Several OTHTC members and other Ridgecrest area runners showed up at Tuttle Creek campground Sunday morning for the start of the Wild, Wild West Marathon or the wimpier 10-mile version.  I rode up with Barb, Rick, and Mitch.  Unfortunately, we had one DNS (did not start!).  Mitch had checked his sprained ankle for swelling when he got out of bed, but during the ride up, it had expanded so that his ankle bone appeared to be projecting sharply out over his Teva strap.  We all agreed with him that it would be smart to avoid running on that day.

The temperature at the 7 a.m. start was pleasantly cool.  Rick was psyched to be finished with his calculus homework for the semester and so was ready to run the marathon.  Barb had been running strongly on the hills and wanted to test out her training on the 10-mile course in preparation for running Bishop in a couple of weeks.  I just wanted to survive the first big uphill and then see if I could make it to the finish of the 10-miler not too much slower than the last time I ran here.  The first challenge was to pick the right position at the start line because passing someone can be difficult on the narrow dirt road.  This time, I got too far up toward the front, and I was the one being passed.  Very shortly, all of the people I knew were out of sight.  One thing about being slow on the uphill is it gives you more potential for passing people later on.  As I emerged from the stream crossing up onto the road at the start of the long downhill part, I was already recovering and ready to take some (as Eric would say) scalps!  I managed to catch Barb near the end of the downhill, and we ran together for awhile.  Feeling better, I drifted ahead and then held on up the final hill with Barb finishing not far behind.  Randy followed about 5 minutes later.

In the marathon, Rick and Eric had a spirited competition with Eric chasing closely on Rick’s heels.  In the end, good sense prevailed, and they decided to finish together.  Other area runners completing the marathon were Clif Hunt, Dave Harvey (from Lake Isabella and a long-time participant in OTHTC events), Carol Wolfe, and Deb Brown (?).

We collected some loot at the awards ceremony in the park after the run.  Barb got first in the 40-49F age group.  (Way to go!)  And I came in second in the 50-59F division.

And Cliff Hunt, a young man I work with, is becoming a presence to be reckoned with.  Watch your back, guys!  The WWW was his second marathon, which he finished in the highly respectable time of 5:23.