by Lazarus Lake | Oct 24, 2023 | Race Reports
big’s 2023 continues to shatter our wildest expectations. 15 runners reached 80 and all 15 continued. . regrettably we are down to 14 silver medals. i guess when we run out we will have to give someone that gold one… . i hope they dont get...
by Lazarus Lake | Oct 24, 2023 | Race Reports
one thing coming to light today… . you cannot have a bad hour in the backyard. every hour does not have to be the best hour. but you cannot have even one bad hour. . if you go too slow it is over if you have a moment of weakness at the bell it is over if you get...
by Lazarus Lake | Oct 24, 2023 | Race Reports
a flurry of drops and other activity interrupted the flow of updates. as much as i enjoy the spectacle of the race, the best part is the people; all the people from all over the world… . for some number of days, in my backyard, playing (racing) as brothers and...
by Lazarus Lake | Oct 24, 2023 | Race Reports
the race seems to be morphing and entering a new phase. first hour of day 4 harvey lewis blew thru camp second hour it was sam harvey racing to the front. . to understand what stage we are at consider the runners. some of them are now just trying to get everything...
by Lazarus Lake | Oct 24, 2023 | Race Reports
this is madness..all 23 finished the third 100 mile day in a row. only australian james blanton stoppede. so 22 people, nearly a third of the field have begun a 4th hundred miler. . but what is really insane is how good they all look, harvey blew through camp at abut...
by Lazarus Lake | Oct 24, 2023 | Race Reports
before this hour is over there will be light. i cant wait for daylight so at least i know the things i see are really there. things i am sure were not there include; the stream of wriggling red worms spilling down the side of the toilet (went away when i squeezed my...
by Lazarus Lake | Oct 24, 2023 | Race Reports
two more hours until the sun comes up and it cant come too soon. the struggle to keep eyes open has become a universal reality in big’s yard this third night. . much will be revealed by the return of the sun. exactly how much damage has been wrought by this...
by Lazarus Lake | Oct 24, 2023 | Race Reports
tobbe gyllebring stopped after 69 leaving 23 to head into the 70th hour.hey are now only 3 hours from collecting a third consecutive 24 hour 100 miler. . the unsung heroes of this blood sport are the crews. waiting patiently for their runners at the end of every yard...
by Lazarus Lake | Oct 24, 2023 | Race Reports
what will happen, we wondered when all these athletes who never surrender meet in the same place? . what happens is a long and bloody war of attrition. what happens is that competitors do not quit in their chair. they keep stepping to the line until they physically...
by Lazarus Lake | Oct 24, 2023 | Race Reports
it is like hammering away blocks of granite. the 26 just keep lining up and running. you can look through the field and see that most of them are hurt to some degree or another. logic alone tells you everyone has suffered at least some damage. the 26 ran a sub 24 hour...
by Lazarus Lake | Oct 24, 2023 | Race Reports
we lost yukinori yoshida this hour when he could not get back in time. so now there are 26 runners steadily closing on 300 miles less than a marathon away. . the distance bell had been mostly quiet the first couple of days. not surprising when you consider the...
by Lazarus Lake | Oct 24, 2023 | Race Reports
hello, i am back. it took a while to shake off the cobwebs after 40 glorious minutes of sleep but i feel like a new man! . the 27 surviving runners can only be described one way. they are hard. there is not a second wasted when they come in off their loops and it...
by Lazarus Lake | Oct 24, 2023 | Race Reports
nothing seems quite real in the night. i am standing at the scorers table i know what to do watch the clock and blow the whistle a few shadowy figures are moving in the darkness at the edge of the area illuminated by the light in the tent. i have to concentrate on the...
by Lazarus Lake | Oct 23, 2023 | Race Reports
the backyard is where anything can happen, and probably will. firebuilding duties eliminated the last hour. . while i was gone we lost runners to nosebleeds and sore knees the water was repaired and we have water again. the toilet service cleaned the runners’...
by Lazarus Lake | Oct 23, 2023 | Race Reports
in 2019 the winner of big’s did 60 yards. right now we have 31 people out on the 60th yard. i think this is what they mean by exponential growth. . when there is nothing in our experience to go by the only thing we can do is guess at what outcomes will be. so...
by Lazarus Lake | Oct 23, 2023 | Race Reports
with everything that has happened the past two hours this will have to end up being another combined update. i dont think i can even reconstruct the sequence of events suffice it to say that: people finished loops and quit people went out on loops and came back people...
by Lazarus Lake | Oct 23, 2023 | Race Reports
thembinkosi (thembi) sojola of south africa did not make it back. he wont bring back the gold coin. just a silver coin and a shiny new south african record of 55 hours. . a close second behind the problem of heat on the trail is the dust. all those footsteps have...
by Lazarus Lake | Oct 23, 2023 | Race Reports
we lost dan yovichin (usa) when he did not make it back to complete the 55th yard. half the field is gone 38 have dropped 37 fight on the heat should break soon the runners need a break, because a lot are barely beating the...
by Lazarus Lake | Oct 23, 2023 | Race Reports
report delayed while we waited on jennifer and tomikasu to emerge from the woods. their cause was hopeless but they refused to quit in their chair. as long as they were alive they fought. winners. now there are 38. there are others playing dangerously close to the...
by Lazarus Lake | Oct 23, 2023 | Race Reports
slowly the hours slip past. the road is now only 6 hours away. but today it is hotter than yesterday and the runners more tired. every hour is a separate struggle for survival, . . sports are no respecter of age the backyard is more forgiving than most but out here on...
