The Cremator

Grayson and I crewed Dad at his latest running venture a few weeks ago. Christmas Eve, he was drawn out of a lottery to run the Cremator 50 mile in Beaufort on July 7. This would be a bit different from his previous long distance runs in several ways...it was hot. It was on the road. And did I mention it was hot? Nonetheless, he was excited for this adventure and I was excited to crew him along the way. Given the opportunity to help or hang out and play, Grayson decided to join in on the fun. He loves crewing! So, after a hotel sleep, we all got up at 5 to head to the start line. 

 6am start gave the runners a little bit of time before the sun began beating down on them.

 When we met Chris at the 12 mile turn around, I knew the temp was rising and we needed to help him out somehow. Grayson and I made a quick run in Walmart along the course to see what we could find. I found a cooling towel that you can soak and put around your neck and I found a buff type neck wrap, which I was determined to make work. We ended up being able to stuff the buff full of ice and roll it in a way that it would stay in. After realizing the difference it made in keeping his body temp down, it was decided we would meet up half way between each check in and at the check in stations to refill the ice. With the temp in the high 90's the ice would be melted in 30 min or less. It kept us busy and we didn't mind at all, when we saw what a difference it made! I was so glad to find something that worked so quickly!

 I was particularly grateful his running buddy showed up to run out the finish with him. It's hard to know how things are going when you only get a minute or two every 6 miles to evaluate. So it was quite a relief to have someone tagging along with him. So here they are, Chris squared. 

 Grayson was the biggest helper! Last minute shopping, potty stops at gas stations, running back and forth across the road to deliver ice, coke and water. He did it all and did it all with happy heart! It was so fun to do this together and help Chris accomplish this goal. 

 THE FINISH! I don't think he's ever been so happy to see a finish line as this one. It was a long hot, really hot, long, hot day.

 It was a successful day for Chris. His grit and determination is always inspiring, along with witnessing that of the other runners. Their passion, their ability to keep going when it's hard and when everything says stop. That's good stuff. He's our hero and he makes us better every single day. We were grateful to be a small part of it!