~9 miles @ ~14 min/mi

Like a candle in the wind, the moon gutters and fades as it sets into the clouds. At 5am I prepare to swerve off Route 28 into the usually-empty Seneca Creek parking area, and am startled to see the gravel lot almost full of pickup trucks, with more coming in. I squeeze into a space next to Caren, and we discover that it's the first day of trout fishing season. The anglers tell us that they plan to work the waters upstream, so we head south. There are a few boggy areas, but nothing like four weeks ago at the Seneca Creek Greenway Trail Marathon 2007, and far short of last week's HAT Run 2007.

The top of my right foot and the extensor tendon of that big toe is still slightly sore, perhaps from a too-tight shoe at the HAT, perhaps from the effort of lifting the foot out of sole-sucking mud in Susquehanna State Park. So I try my Nike "Free" slippers, and they work wonders on the soft ground. I lead most of the way, with occasional near-stumbles on tree roots. My socks are damp after we cross small streams and bedewed meadows.

The darkness is spooky (my headlamp needs new batteries) but even though most of the faded teal blazes are invisible we manage to follow the trail and reach Berryville Road in a little over an hour. Soon after we reverse course the sun rises and we can turn off our lights. The return trip is faster, as we now can see what's tripping us. Ken phones a bit before 7am and heads our way, to keep Caren company for the remainder of her long run. We reach our cars at the parking lot and while awaiting Ken have a pleasant chat with an elderly gentleman who tells us he used to be a runner but now focuses on fishing, a "cradle to grave" sport that offers many lessons for life — like running!