The G Running Diary

WS: Now for Real Fun: 7/5/04

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We went back to Foresthill. Again. Now we had all our gear for Don to pace Steve and for me to fix feet. I went over to check in with the medical people, and they said, "Yay, the podiatrist is here!" Well, not exactly. I was hoping there would be a podiatrist, so that I could assist rather than lead. No sooner did I set up a chair and get the boxes out, than I had a patient. Pretty soon I got into a rhythm of evaluating feet and patching them up with 2nd Skin, benzoin tincture, and Elastikon. It was about 7:30 pm when I started. There were runners with bad feet all the way up until about 11:00 pm. I did what I could and hoped the tape would help. Sometimes feet just hurt and there is really nothing to patch.

Don had out other things set up for Steve's arrival and was talking with other people. There was a lot of activity. Barry told us that Lucinda was running with Steve from Bath Road. I was trying to watch the time so I'd be able to help Steve too. He arrived at around 10:30 pm and the first thing he wanted was to go to the bathroom. Then, we set up closer to the checkout area and started feeding him. He had soft tacos and whatever else he could get down. I was happy to hear that my taping job was holding up, and he didn't even want to change shoes. It wasn't long before Don and Steve were ready to get going. I found Steve had a clean short-sleeve shirt in his drop box and suggested he change, just to feel fresher. I also suggested he use the old shirt to wipe his face. (messy eater) So, they were off. Lucinda and Barry were happy and everyone had a lot of faith that he would make it.

I continued to work on feet, with the assistance of one of the medics. He was great--handing me things I needed and cleaning up my instruments and laying them out each time I finished with a runner. I felt so professional and very honored. After it was all over, he shook my hand and said, "It was a pleasure working with you."

By the time the aid station was closing, 11:45 pm, there were no more runners coming through. I gathered up all my stuff and found I had ended up with a pair of runners shoes, a pair of women's sandals, and various empty soda cans. I put the shoes with the drop bags to send them to the finish. I threw away the cans.

By 1:00 am I was back in my hotel room trying to get ready for bed. I got a wake up call for 5:00 am.