As with any idea, a tiny spark can ignite to drive a mission. Such is the case with Dam to Dam, a short relay from Lake Murray to Lake Greenwood in our neighboring state of SC. That is if you define 63 miles as “short.” Here is are the exploits of a few men with just enough crazy to attempt this and a BB so the team can get the proper credit. (Remember that a CSAUP only counts as one post, although I am not sure I agree).
Originally this was going to be a four man team. Whoopee, Gastone, Stroganoff, and YHC. However, Whoopee declined (although he did name the team “I hate Running”). So Stroganoff asked if he could invite his hometown friend and college roommate Smokestack (otherwise known as Stackhouse or “THE BRAIN!”) to the team. That sounded like a good idea so our team was all set. However, Stroganoff had the bubonic plague again and he only posted once in January and he felt like he couldn’t run his three legs so he recruited Short Sale as a 5th runner to help. Once again, we thought we were all set with Stroganoff and Smokestack running two legs and Short Sale and YHC running three. Until Gastone came down with the flu. Now we were back to four runners, preferring the full 3 legs rather than ride in a van with someone recovering from the flu.
Somehow we got permission from the M’s to stay the night before instead of waking at 0300 hours to get down to SC for our 0600 check-in time and 0630 start. Our plans were dependent on Short Sale and Smokehouse driving in from the Raleigh/Chapel Hill area so it was around 1900 before we could leave. Stroganoff decided to drive the “Red Wolf 2.0” so we packed in and headed down to the Lexington Holiday Inn Express.
I hadn’t eaten dinner so we decided to stop at Chic-Fil-A but the line was ridiculous (as usual) so we skipped that and hit a Wendy’s. As an aside, there was a guy hanging out of the passenger side of a truck dry heaving as we pulled in the parking lot.
We went inside anyway. Another aside, I went to the restrooms. The layout was the oddest thing. There was a sink, a toilet, and a urinal. The urinal was just beside the sink. The toilet was to the left of the urinal but faced the urinal and the sink. There was no partition on the toilet so if someone was doing their business they would be facing anyone using the urinal or the sink. Fortunately there was no one in there or that would have been a hard pass.
Another personal mistake was ordering a Dave’s Double with fries. Later in the evening, when trying to get to sleep, my heart was pounding trying to digest that big boy and I didn’t fall asleep until after midnight. IT was way too late in the evening to eat that and not what you want to get restful sleep the night before a race. #lessonlearned
Upon leaving the parking lot the dry heaver was gone and there was very little evidence he was successful in getting anything out of his system onto the pavement. We checked.
Once at the hotel, we got two rooms on the second floor and learned that the free breakfast would be ready to 0600 which is when we needed to be at the check in for the race. Dammit!
All the PAX got in the elevator except YHC who took the stairs. I located my room literally at the top of the stairs. It was as if the lobby was our rooms’ front porch and all the noise came straight up the stairs. At least we were right beside the elevator.
After a below adequate nights sleep, YHC went downstairs ready to roll in running gear. To my overwhelming surprise, the breakfast was ready and I ate and let everyone else know it was ready. After a few pieces of bacon, eggs, yogurt, and fruit, we were ready to roll. Stroganoff got a fresh cup of hot decaf and loaded it up with some creamer. We loaded up and drove to the location for packet pickup. Unfortunately, that was for the day before and we needed to go to the starting line. We got there a few minutes after 0600 and were ready to go.
At 0625, they announced the 0630 runners needed to go to the start line and at 0630 Short Sale launched on his first leg of a rolling 5.2 miles. We drove ahead in the Red Wolf but Stroganoff needed to find a restroom door that wasn’t locked. We settled on a Speedway gas station and Stroganoff took care of business.
We arrived at the exchange zone and Smoke Stack was ready to go as Short Sale came in ahead of schedule and handed off the blue bracelet. Out goes Smoke Stack for a 3.9 mile jaunt through the country on some paved and dirt roads. One thing to mention, the cold weather and nervous energy makes for an overactive bladder. We availed ourselves of every port-a-jon for the first several exchange zones without fail.
The next runs were mostly uneventful as we were prepared and fresh. YHC had a 7 miler and several kills along the way and didn’t see anyone else on the course save for the first mile. Still ahead of schedule, Stroganoff took the handoff and headed out for 3.8 miles. The weather was slightly warmer but the breeze was very cool. Maybe upper 30’s at this point.
