FlatRock 50K (less the flat part)

After being talked into running the 50K @ FlatRock by K1 (aka Trail Zombie), I can say that it was Awesome. TZ looks relaxed before the 50K as he visits with Tom who is running the 25K. Brian on the other hand, was working on his video skills.

The weather was perfect, a bit cool at the start & with about 1 1/2" of rain the night before, we had a bit of a foggy send off.

Once our illustrious race director Eric Steele gave us the count down, we headed down a brief bit of asphalt & then off onto the trail .

Once off the beaten path, the fun began (some people have a weird definition of "fun").

It was not long before the adventure began as the "rock" of FlatRock was there right from the start. Sometimes even a bit of a tight fit.

Some of the places seemed a bit dark & spooky (Oooooo!).

None the less, we pressed onward & upward. Oh, I forgot to mention that the FlatRock course is ANYTHING BUT FLAT! Take a look at this profile -

Here one of the competitors navigates a tough section of the course.

After seeing how easy it was, the rest of the pack followed suit.

It seemed as though we were going up & up & up & up, but at the highest point on the course, we were rewarded with a breathtaking view of Elk City Lake.

Support along the course was second to none with lots of good eats (although I could have used my favorite - Oreo cookie with peanut butter topped with an M&M). Even without this, there was plenty as TZ heads out & Long Vu looks over the selection.

After a quick top off of our water & a bite to eat, TZ was back on the trail (maybe after a bit of bushwhacking, eh?)

Onward we pushed; through thick & thin, over hill & dale (who is Dale anyway & why would we want to go over him?)

With the rain the evening before, we were not let down as there was plenty of good ole' H2O along the course. Here Long Vu demonstrates how to cross without getting your feet wet.

Further on down the trail, I finally found an area that actually had flat rocks that were not at angles or standing up on their edge. It was nice of the race team to move some of these rocks out of our way (NOT!)

I definitely did my share of "clearing the trail" for my fellow runners as I kicked & stumbled over many a rock as I trudged on.

I will give tremendous Kudos to Eric & his team as the course was plenty challenging, plenty interesting with plenty of twists, turns, rocks, ups, downs, rocks, steep climbs, steep descents, rocks & some rock (Hmmm, I am getting the point of the name - FlatRock!).

Although I will not likely make the Hall of Pain any time soon, I will definitely be back next year & thereafter.

I am definitely ready for Heartland 100 now!

As always, live your life for God & Know No Boundaries!

God Bless You;

K2

Back from the desert

Well I just MAY have found a "boundary" that I could not overcome. It was a technical boundary that I ran across while working in the Egyptian desert for 30 days. I had taken photos of my running endeavours but soon realized that a satellite Internet connection through Germany was NOT going to allow me to upload photos in my life time. Well now that I am back, I thought I would share a bit.

Heading off from the "camp", it was nothing really spectacular, just a graded dirt road.

After a while, it came to a 'Y' in the road so I headed off to the left. Still nothing too exciting, eh?

Further down the road, I began to run into your typical oilfield stuff (pumping units, storage tanks, etc.).

It was from here on out, that the trail began to get fun!

Lots of rolling hills, rocks, sand, sand, rocks & rolling hills.

It was the ankle twisting kind of rocks (not those little pebble rocks).

It was an absolute blast running here (& also a lot of work considering there was about a 15 mile/hour wind in my face in the way back.

As I ran, I definitely took in the scenery. Although it is deserted (duh, it is a desert), there were some signs of life.

I will say though, that I am very glad to be back home. Now I am preparing for Hearland 100.

YEAH BABY!

(Sorry, I just had to day that.)

As I alwsys say, Know No Boundaries.

God Bless You;

K2

My First Run in Issaran Field, Egypt

Well, here I am; in the desert in Egypt; miles from anything. I am here for (4) weeks to work so I thought I ought to find a place to run. I mean, I cannot use my situation as an obstacle now can I?

I found a 1.5 mile loop around the camp (Woooo!). Not too scenic, but will have to do.

It is a graded dirt road around the camp where I will be staying for four (4) weeks; BLAH!

Oh well, at least I can run. Here I am rounding the corner behind the camp.

Hmmmmm - - - I may have found a "boundary" that is difficult to break; the patience boundary. Here in the field it is like watching paint dry or grass grow in order to upload photos here. I will end for now & will ammend it later with more.

Good night for now & God Bless You.

K

Words of Wisdom from the Oracle of Omaha

I was surfing the web last night & when I checked my TWITTER account, there on the list of those I follow was a great it of wisdom from the Oracle of Omaha himself - Warren Buffet.

"Chains of habit are so light that we cannot feel them until they are so strong that we cannot break them".

Think about this for a while.

God Bless You;
K

WE ARE OFFICIAL

Just a quick note to let everyone know that Know No Boundaries is now officially recognized by the IRS as a 501 (c)(3) non profit foundation.

After a year an a half of hard work, prayers & God's help, we are finally official.

Stay tuned for updates on how the foundation begins to grow & what events we will have to raise funds.

