I briefly spoke with Kavara as I was leaving the ice rink after Travis’s hockey practice at 8:21 p.m. The boys had finished running for the day just prior to our conversation and they were on their way to Adam and Kadra’s house for the night. Kavara has a lot to share from the day. Kadra and Kavara did not have phone service all day long so were unable to pass along any timely updates. Kavara will pass along photos and daily updates later tonight. I will post the day’s events once received. Hopefully before midnight (eastern standard time). Please check back later. jlb

Paul called from Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Paul had just spoken with Gene Lewis who ran with Adam and Bradley from Blackwater Falls State Park to Gladwin, approximately 16+ miles. So far the dynamic duo have completed about 35 miles for the day. It sounds like they are on schedule to arrive at Rt. 33 in Evenwood this afternoon. Paul is planning on meeting the runners and crew tomorrow in Durbin.

Related information can be found in the comment from jackmcgrath in the Day 2 post 1314. jlb

I have not heard anything in quite some time. I got antsy and called Kadra’s phone at 12:12 p.m. and left a message. I am sure both Kadra and Kavara are in a zero bar phone zone in rural West Virginia. I will post the next update as soon as I receive it.

The last known location was at 10:05 a.m. at the Blackwater Falls State Park petting zoo. See jackmcgrath’s (John McGrath) comment on the 0610 post earlier today. jlb

The call came in from Kavara this morning at 6:10 a.m. jlb

“It is currently 5:30 a.m. with a start time of 5:13 a.m. We are at mile 81 on Close Mountain Road, about 5 miles outside of Thomas, West Virginia.

We were woken by the smoke alarm at 3:40 a.m. but those 20 lost minutes of sleep were for a worthy cause. Gene and John were up early fixing us Canadian bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches for the road. We were out the door by 4:50 a.m. A tractor trailer loaded down with logs marked our end-point last night. So we were a bit apprehensive when we passed a similar truck coming up the hill on our way to the start. Our marker was there when we arrived though. Adam was having some GI issues this morning which included puking behind the truck. Thirty seconds after his last puke he said, “…lets just walk”. So they were off at 5:13 a.m. They were running up a 1 mile stretch of hill within minutes. They are currently headed down a dark, foggy, tractor trailer laden Route 219.” kv

I have been anxiously awaiting the next correspondence from Kavara. Below is her end of day post. jlb

“Adam dedicates today’s run to Charlene . . . .

10:30 p.m.

The first day of the ALTSRA has come to an end and all the folks involved are settling in and preparing for bed . . . this includes Adam, Bradley, Kadra, Frances, Kavara, and our hosts John McGrath and Gene Lewis. We are spending the night in John’s cozy home in Davis, WV. We came out of the rain and into his warm, well lit, spacious farm house. The music of the Everything Fields played in the background and there was a hot meal waiting for us comprised of takeout from Siriani’s and Hellbender’s, two restaurants in Davis, as well as a big salad and assorted drinks. Gene picked up the takeout and he and John prepared an awesome salad for us. Upstairs, there was a bed made up for each of us with a towel and a piece of Lindt chocolate resting on the pillow. They even loaded the tub up with ice to create an ice bath for the boys. These two waited on us hand and foot from the moment we walked in the door. John even washed Bradley’s nasty water bottles. We are grateful to both of them. Thank you guys!

The boys had an awesome day of running today! The plan was to stop at Leadmine at mile 75.6. They arrived at Leadmine with plenty of daylight left and were psyched about the opportunity to bank some more miles and ran on until just past dark. They ended the day of running on Close Mountain Road at approximately mile 81 of the Allegheny Trail, stopping at 8:33 p.m. I ran the last 10 miles of the day with them and realized the terrain they covered today is not as benign as I envisioned it . . . it was actually quite rocky and steep. Adam and Bradley ran strong and steady through the entire day. They had a few aches and pains at the end of the day, but it must not have been affecting them too much because they sprinted 3/4 mile up the last hill trying to drop my ass again. They only experienced route finding difficulties once. We went about 2 miles off course in the last 10 mile section because we were talking and not looking for blazes like we should have been. We tried to figure out how far off course we were by screaming for Frances, but when that didn’t work, we just ran back to the last blaze we saw. They will be in bed by 10:30 with full bellies and iced legs, so they should get a good night of sleep. We’ll be up at 4:00 a.m. and out the door soon after for the second day of the assault. They are fired up, but they are logging a lot of miles over the next few days and will need support from you guys, so keep the comments coming.

Also . . . a big thanks to Julie Hooks and her children Victoria and T.J. “Hammerhead” Hooks who came to the start at 5:30 a.m. to see Adam and Bradley off. Hardcore kids and mama, eh? T.J. ran the entire North Fork Mountain Trail (approximately 24 miles) a few weekends ago. Not bad for young blood, eh? Thank you to everyone who has commented and to everyone who is following along. We all appreciate it . . . especially Adam and Bradley.” kv

Kavara called me at 4:39 p.m.

