Run Under the Stars 10 Hour

Friday morning, I awoke around 9 A.M and started my routine. The only difference was that in an hour I would be embarking on a ten hour long trip to Paducah, Kentucky. Ten o'clock rolled around and I had finished packing, I was ready to go. Off I went onto the interstates and state routes that would take me through to the unknown. I had been to Kentucky before on family vacations but never by myself and especially to small towns in seemingly the edge of nowhere. Because the race started on Saturday night I felt like I had enough time to explore the big city. I had done some research and identified the major hot spots and must-sees in Louisville. Although my timing was bad I still was able to see the Muhammad Ali museum and Churchill Downs from the outside looking in. I was impressed by the architecture in Louisville. For every facet of Louisville's impressive bustling skyline, there was also classic architecture from decades and centuries prior. I am told that because of the strong historical pride of the city. It began to rain after about an hour downtown and I decided to return to my hotel. I spent the rest of the night talking on the phone and watching television. The next day I awoke and began to prepare to leave check-out was at eleven o'clock and I had a couple of hours. I took a swim in the pool, finished packing and getting ready and headed out. I headed towards the interstate and headed south. The trip lasted roughly four hours and I made it to Paducah. The city of Paducah has about twenty four thousand residents which is the largest city in McCracken county. It lies in the south western most portion of the state of Kentucky. Upon arrival I had a few hours to waste, so I headed to the Kentucky Oaks mall. The mall was not very large by my standards, but it hosted a few reputable anchor stores. I spent an hour perusing the retail stores. After some time I located a Chick-Fil-A and had lunch. After my musings at the mall I wasted some time at the local Walmart. Eventually five o'clock rolled around and I headed to Luther Carson park to check in for registration. I was disappointed when I suddenly figured out that I was in central time. I decided to head back to Walmart to figure out what to do until race time. I spent an hour or so on the phone and another hour perusing the establishment. Eventually seven o'clock came around and I decided to head back to the park. Luther Carson park is horse racing stables and track. The surface for the track was dirt, but because it was inherently a horse racing track so it was flat without a cant. It was far from the elegance of Churchill Downs but shared the same basic design. As I pulled in the second time I parked on the outside of the track near spectator bleachers. Next to the bleachers was a betting stand where I could pick up my race swag (lightweight hat, drawstring bag, bib belt, and wicking T-shirt)and bib number. Before I knew it it was 7:30. With a half an hour to the race I changed into my race outfit and began to prepare. The race consisted of a half mile loop repeated for the entirety of the ten hours. About ten minutes from the start most of the eager participants lined up and waited for the time to start. I decided to join them and was swept into conversation with multiple marathon maniacs. Before I realized it the race director held a brief race preparatory talk and we were sent off. I came into the race with no expectations but was immediately dreaming of the possibilities that this race held. Around and around again I traveled through the half mile course. I started out fast but immediately found myself hurting from the heat of the day. The day had been steady at about 95 degrees. The night however was cool and was conducive to running. There were ongoing threats of rain but only few drops ever manifested. After only a few laps, I clicked into a rhythm two laps running to one lap walking. Although my feet hurt, and my knees were bothering me I consistently stuck to my plans and persevered. I finished my race in 7 hours 25 minutes and 53 seconds. This is 31.5 miles, and 63 laps. Thanks to everyone in the race who kept me sane throughout the morning hours.