I ran by it dozens of times on my routine eight-mile loop on Great Falls and Westmoreland. Down at the bottom of the hill near Lemon Road, it looked like nothing more than a neighborhood shortcut..
I don’t remember what prompted me to actually check out what turned out to be the Pimmit Run Trail, but I do remember the odd sense of wonder that took hold when I did. I had some exploring to do.
Poolesville, Md.
As fog rolled rapidly though the Cumberland Mountains in Eastern Tennessee, it created a strobe-like effect as dawn was breaking. From a fire tower, Rockville’s John Kelly could be seen, then not seen, then seen again… climbing a long hillside cleared for power lines.
Conrad Laskowski and Ed Aramayo watched Kelly pick up something orange, shake it around and put it on his head.
We talk a lot about walls in marathoning. We push through them–effortlessly or gasping for breath–on our way to the finish line. Race over.
One problem: the finish line is the real wall. No negotiations. This requirement doesn’t move for any of us. We must change, not the race. The most successful marathoners don’t break through this final barrier–they hit it, full force.
Thanks to challenges from fast marathoners and excellent weather, the JFK 50 Mile winners smashed the course records Saturday in western Maryland.
[button-red url=”http://www.jfk50milemdt.org/2012/JFKResultslive-01.txt” target=”_self” position=”left”] Results [/button-red]A year after David Riddle took a little off the top, Max King lopped more than five minutes off to lower the men’s record to 5:34:58. Trent Briney, from Boulder, Co. followed in 5:78:56, with Riddle in third in 5:45:17. Canadian Ellie Greenwood (6:11:59) responded to a challenge from Emily Harrison (6:17:16), leading both under the course record. Elissa Ballas, from Colorado, (6:44:45) followed in third.