hour 14
.
it is a slow beating.
like boiling a frog.
they barely notice the temperature slowly rising around them.
15 come in and 15 go out.
again and again.
.
12 intact teams remain.
iceland stands alone atop the small countries leaderboard.
they said going in they came to win
and now they control their own fate.
.
ukraine and finland each have 14.
ukraine is understandably behind on reporting
but they have had 14 for a while.
finland has been down a man from the start.
.
so projecting ahead,
if the runners hold
in a few hours the leaderboard would be iceland, ukraine, finland.
finland and ukraine are closer to dawn than iceland
which will bring renewed life to their runners.
.
iceland’s runners will have to hold on thru several hours more of darkness
latitude and longitude are against them.
.
but that is a consideration now in all analysis of the leaderboard.
what time is it,
and where?
new zealand is in the afternoon.
japan is at midday.
fewer runners stop in daylight.
.
europe and africa are approaching dawn.
those who make it the few remaining dark hours will get a boost with the sun.
the americas are deep in the pit of night,
when sunrise seems a lifetime away.
.
not all hours are made the same.
the depths of despair follow sunset around the globe…
.
again and again…
.
and 100 hours is still 86 hours away.
.
this game.
this cruel game.
this blood sport.
has only just begun!