11. Lake Placid – 12 June 2011

Lake Placid – Winter Olympics, lake monsters

Many race organisers like folks to get there a day before a race. Lots of them hold expos, and its a good way to raise money for local economies. And sometimes, it can be a pain in the arse to get to a race. I had many logistical challenges running The Fifty, and New York was one.

I had to fly — no other way to get there in time. I was working in Bentonville for IBM, and our customer was Walmart. I had customer meetings in the week leading up to New York, so I booked a flight — from Northwest Arkansas Airport (XNA), via Detroit (DTW) then into Westchester/White Plains Airport (HLN). Plan was to arrive on the day before the race in White Plains, and  from there, a couple of hours in the car and I would arrive in plenty of time to pick up the packet.

Nope. Plane arrived in Detroit on time. Next flight plane crew did not. So no flight until the following day, and it was not possible to arrive until after the race had finished! And no other flights to get. So, I got a car – and on the way to pick it up, the lady bus driver for the rental car bus commented on my nice legs (I was wearing shorts) — I’ve never heard that before!.

I drove the 17 hours from Detroit to Lake Placid straight through (a couple of hours sleep in a rest stop in the Adirondacks), arriving about an hour before the packet pickup cutoff.

The start was a bit cold and crisp, a bit of light rain at the start, but it cleared up before 4 mile mark. Very pretty run, lots of views of the Lake, many hills — but also down hills!

I had to drive back to New York to get my return flight  (one way car rentals are not good for the wallet). On the way back, I stopped in Albany to see the “ghost bike” on the spot where my friend Diva was run down and killed while riding her bicycle. You might see one of these on your travels — it is an old bicycle , painted white, and is usually found chained to a pole near the spot where someone has been killed in an accident.