God Bless You & in life, "Know No Boundaries"

Ken Saveth
Managing Director

50 Miles for 50 Years

Sorry for the delay, but I have been out of the country; in Egypt. 50 years brings up images of some person who is half a century old & limited in their physical & mental abilities. As I constantly mention, most all boundaries are self set so by default, we limit our abilities in practically every way, financial, mental, emotional & physical. For my 50th birthday, I wanted to run 50 miles. It was well planned out & many friends participated in various capacities. K1 (aka Trail Zombie) & I had planned to start from his house near Turkey Mountain at 7 PM on July 10th, head down 71st Street across the Arkansas River to Riverside Drive. We would then head south & then @ 91st & Riverside, turn east & run out to Northeastern State University. Unfortunately it was still plenty warm & in the 90's. Kathy, Roman, Russel, Bobby & Marvin met us @ 96th & Riverside while Lenice started out with us from the start & Craig joined in @ 71st Street.

Heading east along the Creek Turnpike Trail, we began to spread out a bit. K1 & I was constantly aware of our pace. K1's wonderful wife Dana was our crew & was sure to keep us hydrated & fed.

As the sun went down, the temperature dropped a bit but not as much as I had hoped. It stayed really warm (actually hot) for most of the night. Although Dana had us well taken care of, passing the restaurant signs brought on pangs of hunger.. K1 was constantly on the telephone as friends were checking on us most of the night to see where we were & to join in when they could.

The shirts that I had made for my birthday run were great as the logos really stood out. Many thanks to Julie Rock @ Rock Custom Wear.

While K1 & I were still on our outward journey, Craig & Marvin were already on their way back with about 5-6 miles left for them to have completed as full marathon.

By midnight, Dana about had it & headed home after running a few friends back to their cars. She did think of us though as she left ice chests for us to find on our way back. At this point, they were like pots of gold.

Now a sane person would have long said that "they couldn't do this", but I am here to say to you that with proper preparation, anyone can do this. You CAN erase those mental & physically boundaries that you may have set years ago.

As the sun rose, we got to 71st & Riverside where the construction is & low & behold, there was "a boundary". And seeing as we "know no boundaries", we opted to check out the new trail.

Just before we made it here though, we were hit with two shocking signs -

I can promise you that we had NO INTENTION of turning around & if we went any slower, we would be going backwards!

At 31st & Riverside, Dana brought us a frozen cappuccino. It tasted heavenly but after about 5 minutes, I realized it was a mistake. I had not trained with it.

We finished up at 10 AM Saturday morning with smiles on our faces and only a single blister.

At the end of it all, I can say THANK YOU to K1, Dana & all of my friends who made my 50th birthday run unforgetable.

And as I always say, Know No Boundaries.

Barkley Book Fair - Night Race

Well the 4th Annual Barkley Book Fair Race is behind me. It was my first Barkley Book Fair race & will be the first of many more. I believe it is taken from the Barkley 100 Mile Endurance Run.

Brian is here doing his pre-race stretches on the generator.

The race started @ 9:30 PM (in the dark) at Turkey Mountain on the trails. So what boundaries are we breaking out of here? Well, night time trail running can be a bit daunting as there are rocks, roots, limbs, climbing, sliding & other exciting things all of which you cannot see until you are there. It is sort of like faith in GOD; you have got to step out in faith without that solid knowledge or sight of what will be there only that things will be okay. Night time trail running is like that, You have got to trust your instincts & be able to react quickly.

The motley crew gathered for our instructions from our race director K1 - Trail Zombie (that's him in the middle).

We were given our instructions & our map. Along the trail, we were to find (12) books the titles of which we soon found were very appropriate. We were to tear pages from the books corresponding to the last (2) numbers of our race number.

For me it was #36.

After this, we were pointed in the right direction sent off into the darkness.

Desiree is here finding her way in the dark (Duh! Were all in the dark all night!) We were soon running along the tracks heading North. I was all ears to be sure that I did not see any train lights coming.

We soon came across our first book (good thing for those darn paper plates giving us directions heading off into the bush - no wonder I was itching all the next day.)

We were soon back on the paved trail but not for long. We were back on the trails. We seemed to be gaining elevation. Up, up, up (& up more) we went. Good thing we could not see what was ahead of us.

We seemed to wander for hours (not really, it seemed like it though) when we came to an old wooden ladder. Once again, it was Up We Go only to find ourselves on top of a rock. From here, it was a rope to the next level. Oh, did I mention that I have a fear of heights? We had the option of going back down & taking the long way around but I felt that it was a good time to face my fears. I mean, what is the worst that could happen - I could slip & fall & break things. Fortunately the fear boundary was broken & up I went (sorry, no pictures here as I was holding on with both hands for dear life & the camera was stashed away).

We continued on trail taking turns leading & running when we could & stopped when we needed to to check our map as Russell is here.

TZ had promised us a surprise near the end but we had no idea what to expect. The map showed a partial loop but it was not until we had passed the same pile of broken glass for the THIRD TIME that we knew we were running in circles. Not only that, but the Book #13 was odd since we were only suppose to have 12 books.

And finally, we had gathered all of the book pages.

Way to go K1. Can't wait until next year.

K2