8-HOUR ‘RUN FROM THE DUCKS’ REPORT

by Bill (The Trailgeeze) Rumbaugh Clark Gardens, near Mineral Wells – September 25, 2010 After check-in at the gate to Clark Gardens, and signing the waiver, I followed the line of cars into the parking area for the event. A sprinkle or two was felt on the way to the car from the gate. By the time we drove the short distance to the parking area, it was definitely raining. No surprise, lightning was clearly visible in the area during the drive West along 1 80 from Weatherford toward Mineral Wells. But this is Texas, it will pass or at least slacken in just a few, right? So I busied myself with pinning my race number onto my shorts, checking out the race shirt, and then listening to the radio for a bit. Ten minutes or so before the scheduled race start of 7 AM, it should have started getting light. It was still dark. I wasn’t sure where the start area was for the current layout of the course, so I figured it was time to make my move. After all, I did not want to miss the start. So I opened the car door and promptly stepped into a puddle, the first of countless repetitions of that experience during the day. Gathered my cooler and other stuff from the trunk and headed in the direction where the start area was at the inaugural running of the event 3 years ago. I guessed right. The two easy-ups which served as the start/finish area for the first event have been replaced by a huge commercial tent owned by the Gardens. It was complete with indoor/ outdoor carpet and even a section of dance flooring. So there was plenty of dry space in which to put runner’s stuff and also to stay dry while we listened to the pre-race briefing, or the last part of it, in my case. view PDF with pictures