Volunteering at the PCT 50/50

Our weekend began on Friday, when Eric, Steve, Lorri and I slipped away to volunteer at the PCT 50/50. We headed south to the town of Welches where we camped in Steve and Lorri's trailer - sheer luxury for Eric and I. It's about 3.5 hours drive down there, and we talked non-stop the whole way. When Eric and Steve get together something happens - some kind of silliness gene kicks in and away they go. They feed off each other and can have me laughing till the tears run in no time. Occasionally they try to be serious, but it doesn't last long and it's back to utter chaos. All I can say is that it is a lot of fun.

We got to town in time for dinner and stopped at a little local cafe. The service was abysmal, but the food was great. We couldn't really blame the lone waitress though - she was solely responsible for all the diners and the bar on a Friday night. After we left there, we got to the park and got the trailer set up, then we played double-handed cribbage for the rest of the night. We got to bed around 10ish so we could be up and at our aid station by 8:30.

Our aid station was the 4th and 6th for the 50 milers - at Barlowe Pass, around miles 19 and 32. We had a Hawaiian theme going - flowered shirts, leis and hats for the guys, one woman in a sarong, and Lorri and I in grass skirts and coconut bras (don't get too excited - it was a little cold, so it was over my sweatshirt. I'll get a picture up once Lorri posts them). Our aid station strived for authenticity - so aid station fare included fried spam and fresh pineapple. Surprisingly a lot of the spam got eaten. The first thing we discovered was that we didn't have salt for the potatoes. Lorri and I were designated the "go to" girls and sent to the nearest little town to get salt. Since we were already in the swing of things, we kept our coconut bras and grass skirts on for this little errand. The first place we walked into was a gas station mini-mart. We wanted more potatoes too, so after the guys at the counter finished staring and laughing, and after we answered all their questions they sent us farther into town - which we didn't even know existed. We went into the first little grocery we saw, and were sent down the street a block. It was pretty funny seeing the double-takes, hearing the laughs after we passed and generally, to quote Lorri, "spreading the joy". We went through the same set of questions and stares and laughter at the store, but we were successful in our quest. We didn't make it out the door without explaining ourselves to a few customers though.

Back at the aid station, things were just getting going. We got back in time to greet the first runner through - he had a 4 am early start. Most of the runners loved the theme and many loved the costumes. We heard that we were the best aid station going, even better than the cowboy one. Our goal was to fill every water bottle and camel-bak and serve every runner. We didn't want them to do anything but eat and drink, and to leave with full drinks. Several runners commented on the bras and especially enjoyed it when Lorri and I tapped out tunes with our rings. We were fortunate that the other Lori at the aid station was Hawaiian and had beautiful Hawaiian music playing for us all day, and even better, worked with us on learning to hula. Notice that I did not say "taught" us to hula. Lorri picked it up pretty well, but in my case, it takes more than one afternoon to overcome my natural gift of klutziness.

We had a great time greeting runners - I got to see Karen Wiggens come through, and Bad Ben, Tom Riley and Hippo, and met several new and wonderful runners. Sarah stopped by for a visit - she was supposed to run, but was sick, so her husband, Marc, got to run in her place. Lorri and I made a second run to town, thrilling the populace once more, to pick up some cola. Eric and Steve headed off to Timberline to begin their sweeping duties, and Lorri and I finally got a chance to sit down. After Eric and Steve came back down, we packed up the aid station and went to the finish, where we unloaded the aid station. We had barbecued burgers (they even had veggie) and got several hours to have long, wonderful, winding conversation. We got to chat more with Hippo, with Karen and once things calmed down, with Olga. We also got to meet and chat for a long time with Monika, Olga's co-director.

Once Eric and Steve made it back down, helping the last runner in, we went off to find dinner. It had been a long time since our burgers, but neither Lorri nor I felt like we should eat a second dinner. Instead, we decided to share an order of onion rings and an order of fries. When they arrived we found out they were platters - absolutely huge helpings. Even so, we did our best. Eventually we headed back to camp, and off to bed. We had a leisurely morning today, stopping in Kelso to have lunch with Lorri's parents, and made it home around four.

Eric and I got the car unloaded, then I unpacked all my stuff right away so I could get out for my run. I got 5.5 miles in - it was a little warm, and a lot more traffic than I'm used to, but I got it done. I hit my goal of 32 miles for last week, and am working on 34-36 for this week. Everything still feels good and I am really enjoying building the miles again.

Lorri and I had a great time together this weekend - Eric and Steve had better watch out, because we bonded. The boys are in trouble now! I'm looking forward to lots of trips in the future. The only thing is...Lorri tells me that it's possible to go on trips that don't involve running races. I am shocked! Who knew? She has so much to teach me...