2018 Grindstone 100 - Is there anybody out there?
"Is there anybody out there?" Pink Floyd, The Wall Roger Waters asks but his haunting, echoing voice gets no response. The song's intro is particularly appropriate for Grindstone, one of the few 100 mile races that start at 6pm instead of a more traditional early morning start. "Well, only got an hour of daylight left. Better get started" "Isn't it unsafe to travel at night?" It was Saturday night and I was alone in rural Virginia at the top of Elliott Knob , the last major climb of the Grindstone 100. I had been steadily moving forward for 30 hours since the race started 88 miles ago. I had been awake for 42 hours since I woke up in Boston on Friday morning. Like all the climbs of Grindstone, going up Elliott Knob was long, hard, exhilarating, and rewarding. Ascending 1,500 feet in 2.5 miles is no joke, especially at the close of a race that has 22,000 feet of going up and an equal amount of going down. Maybe the race o