Leg # 35: Deception

For the last run to finish up Luke and I (aaron) ran from dunkin donuts in sylva to the catamount at the entrance of Western Carolina University. The smells of all the greasy fast food we passed on the run was nauseating. And even though I have driven this countless time, the hills were still a surprise to me. We finished strong and beat the record time.

Leg #28: Temptations

20 miles in and with each leg there is an ever growing temptation to just jump off the next bridge or in front of the next truck. Eating is something I must force myself to do. Never thought I'd say this but I'm so tired of peanut m&ms. The noises grow louder and scarier with each passing mile and the fog is thick as molasses. Luke and I (Aaron) have one more leg to go and it's the last one.

Leg #34: Time to Make the Doughnuts

Matt and my last run finished with a flurry.  Our last five miles started just outside Sylva and ended at the Dunkin Donuts on Main Street in Sylva.  Once again, Jay set the early pace on the downhills for the first three miles and Matt took the lead to the finish at DD.  Matt finished in an impressive 33 minutes with Jay following about 33 seconds behind.  Now, onto the finish.... Our pace is about 15 minutes ahead of last year's record with five miles to go!  

~Jay

Leg #32: The Run Down

G3 leg 4, mission 5: After fighting through the enemy's best defenses and terrible weather with no sleep, we have prevailed ! The enemy couldn't withstand our forces as we blew threw their obstacles with deadly precision. We took objective in under 40 minutes with every soldier carrying onward on the battlefront. Communication relays were more accurate, allowing a calculated assault ensuring Victory! Mission was a success and we are returning home. Say again, we are returning home! See you soon...

(Greylin, Jackson, Dalton)

Leg #33: Death All Around

Once again Clark ran a sub-40 5 mile and Brooke and Elena came in a few minutes later. During the run we all saw a squished turtle, 3 dead mice, and a dead frog. Plus, at the end of the run, we all felt like death. Thankfully that's our last 5 miles and we can say we all completed it in most of one piece.

Leg #31: A Rainy End

The last 5 miles came up quickly as we were napping in our car until the headlights of the van following the runners before us lit up our mirrors and we jumped out running as we tagged off.

The rain was a consistent event and with a gradual incline for about 2 miles and 3 miles of glorious downhill slopes we set our pace for our finish marker!

The other runners are making their way to WCU campus where we will all be ready to jump out and run into the stadium together around 9:30am. 

It's been fun everybody!

Whittney Correll, Kelcey Holcomb, Jess Thiry, Ruby Floyd 

Leg #30: Running on Empty

So this was Dr. P and my last 5 miles. We gutted it out. We basically had nothing left to give. My calf was still hurt/cramping, and he would get stiff if he stopped. And it started raining AGAIN which made me contemplate life again, but I'm glad we finished it.

Leg #27: Lower Gear

Here we go again!  Matt and I had another monster climb (1,400) feet in five miles.  We enjoyed six-tenths of a mile downhill to begin our run.  Then, we endured a 4.4 mile climb that ended at the top of Mount Pisgah.  Matt was the mountain man again, finishing in 43 minutes.  While Jay ran 46 minutes.  One to go and that will be in daylight!!!

~Jay

Leg #29: The Finale-Nothing but a little incline

So our last run was rated an easy run; so we mentally prepared ourselves for that type of run. Little did we know we would be running up Mount Everest. This was the most difficult run of the entire R4R for us!  We were physically and mentally drained before we even started and as we ran, the incline became steeper and steeper. Fighting back the tears and yelling at our legs to make them work, we finally completed the 5th and final leg of our run. However, if a tractor trailer happened to be on the parkway during that last run...well you know where we are going with that.

Bo Hartman and Floyd Graber

Leg #26: Crying Rocks

Once again, I (Clark) was able to run ahead again and try to keep some pace to our relay. I was able to finish sub-40 once again and sent Jay and Matt in their way.

The entire time I kept hearing these noises off to the side of the road. I kept kind of jumping and wondering what was happening. I thought for a while I was being followed by a pack of animals but I soon realized that it was just water flowing from the rocks. I'm glad that it was just water and I am glad that I was able to finish quickly. 

1/2 team crippled out 

 

Unfortunately Brooke and Elena just have no words to describe how bad they are feeling. Hopefully they can finish their last run to the end. 

Other 1/2 out

Leg #25: Down but Not Out

Leg 25, Mission 4, G3

All objectives accomplished and goals reached despite having the wool over our eyes from the start. Intelligence relayed false information of the firepower intensity the enemy possessed and we fell for it.  However courage and resolve for our cause and desire to finish kept us alive and kicking through the mission.  Moral of the story:  Beware the wolf amongst the sheep.

(Jackson, Dalton, Greylin)

Leg #24: For All the Non-Believers

Started uphill and just kept going uphill... for 5 miles, with 5 tunnels involved. Rated this one as a "Nasty Brutal". Fatigue has definitely set in with this group and major tears were shed at the end...

