Running with Whit

Sunday morning was the Hogeye Marathon in Fayetteville.  Rush Running supports the race and hosts the best water stop on the whole course! We used the same theme this year as last year which was Hula.  One big change was our location...apparently we were too loud for the neighborhood near the trail last year so they moved us up the trail to a spot without any houses nearby. 

This weekend there were lots of weather warnings due to a strong line of storms moving across the country.  Saturday the race organizers put out a notice regarding inclement weather.  The race would go on as long as conditions were safe.  Below is a picture of the weather radar just before the race start...it was going to be close!



As we started to set up our aid station, we had a major decision to make regarding the Rush arch.  The arch is a giant inflatable arch mainly used at finish lines.  For the aid station, it comes in handy because we hang lots of fun pool toys and things like inflatable palm trees and flamingos from it to add to the atmosphere.  With rain almost a certainty Mike decided not to put up the arch and that left us thinking of alternatives for our decorations.  We did the best we could to make our spot festive! 

The music was kept pumping and dry thanks to the Rush bus.  Mike was able to set up the sound system inside the bus so that it stayed dry and kept us dancing the whole time. 

We had a spot that was about 1/2 mile from the half marathon turn around point so we would see the half marathoners twice.  We were also at mile 21 for the full marathon.  This race has more half marathon runners than full or relay so we were busy pretty early on.  We set up tables on both sides of the trail with both water and Gatorade.  We also had Gu and Gu Chomps to share with the runners that we passed out but we started to run low and had to save some for the full marathoners.  Sorry to anyone that missed out:(

We kept our eye on the weather radar and as the storms got closer we moved our supplies under a nearby overpass.  It allowed us to keep out of the heavy rain that eventually came.  Our group never dropped our spirits and we cheered for each and every runner.  Mike was super generous and offered them all some Keystone Light for the road too! We actually had 5-10 runners stop for more than 1 minute at our beer table including 2 who did keg stands at mile 21 of their marathons! CRAZY, just like Mike Rush! More than a couple requested pictures with Mike in his hula glory!

Overall, another fun year at the Hogeye Marathon!!! Congrats to all who ran including my buddies Rhonda and Cathy! It was a tough day and you all did awesome!