There were a few Ultra teams and one Single (yes – one man ran the entire 63 miles, and no it was not Gold Digger), our 4-man team was basically competing against full 6-man teams. So our second legs began earlier and against fresh competition. Short Sale was getting killed like flies on a horses ass. A couple of F3 guys, two FIAs and a middle school kid running like a young Dr. Seuss. With the finish line about 50 yards away, footsteps were heard with another F3 man from Lexington aiming to take our man out. Short Sale’s competitive juices kicked in and won the 100m sprint in a photo finish.
We quickly noticed the brief recovery on this relay, especially with only four runners. The delicate of balance of eating or drinking too little or too much is like trying to solve a riddle. The chocolate milk chug and bagel weren’t doing me right as I stretched a little. As I pulled my knees into my chest to stretch my legs I instantly cramped and this feeling came back within the first quarter mile of the six mile leg #7.
YHC handed off to Stroganoff for his leg #8 and we drove off to exchange zone #9. Exchange zone #9 was a nice Hispanic church. The longer we ran the more people were at each exchange zone and the bathrooms became more and more popular. We watched as the line to the men’s room came out of the church into the front patio. Then the line suddenly disappeared. Sources informed us that the men’s john was clogged and some poor guy was in there with a plunger trying to save the day. Desparate, I soon became that poor guy. Pro-tip #1….put a quality plunger in the Red Wolf 2.0 next time. It was a desperate situation but alas, there was no hope. Please pray for that toilet. We would have to wait for exchange zone #10.
Short Sale had a tough 6.2 miler final leg and handed off to Smoke Stack who headed out on a 7.1 mile jaunt to finish his day. We had some time now at the Hopewell Congregational Holiness Church. There was a bathroom located in buildings on both sides of the street. There were long lines. Men were searching for unlocked doors, anything for a safe haven. Lines of people for a single seat. Pacing, waiting, pacing, waiting, small talk, etc. It was a desperate situation but I am happy to report everything eventually worked out okay. YHC had a 7.6 miler to finish the race and got ready to run. Shorts only on this leg as the weather was in the mid-forty’s. Then, Short Sale appeared. He had stage fright. Apparently, all had not worked out well. He would have to look for other options down the road. As Stroganoff waited for me at the exchange zone, a couple church volunteers began chatting me up saying this run was up and down until mile 4 and then the last parts were all uphill. What a great pep talk!
Smoke Stack handed the baton and then off I went. I had four kills in four miles and felt decent. The pace began to slow down as the stomach cramps back in full force. I could see the lowest point of the run coming up and knew it was getting ready to be uphill. I passed a couple of guys on the hill. Several walked off and on. I was more staggering than running and my pace slowed once again. I was trying to make another kill when a lady I passed earlier was clicking along and she got me! There was nothing I could do. I continued and pushed through with every bit of self-talk I could muster. I don’t “have to” run this hill, I “get to”. I would look ahead and smile and try to make it to the next high point. I was calling cadences in my head. I was calling myself offensive names. I finally finished and handed off to Stroganoff for the Glory Leg of 3.35 miles. As we drove to the route, we saw a stray dog that tagged along with the runners. Without a collar to identify, he/she seemed well behaved and fortunately someone loaded them in their vehicle for better days ahead. It wasn’t long before we saw the bright neon shirt of the past Nantan turning the corner and speeding to the finish line.
Moleskin: Check out Dam to Dam at your next opportunity. If you’ve run relays before, it’s a good median of terrain where it’s not as strenuous as the Blue Ridge or Bourbon, but it’s got plenty of steep grades that are tougher than the relatively flat P200 & T200’s. At only 63 miles, a 6-man team can tackle with two legs and run between 7-13 miles. For our “A Runners” you guys should try as a 3 or 4 man team. If there are some relay virgins or newbies, this is a perfect way to dip your toe into the party. A one day affair that you’ll be home by 7 pm that night. The field is primarily F3 or FIA, so plenty of good company along the backroads of Lexington SC and as always, nice folks at the exchange zones. We’ll look to get the word out sooner for 2021 and represent GasHouse bolder than we did this year – except our 4-man team did with the Master’s Division, so we’ve got the belt!