Comrades Marathon Today

Well, The Rapture didn't take us--or anybody else for that matter-- so we had to show up and give this thing a try. We finished a few hours ago. The race was 87 Kilometers and one of us was a little under Ten hours and the other a little over. We count this as a success. We'll post more details later. For now, suffice it to say the guy who told me that the hills at Boston are like the flat part of this race wasn't kidding. There are five big hills that have their own names (and would be called mountains if they were in the Mid-West), and at least a hundred others that don't even have names that would legendary if they were on a course in the States. The combination of steep and long up-hills followed by steep and long downhills eventually caused just about every part of my body to hurt at one time or another. At one point even my butt hurt, which I realize almost certainly falls into the category of Too Much Information. I offer it here only in the name of Serious Sports Science.
The people in South Africa have been wonderful and the crowds were great. This race is their Super Bowl and everybody is into it. We've got a few more days here and we plan to see as much as we can (sore butt and all).

New Concerns

Well, Cory and I completed our 30-mile run yesterday with no injuries or capture by mental health professionals. We have our tickets for our flights to South Africa, leaving May 22 at 6:00am, and places to stay in Pietermaritzburg and Durban before and after the race. So, it's smooth sailing from here on out, right?

Of course not. I have two new things to worry about, both of major consequence. While listening to National Bolshevik Radio last Saturday, I heard a story about a man named Harold Camping and his followers. Camping's careful reading of the Bible has allowed him to verify that The Rapture will occur this May 21, when all of God's chosen are raptured directly to Heaven.



You will notice that this is the eve of our planned trip to South Africa. So now I am worried that I will show up for the flight and Cory won't be there--only a pile of his clothes.

Cory has tried to assure me that there's no chance he'll be raptured. But, for once, I think he's missed the big picture. Doesn't it seem likely that God has a sense of humor? I mean, how else can you explain Donald Trump?And what would be a better practical joke than to rapture Cory Brundage straight to Heaven while leaving all those blowhards who have been claiming that they have been friended on God's divine Facebook page standing on earth watching Cory rise? Nothing. There is no better joke than that. Even the cleverest joke ever invented by man (yes, I'm referring to the whoopie cushion) pales in comparison.

So I have every reason to be concerned.

And if that weren't enough, I have just learned from Cory that a possible side effect from his anti-malaria medicine is "psychotic behavior." Now, Cory's wife Linda has asked, "How will anyone know?" But it only makes sense to me that a medicine that makes normal people act psychotic could make a psychotic person act normal. Right? And what if Cory suddenly becomes Mr. Outgoing? "Hey, stranger. You say you signed up for Comrades, but didn't bother finding a place to stay? You can stay with us! And you there. You want to tell us why we need to convert to your religion? Hop in the car! We'll take you to dinner!" What can I say, other than that I am praying franticly for The Rapture.

Glide Path to Comrades

Twenty-one  days until Comrades. Two weeks before we leave for South Africa. Jim is more than ready. He clipped off a smooth marathon about a month ago (age-adjusted 3:01) and he's had to restrain himself from doing too much since then. We've got our shots, our malaria medicine, and our reservations.

Yesterday I did the Indianapolis 500 Mini Marathon, a local tradition, as a training run and managed to avoid the urge to race. All the ususal aches and pains are within normal limits and we have only one tough day of training left. Tomorrow we go 30 and, from then until the race, it's just a matter of light workouts and paying attention so as not to pork up. So far, so good.