spent the day down in big’s front yard, preparing the venue for big’s backyard ultra.
what a weekend it is going to be…
.
and then some!
.
the big tops are set up flanking the starting corral.
personal tent sites have been marked off
(and distributed by lottery)
.
tomorrow the field will be setting up their homes for the next 3, 4, 5…. who knows how many… days.
.
what a field we have assembled this year.
every runner earned his spot in the corral.
they are proven winners,
many of whom have yet to find out exactly where their limit lies…
.
all but one will find out this weekend (plus)
because this time there is a field to push them to that limit.
.
my mind runs down the final field of 35.
old friends,
strangers, soon to be familiar faces.
whose souls will be laid bare in the crucible of backyard racing.
.
the japanese contingent was here earlier to see the trail.
i wonder if they were surprised at its difficulty.
haim from israel.
i asked him if he was ready for 60 yards.
his answer a quiet;
“we’ll see”
.
tomorrow i will be meeting the rest.
35 of them in all.
every one of them coming with the intention to carry home that single coin
that says world champion.
.
and every one of them capable of doing just that.
.
because the backyard is not a test of speed or strength.
it is a simple test of the pure will to win.
4.166667 miles in under an hour.
it is not that hard.
.
keep stepping up to the line until you are the only one.
that is hard.
unimaginably hard.
because there are 34 others
who have come with the same dream.
.
35 champions will step to the line saturday morning.
but only one will walk away at the finish.
the champion of champions.