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Day 15,
September
25,
2001
The
“Bic Get Up and Go” breakfast was a lot of fun. The
Holiday Inn Express Hotel hosted the event and its patrons, Law
Enforcement Runners and Rotarians had fun and made light of the task
that they had at hand for the day. Run the mountains. They posed for
pictures and heard the buzz of how the PA Police were going to
“take the hills”. Frankly, having plotted the course with
Captain Braddock almost a year ago, we were bracing ourselves for a
brutal day. The “Bic” breakfast as a follow up to last
nights dinner, seemed to energize everyone.
Holiday
Inn Patrons were treated to some background on the Gift of Life and
what the mission of the run was. With a light breakfast under our
belt and the good wishes from our friends in Breezwood; we headed out
to tame the mountains.
The
day started off overcast. That works in our favor. If the sun beats
down on our heads, the steep inclines of the mountains and the heat
drain and weaken the stamina. The runners start at a fast pace. We
could not believe that they would take off so fast. We were sure that
they could not keep up the pace. As they had discussed the night
before, they rotated on a regular basis doing 1 mile at a time. The
shorter, more frequent legs allow them to do faster times. But would
they be able to last all day?
Runner
after runner got out and hit the mountain roads. There were truck
bail-out points located throughout the mountains, side roads if you
will, that can take a runaway truck off to the side with a road
curving off the main highway up to a sand wall. Going down the
mountain for the runners brings extra stress on the knees. The degree
of the decline makes it difficult to lean back. The pounding on the
legs continues mile after mile.
One
hour, two hours, three hours and the pace are continuous. Up and
down the mountain roads at a pace that is blistering considering the
terrain. At each turn of the baton, runners applauded their comrades
for the excellence of their performance. Once again, the Pennsylvania
State Police show their stuff. Fifty miles covered in 6 hour and 15
minutes. They celebrate each other as they celebrate the cause.
“Piece of cake.”
They
want to run for the children. They are excellent in every way. From
their commanding officers on through the ranks to a person are fit,
caring compassionate people trying in their way to return the light
to a country that has been stricken with grief. For today, their
company has brought light into our souls.
We
have now completed 750 miles and are going to have a Get Up and Go
Breakfast with Rotarians of the Chambersburg Rotary Club. Today was a
good day for all of us. Thank you Bic for a beautiful day.
God
Bless America!
Robbie
Donno
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