enough sleep for four nights now. We were all a bit punchy. Getting out of the parking lot with more transitions going on around us was the first order of business. I proceeded slowly, very slowly, so as not to hit anyone or anything.

We drove 10 miles toward Hagerstown and found a beautiful sight -- an Exxon station opened all night with indoor plumbing and hot food and coffee. Perfect! As I'm sitting on the commode, my phone rings -- it's Natalie from Van 2. Katie's running, better get back. Oy, she's ahead of where we thought she'd be. I finish my business, grab some food and head back.

As Katie heads back in, daylight is breaking and we're suddenly back on the clock for the last time, about an hour behind schedule.

L'Chaim!