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May
23, 2004
One
Day, Three States - The Home Stretch
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Group
2 had the pleasure of entering
Massachusetts after a long, tough
day.
See more photos in our gallery |
Lenox,
MA - As
if to accentuate our desire to head home, today
we hit three states in our journey home.
We
first had to finish our battle with the hills of
Pennsylvania. Our assignment was to run 160 miles to the end of
Pennsylvania, into New York, through the
Catskills, and finally cross the border into our
home state, Massachusetts.
Accompanying us on our first leg was Tim
Woodridge and his wife, Cathleen.
25 years ago he was inspired by a crazy,
young runner who had just crossed the country
solo. Graduating from college in Quincy, MA, he decided to run
home?.to Florida!
Talk about a bad influence!
It was a pleasure to meet Tim, and our
entire team followed along as he and Dave ran
the first 6 mile leg.
Honestly,
the plan wasn?t to have the entire team follow
along. However, as we all took a wrong turn within the first three
miles, we found ourselves parked on the side of
the road while we sent scouts out looking for
the mysterious country road we missed.
That began the series of miscues along
our way that made our 23rd day the
longest of the trip. We arrived in Lenox, MA at
8:30 PM! (Hence, a slightly abbreviated
journal).
Group
1 had the pleasure of taking on the final hills
of Pennsylvania.
We already had two days of hills, but the
third was incomparable.
Day 1 was Freshman, day 2 was Junior
Varsity, day 3 was Varsity.
We encountered hills that rivaled the
grades of the Mt Washington auto road with 6%+
grade downhills between each successive uphill.
Fortunately the scenery was a feast for
the eyes because the hamstrings and quads took a
beating.
Group
2 took the team through New York, across the
bridge that lead into Great Barrington,
Massachusetts.
It was a wonderful moment for the team,
and there to share it with them were friends and
family. Accompanying
the team on the run was Dave?s brother, Alan
McGillivray, our wonderful media director, Linda
Fechter, and Jack LeDuc who met us the night
before. Helping
with logistical support was the McGillivray
clan, Kevin Cummings (Bay State Games
director) and his son Matt, and John Ballera, a
DMSE consultant.
Having friendly faces from home surround
us was a taste of the pleasure we anticipate
over the next few days.
We
are almost done. 112 miles on Monday and then
just a marathon on Tuesday.
We are tired, sore, in need of haircuts,
and a home cooked meal.
We are also enriched by the experiences
we have had, the support we have received, and
of course, thrilled that we have raised a lot of
money for our charities. We know that the next
few days will be a whirl of activity and an
opportunity to see many of you.
Please check the ?News? section of
the website for a detail description of our
timeline starting on Monday.
So much to do, so little time, but I
think I can see the Citgo sign.
PS
If there are any ideas, comments or
questions about the journal, send me a note:
Tom
@TREKUSA.org
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