By Chuck Millsaps
Wednesday Dispatch from the MST: We just completed a 36-mile run that we started at 3:30 this morning from Mt Tabor Baptist Church in Carteret County in order to make this Cedar Island Ferry. The pre-dawn start was rough as we had only 2 hours in the tank. Anticipating rain for the start, we were surprised by only heavy winds, but by sunrise the storms cells were hammering us relentlessly. Thirty miles out from Cedar Island, the weather began blowing 35+ and raining in sheets. Three of us rotated in as guides over the course of the next 7 hours as bridge crossings exposed us to heavy winds that felt like sandblasting instead of rain. The 5-mile section from the end of Monroe Gaskill Memorial Bridge was the most difficult stretch of running I have ever endured. Schools are closed and races are typically cancelled under those conditions but Diane pushed on. At one point she turned to me and said, “On one level this is very interesting. I have always been curious about what a tropical storm would feel like. We don’t have these in Colorado.” The last 4 miles, she ran sub-10 minute miles as the clock was ticking. We made it with 10 minutes to spare. Tomorrow is the “summit” day so timing is great. We have 83 miles left till we top out at Jockey’s Ridge. Hoping to celebrate around 11pm Thursday night.
