~3.2 mi @ ~10.2 min/mi

"And we can still act like children!" As we sprint and laugh together Win Persina and Ken Mason compare our joyful situation with prior generations' middle-aged and older archetypal lives: if lucky, sedentary and filled with the busy-ness of working and drinking and smoking and being boring grown-ups. More fun to dash along a path through the woods with friends and chatter like birds, about birds! And yes, a "dash" for one of the group is mere conversational warm-up pace for Win & Ken — and that's ok too. Private trail talk includes age-graded performance standards, gender differences, ways to make competitions fair for all, and where to put extra grease to deter chafing.

"The longer the distance, the nicer the people!" we concur. Ken recounts what his friend Angela said when, at last year's C&O Canal 100, he was pacing her and a big blister on her foot broke at mile ~80. It was precisely the same as what Dr Stephanie said in similar circumstances during her first ultramarathon (cf 2012-11-17 - Stone Mill 75k). We're all so happy being kids together — especially on the run!

(trackfile) - ^z - 2018-07-05