The Daytona Blues

Central Florida is fickle this time of year. We spent the entire week sunning and enjoying low to mid 80's, including a beautiful day with Shamu at Seaworld; before race day saw a literal cumulus cloud descend to sea level onto the famous oval and spit coldly at us all day. Still the race went on, without interruption, and it was a good one. Our man, Jr had a good day finishing 8th and leading the most laps. For complete story www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com . While the despised jj won; it did come with a lot of controversy and that made for a nice day. I hope each of you are running well, and enjoying great health, as we enter the spring racing season. Happy days, john.

The Barkley Full?

What a wonderful winter season we've had on the East Coast. Mild and dry, and perfect for running. Is winter over this year? Don't think so; and coastal Delaware is forecast to receive it's first substantial snowfall of the season this weekend. There's also lots going on in the world of endurance running. If you get a chance check out the March issue of Runner's World at www.runnersworld.com for an enlightening look at depression. A very courageous human being, and great ultrarunner, Lisa Smith-Batchen shares her story beginning on page 68. Also, lots of talk on the ultra-list about Barkley, the world-famous 100-mile race in the hills of East Tennessee. From Matt Mahoney in Florida, " Here is what I know about the Barkley. It was announced yesterday that permission was obtained to hold the race. Some sections had to be given up, so it is a new course. I do not know what the course will be. It will be kept secret until we arrive at Frozen Head. What I do know is there is a new climb of 1840 ft. in 0.97 mile, that each of the five 20-mile loops will have 11,040 ft. of climb (up from 10,000), and we will get our feet wet. The race is already full and there is a long waiting list. For those who don't know about the Barkley. The entry procedure is not published anywhere. The race director goes by a pseudonym. The starting date is furnished with your acceptance. The starting time is announced by conch shell one hour before the start." Many of you are aware of my personal Barkley experience in 1995. I was not only highly un-successful, but was basically squished like a bug. And, as much as i admire Mr. Cantrell, and am fascinated by the idea of crawling through Frozen Head; I just can't bring myself to ever go "out there" again. If you want information on the Barkley, please, please do not contact me. After 11 years it still hurts to think about it :) happy days, john