laz's account of al prawda's 48-hour

been thinking about al prawda's sleep-free 48 hour at pensacola
(where i believe he went over 230miles)

the run was held on an indoor track at the naval base.
about 3am during the second night,
the gym was quiet & mostly dark,
as those who would log good performances
were enclosed in their own private hells,
walking & jogging around the track,
while all the crews, and runners who would not log good performances
were sleeping in tents around the infield.

al, who had been moving like a machine since the start,
called RD gary buffington over as he passed by the lap-count area.
when buff joined him, al nodded at the infield and cautioned;
"someone needs to get those kids off the playground equipment before one of them gets hurt!"
gary looked at the infield to see....
a bunch of tents.

that was the first indication that not every one of al's neurons was in optimum working order.

a few hours later, al came to the end of a straightaway,
failed to notice the track turning,
and kept going straight until he collided with the wall.

after that, the other competitors took turns following al,
to remind him when the track turned,
that he needed to turn as well.

buff would never direct another multi-day,
as he became convinced that such abuse could not possibly be healthy.

laz