Boone has been spending Christmas/ New years in Phoenix for 8 years in a row, and that first year, being a running enthusiast, he forced my entire family to join him in a 5K race. At the time, I weighed around 315, so the chance I would enjoy running was pretty much nonexistent, competition however, well yeah, that's the hook I wasn't expecting! Over the years we've worked our way up from 5K to 50 milers, and now fixed time events, first 12 hours, then 24 hours, and now multi-day events. This year, he did the 72 hour race, and I attempted the 48 hour race. This is done on a 1.1 mile course at one of the major league spring training facilities here in Phoenix.
Running this kind of event is about as crazy as taking a drag car set up to conquer the 1/4 mile, and trying to drive it from track to track! Just like having a front row seat to watch Larry Larsen, and Jeff Lutz throwing down 7.0 runs, and driving around, at this event we were sharing this 1 mile track with some of worlds premier ultra distance athletes, watching in awe as 2 world records, a Canadian National women's record, and an Irish National men's record were all set! Another thing this event had in common with Drag Week? Yeah, just like the two broken cars I loaded on the trailer, I left this event lying on a cot in the medical tent with 8 hours of the 48 left unused! I had checked into the med tent to get the tape on my feet changed out, and during the process, (My feet were hamburger by this point) I remember telling the medic, "I'm feeling pretty light headed"... the next thing I knew, he and 2 concerned looking runners were standing over me saying "Sir, sir, are you Okay?". One of the others commented, "Your eyes rolled up in your head, and you fell out of your chair, and went out for 20 seconds!"
Every time my Wife would have to change the bandages on my feet for the next week, and help me into shoes that I had split the toe boxes at the top just to get my swollen feet in and go to work, she would look me in the eye, shake her head, and say, "You are an IDIOT!"
A cold I had picked up at the race, along with the feet, pretty much precluded me from touching the cars the first 2 weeks of the new year, just as the cold was wearing off, the Flu nailed everyone in the house, so January was pretty much a total waste!