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Last Annual Vol State race route
The initial 12 hours had Westbrook in Martin, TN. He text he was there, saying “Not good,” with this photo attached. Still no news on what happened.
Richard Westbrook’s foot during LAVS 2018
24 hours into the race, he is past Gleason, TN at 53 miles. Last report is he has had to resort to walking with his foot. Not too sure how this is going to go for him. Westbrook is number 94 on the map.
LAVS 2018
~ Season
NUMBER 67 – I have to make a correction. For the last update at 132 hours I reported that there were 61 runners left in the screwed category, in fact there were 62. One competitor was grayed out and I missed him in my count. So, then and even now, there are 62 screwed runners with Westbrook holding 38th position. He has 238 miles accomplished and is past Wartrace, Tennessee.
We are in the countdown now, 76 MILES REMAINING! If he continues as he has been with this pace, he will finish one day prior to the cut-off. He can do this! He has the grit and fortitude of a wild animal at times and the determination of no other that I know. Stay with him in prayers and encouragement. If the heat alone does not kill off the runners so many other obstacles out there might. Stay tuned…
NUMBER 67 – Less than 100 miles remaining for the old man! He called in tonight and let me know that he was having a hamburger. His side/back pain has diminished from all the Gatorade he consumed. He occasionally feels it returning and pounds more Gatorade for the electrolytes, and it subsides yet again. Unfortunately, the hamstring tightness has not left him. His quote for this year’s race, “I am just dragging my leg behind me.”
He said he was in Shelbyville, Tennessee when he called , but the race check-in has him at mile 217 and past Lewisburg. Maybe he is between Lewisburg and Shelbyville. Thus far, the screwed (runners competing without any support) division has 61 runners and Richard is 40th.
He has always finished under the allotted time frame. He is just running to finish now. It will be close, but he can still make it!
NUMBER 67 – Still out of 66 competitors in the unsupported division, Westbrook has moved into 37th place with 187 miles. He is at the Bench of Despair, an appropriate place to be I suppose.
NUMBER 67 – No word from him today as of yet but this morning’s update puts Westbrook past Hampshire at 167 miles. OVER HALFWAY THERE! One more unsupported runner has quit the race leaving a total of 66 in the solo division. RW is 38th of the screwed runners.
Photo from random spot on the road courtesy of the Last Annual Vol State Road Race facebook page. GO RICHARD!
NUMBER 67 – As of 84 hours into the race, Westbrook has made it to Hohenwald, Tennessee and finished 145 miles. For now, he is in 39th place of the 67 screwed runners.
Richard called home again. He has not felt better at all and said the heat is ungodly! He is taking a break to see how he feels later in order to continue on. The pain in his hamstring is lingering and now his side/back is hurting. He is sure it is an electrolyte depletion so the plan is for rest and Gatorade. He had this happen before in two other ultra races (one being Vol State and the other a race across Georgia 2 years ago) and he was unable to finish, barely being able to walk.
Hopefully the rest helps and not sure how much Gatorade is needed to replenish the electrolytes lost. Wish him luck and keep him in your prayers. Tomorrow’s weather report for his area will be 89 degrees but feels like 92 degrees, 92% humidity and 10% chance of rain.
“An’ here I go again on my own
Goin’ down the only road I’ve ever known,
Like a hobo I was born to walk alone
An’ I’ve made up my mind
I ain’t wasting no more time….here I go again!”
NUMBER 67 – At the completion of 48 hours Westbrook is at mile 85 past Parker’s Crossroads. He maintains 48th place with one other, out of the 68 screwed runners. With his last call to home he stated that his hamstring is still painful but he will try to run out the pain, knowing if it gets any worse he may not be able to continue.
From the Last Annual Vol State Road Race facebook page, a post from Lazarus Lake about the race weather, quoted:
” “it was raining so hard that i could not see the road (huge, ice cold drops that hit me like shots from a paintball gun), and the wind was buffeting me around until i wasn’t sure what direction i was going.”
“it was a slow death march in the blazing sun. it was only about 100 degrees, which felt almost chilly after yesterday.
but i was so over the thrill of running in the heat.”
“It was hard to believe that there was no cloud to block out the sun. it was obvious that it had just been pouring down rain here a few minutes ago. water was still running off the pavement in rivers, as clouds of steam swirled up in the bright sunlight. the last thing i needed at this moment, was to run in a sauna.”
~~~~~~~~~~~
for the vol staters, this was reality sinking in.
a lucky few were near shelter when the storms struck.
the others had no choice but to make themselves as small a target as possible,
and soldier on.
running the vol state is like boxing with your hands tied behind your back.
all you can do is absorb punishment.
you cannot dish any out.”
NUMBER 67 – 36 hours later, Westbrook has scooted along into 48th (tied with two others) in the screwed division. He is at mile 72 and past Huntingdon, Tennessee. He trudges along with a painful hamstring fully intending to make the cut off time. Thus far, out of the initial 73 unsupported runners, 5 have dropped out of the race. One more attempted to quit but has now begun moving along again, leaving 68 in the solo running category.
Shown as number 67 on the map – 24 hours into the race and Westbrook has completed 50 miles and just past Gleason, Tennessee. Still running with a hurt hamstring he has crept into 52nd place, tied with two other runners. He continues to push forward.
Westbrook is identified as number 67 in the white highlighted circle on the map above. As of 12 hours in, he is at mile 27, approaching Martin, Tennessee. Currently Richard is tied with two other runners for 68th place among the unsupported “screwed” runners. There are a total of 73 runners in this year’s screwed division.
His call in to home let us know that he is having a lot of problems with his hamstring and did not get off to the best start. He will continue on and see how it feels later.
Westbrook Running 