12 guys + 190 miles = Lunacy… I’m So There!
OK, OK, a small break from my Mad Rants. I do have a couple more on the way, before I go back to being happy go lucky, fun-loving Wency again. Today, though, I’m here to share my thoughts on my latest endeavor…
A few days ago, I received two pamphlets in the mail. One was addressed to Wency Ortega, the other to Wenceslao Ortega. I figured one was for my dad, and mistakenly sent to my place until I saw what they were for… EXTREME RUNNING. Nope, they were both for me. They must really want me, I thought, so I read the pamphlet. And what I read intrigued me. Oh, did it ever intrigue me!
The pamphlet was an advertisement for a 190 mile run across the state of Florida, from Clearwater to Daytona Beach. This sounds nuts! So, of course I read on. It is a giant relay intended to be done by a team of twelve runners, each doing three legs, for a total of 36 legs, and to be done nonstop until one reaches the final destination. Each leg is between 3 and 10 miles, and each runner will run a total of between 11 and 21 miles depending on their assigned legs. NICE!
Since I ran my marathon back in January, I’ve been looking for my next venture. Triathlons sounded interesting to me, but oh the swimming!! I got to find a way to train for the swim somewhere bigger than in my 30 foot long pool. And though I am signed up to do the Goofy Challenge next year at Disney (13.1 miles on Saturday, followed by 26.2 on Sunday), I needed to find something to keep me focused in the near future… January is just too far away! And then this shows up in my mailbox. I was sold! Of course I then ran into a small problem. I need 11 more nuts (like me) crazy enough to want to do this with me. Did I mention it was nonstop? Yeah, that means through the night, through the roads of central Florida in unlit roads, being flanked by a van or SUV filled with the kooks who agreed to do this with you!! So now the challenge became finding these EXTREME runners.
Well the first guy I asked I knew would be a shoo-in. It’s a friend of mine who has kayaked from Miami to Key West every year for the last 10 years. I told him what I was thinking and showed him the pamphlet. He told me I was an idiot and had to be crazy to even consider doing this. Then he agreed to join me. SWEET! One down, 10 to go. Next victim… the man who got me to run the marathon in the first place. He convinced me to not only do the marathon last year, but to train for it in just 2 1/2 months!! Well, I did it, so he owed me one, I figured. It was easy sell. He’s in. I then called a buddy of mine who found a way some twenty years ago to run cross country and swim for the swim team at Columbus at the same time. He was even known to go from one event to the other when he had time. I figured if he was crazy enough to do that back then, he couldn’t have completely regained his sanity by now. I was right. He’s in too. The last guy I talked to is the only guy I know who was crazy enough to join me next year in the Goofy Challenge. He lives in Tampa, but whenever he comes down to Miami, we find the time to run together. The way I figured, if he’s crazy enough to run 39.3 in 28 hours, he could do 15 to 20 over 30 hours. Hey, and the race starts in his backyard in Clearwater, so he shouldn’t be too difficult to convince. Right again!! Now, I have five!!
I was making great headway, we have a team of five. All we need now is 7 more. Yeah! Well that’s where I still am. I gotta find 7 more semi brain dead individuals who are in pretty good shape. This is now my challenge. I’m sure I’ll find these guys (or girls). But in the meantime, it’s training time. I have found my motivation again. And with the summer coming up, I hope to have a little more time and energy to prep than during the last few months, when my seniors, every one of which was infected with the incurable disease known as senioritis, sucked every last bit of energy out of this aging body. But I’ll be ready, baby. NOVEMBER 20 and 21. Only a week after the St. Timothy Carnival (which I fully expect everyone reading this to attend, by the way!!). Now to find these five guys.
Now, I happen to know that a few of you out there run, (even though most of the runners I know are from out of town) and may be as crazy as I am (difficult to conceive, after all I am a MAD MATHEMATICIAN, buahahaHHH), so I ‘ll ask, any volunteers??? Anyone, Bueller? One of my buddies thinks he knows someone who’ll join us, but I think I can find some rabid runners out there in Slaholand!!, or in Facebookworld!! So I dare you to stand up, and speak out, and RUN!!!!!
I’ll be waiting… Now I shall return to my Mad Rants. More of those tomorrow.
Here’s how it is described in the website…
You and 11 of your closest friends running day and night, relay-style, through some of the most scenic terrain North America could muster. Add in live bands, inside jokes and a mild case of sleep deprivation. The result? Some call it a slumber party without sleep, pillows or deodorant. We call it a Ragnar Relay…
Search Ragnar Relay Florida with your search engine for more info!!