Maniac Ed - Day 11 and Epilogue

Florida, the sunshine state. We were blessed with cool winds, little or no rain, shade, and periods that had overcast clouds. Running through Florida was effortless, even though we did start blending in with the crowd since runners abound in this state.





We ended up in West Palm Beach where we met up with Team DMSE at a park just outside of downtown (under 3 miles of the Marriott). A news van came and interviewed a couple of runners including Bill Gustafson (31+ miles run that last day), Rob Eubanks, and Amory Rowe. I guess the trek was the big news that night.

We had a run with the school kids for a few short blocks. The official ending ceremony then occurred at the center of town, where the kids got medals and we were entertained by the drum corps state champs (middle school). The mayor of West Palm Beach welcomed us to her city.

We had dinner at a pizza place, where celebration and "job well done" cheers went around. It was all happiness with a bit of melancholy mixed in--I guess sadness in closing this chapter of our collective lives.

I said bye to Hannah Berg and Amy Ernsberger at the Marriott--they are the best and both already carry the legacy of endurance racing for their generation. I felt honored to consider them my "peeps".

Left West Palm yesterday--kind of zoned out. But I did get to say bye to Bob Myette (ran 60 miles on his 60th birthday while on the trek). So much inspiration for the years to come.

To all my co-Trekkers, thank you for sharing your stories and time with me. I enjoyed my days in the trek, and would do it again in a heartbeat. It was so much fun seeing the microcosm of life as we shared the road and functioned as a small community within the past half-month. Thanks to Rob E. and Rob A. (Iron-bro) for their efforts in helping organize this event, and also for putting in the miles with us. Thanks to Bekkie, Joe, and Jim for organizing the operations of Team POL. Thanks to Bill Gustafson, Jim Werring, George Scholl, Hannah Berg, Amy Ernsberger, Bekkie Wright, and Joe Poliquin for the shared miles and comic relief on the road. Thanks to Hannah Bright, Tara McGovern DC, and Lily Feria for their mobile support. Thanks to Team DMSE for their companionship. Thanks to Ron Kramer for setting the path for Trek II and guiding us along the way. Thanks to Dave McGillivray for creating this phenomenon and his graciousness in hosting Trek II in Boston while the Boston Marathon was going on. And thanks to everyone who pitched in to make this event successful.

I have a few pictures to share, which I will post when I backtrack to the missing days.