For girls who had never run much in their lives, we have come together and shown that even non- runners can push through with whatever you set your mind too! Turns out, we were the non-believers, unsure if we could do this ourselves.

Blog with you all later, it's nap time for Team Boose of the Caboose....

Leg #23: "Bruhhhh"

Dr. P and I had to run through pitch black darkness for 5 miles. During the run, all I could think about was "Bruhhh, why am I doing this?" "Bruhhhh, this is ridiculous." "Bruhhhh, can I just be in my bed right now". Then my right calf muscle started to cramp/hurt so it made the situation 10x worse. Made it through though.

Leg #22: "Hell"

This was a deceptive run to stay the least. The start was a good stroll through the dark. It was by all means scary (unseen things in the woods making noises); but easy nonetheless. The last few miles however, took my mind off of the creepy forestry. Those were the worst hills we've hit all things considered. Such as the dark, sweat, fear, and the anguish. Despite the chill of the night this was the sweatiest of the day.

Bo Hartman and Floyd Graber 

Leg 21; city lights

Started off what looked like was going to be another rough run but turned into a rolling hills flat run thank you sweet baby Jesus! We passed someone coming only in our direction every 30 seconds about and even got some much needed counseling from one driver on how we were going to die. Yeah I'm pretty sure if you payed attention to the walking Christmas trees running down the road there is no real danger thank you and goodnight!

Leg 20: Bridges Over Asheville

Matt and I had a great night run heading into Asheville.  The first three miles were a wonderful mix of downhill and flat.  Then mile three to four featured a series of high bridges over the various highways leading into Asheville.  The uphill was steep but short and gave way to a nice downhill to the finish.  We completed the run in 35 minutes.  It was a really refreshing change after a brutal second leg for us.  Now, we rest and get ready for another huge climb on leg #4.

~Jay

Leg #19: The HitchHiker

So my name is Clark and I got to run by myself at dark:thirty tonight. Unfortunately my friend Elena is having some issues and decided to run with us. The other unfortunate part is I didn't get to run with Brooke and Elena because I wanted to keep the pace up. 

While on my run I felt like I was flying down the road. I got to one point and saw a creepy hiker guy in the same side of the road as me. I quickly sprinted to the other side of the road to go past him. The vans said they were gonna be at every mile marker for me but I only got to see them at the 1st mile  marker and after that it was all me. I had to jump off of the road a few times because Jay said it was better for us to hop off the road when cars are coming at us rather than hope they move over to not hit us. It was really hard for me to see the mile markers as I was going but I came around a corner and saw lights and knew I was almost done. As I approached the finish I looked down at my watch and saw a time of 36:21. I was so excited because it is a new personal record! I'm now trying to cool down in the van with Matt really close to me after his sweaty run. Oh well! 

So Elena and I (Brooke) were moving along and had no problem till cars started slowing down asking us if we were okay. We said yes hoping they would drive away. All of them did but one. This car goes up maybe half of a mile and pulls off to a side road and sits there. It sounded like the car doors shut as if someone got out and then the car pulled away. So we were like freaked out to pass by, but we did and thankfully nothing happened. Then maybe a mile after that a creepy hiker approaches us with no lights and we about had a heartattack. He had long grey hair and we weren't too sure what to do so we ran little faster past him and didn't look back. Then from there every car we saw pulled off the side of the road we prayed that we were done. That failed like 5 times. So when we were almost done there was fireworks and we took that as a victory for us one finishing and two not dying. All we can say is two more to go...

Leg 18: operation tunnel assault

Group 4 mission 3:

Night has fallen, the omen of the Cliff Bar continues. Our dinner bar said "Start at Sunset" and our mission began precisely at sunset. We flew under the cover of night down Mt. Mitchell to the extraction point 5 miles below. Our injured crew member was hurting a good, more through the downhill but he muscled through. We fought through the waves of enemy's, reaching the bottom in 32:52 with a third leg surge from one member taking command and leading the assault. Overall the mission was a success and no casualties were suffered. 

G3 reporting, over and out 

(Dalton, Greylin, Jackson)

Leg 17: Muricale Run

Jay lies. After scoping out a so called "brutal" run, it ended up being a pleasant downhill glide. 

The smell of rubber was high in the air as Whittney came bolting out of the starting gates. After nearly losing her phone to the mountains, Whittney recovered gracefully with no casualties.

Kelcey took the lead at the 2 mile marker and raced on the last 3 miles. This was a record breaking run for the entire group, as well as individual times! 

Ruby was deemed the real M.V.B. (Most valuable Boose)!!  Jess is hurting pretty badly with her hip flexors and adductors. Hopefully she can make a recovery for our next run around 11:30pm. Certified Athletic Trainers are on it! 

A big win for Team Boose of the Caboose!! 

Kelcey Holcomb, Whittney Correll, Jess Thiry, Ruby Floyd

Leg #16: Sleepy Hollow

Dr. P and I (Cedric) had to run up Mnt. Mitchell through tons of fog. I was scared I was going to see the headless horseman run at me. I started contemplating life again.