For all the unpleasantness and disappointment I took away from the state of Tennessee last month, I experienced an equal or greater amount of kindness and support along my (shorter than planned) journey. This kindness is one of the things that people rave about for the Volstate 500k. The local residents and families who exhibit this kindness are often referred to as "road angels" and they are held in very high regard among those familiar with the 500 kilometer race. These roa

I lay here, on the side of State Highway 22 somewhere between Huntingdon and Clarksburg, TN in a little dead end driveway along a fenced in animal pen around 1am, not even 24 hours into the famed Last Annual Vol State 500k Road Race. I type in the phone number for Jan, the driver of the "meat wagon" to signal my intent to quit the race. Then I deleted the numbers from my screen and closed my eyes. A few minutes later, as I lay here, on the hard/rocky drive I hear a noise behi

This is something I've asked myself many times in the past few months before and after registering for the race and something I've been asked at least as many times by other inquiring minds. It seems like a simple enough question on the surface, but the honest answer goes deeper than that. First, what is the Vol-State 500k? From the race website: "The Vol-State is not just another ultra-marathon. It is much more than that. The Vol-State is a journey, an adventure, and an expl