At 4:35 p.m. the boys reached mile 63.4. Adam and Bradley are not wasting time in the make-shift mobile aid stations. They are consistently in and out in minutes. The rain has stopped, the air is cool with mild humidity.

On this last leg of the ALT the boys were joined by a group of 5 middle school children, one of which was wearing jeans. As Casseday and Mongold ran by, “…the kids sprang from the back of a pick-up truck and began to run with the [duo]. Bradley was a good adult and didn’t share his ‘cocaine’ with the middle schoolers,” stated Kavara.

The boys are now running on rough jeep roads which prevent the crew from following. The current crew consists of Francis and Kavara in Bradley’s truck, and Kadra in Adam’s van. It sounds like Grumpy Wayne will join them later; he is currently grumpy at work.

Kavara is planning on running with Adam and Bradley as they proceed to Lead Mine Road near Davis, West Virginia.

Kavara said the crew wished they had some of Quatro’s bourbon.

I spoke with Kavara over the telephone. “At 2:22 p.m. we are at 53.9 miles in Rowelsburg, West Virginia. Adam and Bradley are looking strong. The weather has been good for the last 3 hours; no rain with a cool breeze.” kv

“It is 11:50 a.m. Adam and Bradley have passed mile 41.4 outside of Terra Alta, West Virginia.” kv

In the 0803 post, Mongold is consuming maltodextrin. While speaking with Kavara I asked about maltodextrin. I could hear her ask Bradley about maltodextrin. Mongold in the background was saying, “…it’s cocaine baby!”. Kavara came back saying, “maltodextrin, aka, cocaine”. jlb

“It is 9:35 a.m. We just came through the town of Albright, WV and are at approximately 32 miles. I ran the 8 mile stretch into Albright with Adam and Bradley and was pushing hard the whole way to keep up. Along this stretch, Bradley added babies to his ‘cocaine’ regiment and they argued with each other about who was going to drop whom. The first 35 miles, or so, of the ALT is along drivable roads so we have been able to follow along with them the entire way thus far and supply aid every 2 to 3 miles. They are not carrying water bottles or food yet as they are just getting it all from the aid stations we have set up in the truck and vans.” kv

Regarding baby reference above: Follow the baby link to Mongold holding a baby at Adam and Kadra’s wedding. Someone made a comment (I think) about Mongold eating babies for breakfast. I am still trying to find the reference. jlb

“It is 8:03 a.m. The boys are roughly at 15 miles. And about 15 miles from Albright, WV. The storm is rolling in, the wind is picking up and beginning to drizzle. Casseday and Mongold are looking strong.” kv

About 2 minutes after receiving this voice message, Kavara called again as the boys came into aid at mile 15. Casseday had an Ensure and Mongold had some maltodextrin. Kavara handed the phone to Mongold, “…we’re on fire.” jlb

“It is 5:37 a.m. After a short prayer by Adam, the boys are off. The drizzle has stopped and now they have breezy cool weather. ” kv

I had a break-up in the voice message. Not sure if there was more from Kavara. The message continued after a bit of static. jlb

“Send in some comments; the boys will appreciate it.” kv

“The time is 5:17 a.m. We are headed to the start of the Allegheny Trail Speed Record Attempt. The boys woke up at 4:00 a.m. and had a light breakfast. Adam had some coffee, but Bradley didn’t drink any. I’ve been told multiple times that, “coffee is for wimps”. It’s probably a good thing he didn’t have any because it would have exacerbated his hypermania. The weather is cool with a light breeze and a bit of drizzle. The boys are fired-up and ready to roll.” kv

Mongold spent today relaxing with bow in hand and organizing shoes. The boys will begin running around 6:00 a.m. on Thursday.

Mongold's ATSRA Shoe Selection

Pre-run target practice

Not a bad group for 65 yards

yo Mountain People here ya update, last you’ll hear from me in a loooong time…

right now we’re headed west on I-68 to meet up with Adam and Kadra at the Hazelton Microtel.
Casseday is chillin’ at the grandparents’ house this afternoon.

the rig is gassed up, i even swept out the back this morning — couldn’t get the tailgate back on so i had to file on it a bit. hopefully she’ll run for longer than we can.

Grumpy Wayne has been administered last minute cat-handling instructions.

Frances is fired-up. she and Grumpy Wayne did a pre-run of the Day 1 crew stops 3 days ago and she’s noting some “issues”. she just asked me for the 67th time if i want to again review the last 21 miles of Day 1. i’m predicting that her preparedness will save our butts more than once on this jaunt.

one more thing. before we even start, i want to give a big thanks to the man behind the computer — J.L. “Buckshot” Brown. he’s too modest to introduce himself, but if it weren’t for him these Live Updates could not occur. you’ll see that he runs a computer just like he shoots deer — take cover Beasts and Peoples.

bring on the comments! the crew will pass them along to us to buoey our spirits in the dark times we’ll surely face. thanks again to everyone who’s called and e-mailed the good voodoo — we will make you proud.

Until Peters Mountain,
Mongold