as we grind our way through the dark hours
the field seems to have all settled in.
they line up every hour
and they run.
those who have encountered difficulties seem to have gotten everything under control.
if not every face is a happy face
there are no haunted faces in the crowd.
and there are smiles to be seen
and jokes to be cracked.
the 73 surviving runners seem destined to all surpass 24 hours.
and return to the daylight and the trail.
.
it is going to be a very interesting day tomorrow.