Park2Park Relay

Last year, the movers and shakers in my county concocted an event as a fundraiser for the Park District.  It was called the Park2Park Relay race and consisted of a 60-mile race course to-and-from various parks in the county.  As a relay, teams of 4-6 were set up.  There were 17 exchange locations set up along the way.  The race started in Plainfield and ended at McCloud Park in western Hendricks County.  Apparently there were some six marathon runners (called "ultra runners") who entered in order to take the whole course alone.  (Sixty miles???)  This year was Year Two for the event. 

Since this is a big deal, the Sheriff's Department, Emergency Management, the Hendricks County Hospital, etc., are all involved.  In order to expedite communications, amateur radio operators were used all along the route--as roving vehicles, tail escorts, checkpoint communicators--and all of this is coordinated by a net control operator.  I was asked to serve as a net control in the last shift of the day.  By the way--it was hot.

I didn't work this event last year because I was in California, so I felt somewhat ill-prepared to operate, but the guys in charge--W9RXR and N9FEB--had everything down to a fine science.  I enjoyed working with those fellows.  (Always do.)  If the opportunity arises next year, I will be happy to serve.

In spite of the heat, there was only one call for paramedics during the whole race.  Several runners chose to quit before they fell flat.  At one point, one of the Ultra Runners was the last one on the course, and based on the APRS "pings" coming from the tail vehicle that was following him, he was walking.  Shortly thereafter, we got a report that he had been picked up, meaning that he had given up.  No doubt!

While all of this was going on, I was sitting in an air-conditioned communications vehicle.  It wasn't the Ritz, but it was all I could have done.  Life goes on!