In 17 Days

In 17 days, my life will cease to be entirely mine; rather, it will be wholly consumed by the Critz Tybee Run Fest.  Porta-john, light tower and scissor lift placement, course marking and water stop prep…these will be the items of the day(s) and the first and last things on my mind when I wake in the morning and drift off at night.  Anyone that’s run any of the five races (which span the course of two days, for those not “in the know”) that comprise the event recognizes that there are more moving parts with the Run Fest than any other race—one race ending while folks line-up to start another, etc.—which means I need to have razor-sharp focus (this is a work in progress; I’ll let you know how it goes in 18 days) and a crew of hard-working, knows-their-stuff lackies (thankfully, I have no shortage of these; and they hardly even grumble when I make them get up at 3:00 A.M.!).

Now, I say all of this with one big, glaring disclaimer: I wouldn’t change it for the world (well, minus the 3:00 A.M. wake-up part, but let’s not split hairs here).  No matter the weather (windy? Check. Rainy? Quite possibly.  Cold?  There’s a good chance.), the people of Tybee never fail to amaze me with their support and good nature.  From the police, who tirelessly work behind the scenes to insure each and every one of us is safe, to the course volunteers who man their spots year in and year out so that folks end up at the finish line rather than in the ocean, the city of Tybee never ceases to amaze with its warmth and generosity.

Without the support of Tybee, without my staff doing the grunt work that often goes unnoticed, and without all of you crazies braving the elements (and the wrath of your spouses, when they realize that you’re dragging them to two days-worth of races), the Critz Tybee Run Fest would just be another race.  So, from the bottom of my heart, a big thank you goes out to all of the folks that will sacrifice their time (and, in many cases, already have) to make the Run Fest the rousing success it is; I oftentimes get the accolades, being out on the “front lines”, but it’s so many other people that truly deserve the majority of the credit.

Enjoy the cooler weather, get your miles in, and never forget to thank someone for something that you may have taken for granted in the past.  See you on Tybee.