It's September 18, 2019. A nice but chilly evening in Iowa. The corn is done growing. The moon is shining. The cows are in bed. I'm in the back of the RV Paul and Melinda have rented for our road trip to Tennessee. We're going there to embark on a race we've only heard and seen from magazines and the internet. A race that decidedly has played mind games with us all summer year. And we ready to play back. Stuffed into our home on wheels for the next four days, besides us three, are their two boys, their puppy Bullitt, Luke, 2 scooters, 3 bikes, running gear, homework, coolers, and not enough snacks.
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| We're here! |
After driving all night, we arrived at our campground near Wartburg, TN late Thursday afternoon. Paul had found a great area for us and Luke was instantly excited because he knew there were mountain bike trails there. We slept in Friday morning and got going slowly. Eventually we solidified our plans for the rest of the day. Melinda and I went for a little shake-out run on the campground trails and it gave us a good taste of what we might find the next day. It was mid-morning but I notice the sun felt different; closer. The predicted weather for Saturday didn’t seem terribly hot but being on an exposed mountainside can make a little seem a lot worse and I don’t know how Tennessee weather behaves.
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| Luke and Griffen loved the bike trails |
When we arrive at packet pick-up, I bolt out the RV door faster than Bullitt. I’m ready to see and learn what this whole thing is about. I made my way down the line, getting everything including a really nice drop-bag which was offered for purchase ahead of time. Laz is sitting in the awning out of the Tennessee sun and I re-introduce myself, handing him a jar of my candied jalapeños and suggesting they would go well with his blue cheese burger he described in detail to us last July. Melinda meets him as well and we have our picture taken with him. It’s only after this happens that I feel a thrill of excitement tingle through me. Soon we have the race map spread out over the hood of a truck and Larry leads us through the course while I jot down notes. I know this will not be easy but having the map now makes me feel more secure.
Standing in line for the spaghetti supper, I look around at all the runners and notice the race t-shirts everyone is wearing. I love it! It's like I've found my people. We enjoy the spaghetti supper but don't stay for the talk or movie because we want to get to Frozen Head State Park to see how the race is set up. The walk up to the yellow gate feels unreal. We are here! I’m here! I’m a bit overcome by it all. It’s just a regular gate painted yellow like a lot of other park gates except this one has stories to tell. There is a gate in the little preserve I run in and every time I run by it, I touch it. I say we all have our yellow gate and now here I am, standing by the one yellow gate!
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| A moment of silence |
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| We don't do easy things |
Finally we head back to the campground and start getting settled for the night, except there's still so much to do. We begin to fill our packs and drop bags and lay things out for the morning. I pull out the maps and some pens and notecards and begin to condense the route information onto a notecard. I put it into a small sandwich bag which later I fold and stuff into my shorts pocket during the race. I inspect my new drop bag which is amazing and then figure out how to pack what I want in it. I decide I will carry more on me because of where the drop bags will be located in the race. Eventually we tucked ourselves into bed and try to sleep.
It seems as though all of Tennessee is fast asleep when Paul pulls out of the campground and secures a parking spot at the race. I opened the back window’s blind and see a stream of cars pouring into the park. We finish our final preparations, double check everything and finally nudge the boys awake. We all stumble out of the RV and make our way to the start to leave our drop bags. There’s a start line with a timing clock over it and a chute lined with all the state and country flags representing the runners in the race. Come to think of it, it’s the fanciest starting area I’ve witnessed. I’m a little bit emotional but try to stuff it down. I’ve got a race to run and a job to do. Luke feels the weight of the moment and stays close to me. As I hug him for the last time, he reminds me to take care, have fun, to not sit down and to stay out of the tall grass. I laugh at my clever boy as that’s what I’ve told him all weekend long because of potential bug bites.
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| I can still feel this hug |
Melinda and I make our way to the start and position ourselves in what I think is mid-pack and then wait.
Love it!!
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