Compared to Alan Abbs, the Rest of You are Sissies
Alan Abbs on the Bench of Despair. (Courtesy Alan Abbs)
A couple of months ago, I was talking to Alan Abbs and he was jokingly urging me to join him for his run of the Last Annual Vol State Road Race, a race across the State of Tennessee.
Having been in Tennessee in July, I wasn’t feeling a strong urge to take him up on the suggestion, but it sounded kind of fun.
“I’m doing it unsupported,” he said. “So a lot of it is figuring out how to get all the aid you need from mini-marts.”
That’s 500 kilometers across Tennessee. In July. No crew. About three hours sleep in four days. Awesome.
I’ve been looking forward to hearing about his experiences, and this morning stumbled on this great interview with Alan on Ultrarunner Podcast.
It turns out that not only did Alan win the uncrewed (AKA “screwed”) race, he set a new course record of 4:11:31:27–that’s four days, eleven hours and 31 minutes.
He also came home with some great stories, including tales of being accused of vagrancy, scrounging for food and water, swollen feet, and the human decency of random citizens of Tennessee. Great stuff. You should definitely check it out.
Thanks John! Alan has a lot of crazy accomplishments, but this one is especially awesome.
1–Eric (who’s trying to convince his wife to let him to Vol State next year.)
It really does sound fund in a perverted sort of way. I could never survive on that little sleep, however. They’d find me curled up on that bench, weeping.
2http://www.tinyurl.com/Volstate2014Signup
Apparently there are a lot folks that have already forgotten about the suffering, and getting ready for 2014!
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