Day 27 - Holden Beach to Shallotte
Total miles I remember: somewhere around 23.5
“Found on road”
I was seven hours in to an arduous, never-ending slog of 15 minute miles, and suspected I may be in trouble. I thought I’d been hydrating and cooling enough, but the 90+ degree heat had overtaken me. A rookie move for somebody with the number of miles I have behind me, but that’s the thing about dehydration and overheating. When you know it’s happening, usually it’s too late. I saw the sign for the Inlet Restaurant where we were to meet, but it said turn left 1000 feet down the road. I had a little mental breakdown and then the world went all gooey. Cheryl told me I croaked out her name on the walkie and that was it. She raced back from the parking lot and found me on my knees, hitting the ground. That is the last thing I remember before gaining some sense of consciousness in the car, with Matt and his friend looking extremely alarmed as she brought me back to lucidity.
This isn’t the first time she’s done that, nor even the second or third. In the course of my overzealous athletic career, Cheryl has saved me half a dozen times from a potential hospital visit. And then she’s brought me to the hospital when necessary. She has treated her “oldest child” from heatstroke, dehydration, exhaustion, hornet stings, sprained lambs, and other maladies. In the alternate universe where we never met, I’m already dead from my own recklessness. Or at least very lonely.
So on the eve of our 25th anniversary, forgive me for getting sentimental, but I will say this...that woman is my rock, life without her is unimaginable, she is the buttery slice of bread in our family sandwich, the Salt to my Peppa. This event wouldn’t be possible without her own efforts and sacrifices, please all remember that.
I’ll try to post again about earlier in this day, there were things to be seen and people to describe, after all.
If not, then I will leave you with this one short story. On Holden Beach while I was on the outbound section, a woman stopped and asked us what we where doing, in a friendly manner. We had only begun to describe the event and the mission of champion autism network, when she whipped out a $20 bill and said “here take this please”. It is amazing, the impact that this event has on people. I hope we can carry that forward.
Godspeed,
R.
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