My Trip to Eastern Europe - Part 2

The second day of my trip was going to be a tough day emotionally.  When I got up the morning we were headed to Auschwitz-Birkenau I felt a real sense of foreboding.  Even though I had read so much about the Holocaust, visited both the U.S. Holocaust Museum and Yad Vashem, I wasn’t sure if I could handle walking in the footsteps of so many of my ancestors.  I was sure that my emotions would take over my rationality.  I wrote these words when I got back to my hotel that evening.  But I am sure that they in no way truly represent the entirety of my feelings.  As I look back, I now know I’ll never find the right words to describe what Auschwitz is and what it represents to the world.

Before you read on, I want to make sure that anyone who reads these notes about my visit understand the basic layout of the camp.  The camp is actually broken up into three sections.  The first (Auschwitz I) was built by the Nazis, used as headquarters for the SS and for the first experiments and murders.  It is now a Museum. This camp held around 16,000 prisoners at a time.  The second and by far largest camp (Auschwitz II-Birkenau) is located about 2 miles away from Auschwitz I.  This camp is where millions of people were killed in the  gas chambers and from inhuman living conditions and their bodies cremated.  The camp held more than 90,000 prisoners at a time of which 68% were Jews.  While the numbers are not easily determined more than 1.5 million people (90% Jewish) were exterminated at Birkenau.  The third camp and one we would not visit was Monowitz (or Buna).  This camp was mainly a labor camp and is now completely destroyed.  The camp held around 12,000 prisoners, including Italian survivor Primo Levi who wrote the book Survival In Auschwitz (If This Is A Man) in 1947.

Tuesday October 9, 2018 – Krakow, Poland and Auschwitz-Birkenau

Our plan was to leave early in the morning for our bus ride out to Auschwitz.  I got up extra early to get in a training run.  Plus I figured I needed to get myself mentally prepared for the day.  I find that a run always clears my head allowing me to enter the day ready to handle anything that is brought my way.  I planned to run 3.1 miles along the Vistula River.  It was very dark and quiet.  I only saw a couple of people running and biking along the path.  It was mostly cloudy and a crisp 49 degrees.  I ran 3.1 miles exactly in 28:29 (9:12 pace).  After a short recovery walk, I headed into the hotel to get ready for the day’s journey.  I had no idea what I was going to see or feel as I got ready to meet the rest of the group.

We got onto the bus for the drive out to Auschwitz.  As we left the city limits, we were greeted by a clear sunny sky.  I thought to myself that we were about to visit a place where millions of people were exterminated and a sunny day seemed wrong.  As we approached the site, the sun disappeared and a fog started to thicken and the clouds came in.  It was a bit eerie.  The change in the weather was a bit foreboding.  We exited the bus and headed to the entrance where we had to go through a metal detector.  Auschwitz doesn’t allow private guides, so we met our guide Szymon who would lead us through the camp.

My first impressions of the camp were that it was full of brick barracks buildings which I did not expect. Every picture, movie and television show has the buildings depicted as wooden shacks.  It was a bit surreal.  As we started walking from the entrance I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.  With the exception of the electric fences the brick buildings and neat streets did not belie the fact that so many atrocities occurred at this place.  In fact, I thought that it actually looked a little like a nice small Polish town.  What is interesting is that except for the trees and grass that has since grown here, the

camp has been left almost untouched.  According to Szymon it is just like it looked when the Nazi left in January 1945.  Today most of the blocks have been turned into a Museum.

We learned that the original buildings were actually an old Polish army barracks that were repurposed.  During the camp’s construction, nearby factories were appropriated and all those living in the area were forcibly ejected from their homes, which were bulldozed by the Nazis.  Obviously this was to hide what was happening from the nearby residents.  Szymon explained that Auschwitz was originally to be used simply as a detention center for the many Polish citizens arrested after Germany annexed Poland in 1939.  The prisoners would initially include anti-Nazi activists, politicians, resistance members and people from the cultural and scientific communities of Poland.  However, when the Final Solution became the official Nazi policy, Auschwitz became the ideal death camp to carry out their heinous plan.  The reason was that Auschwitz was near the center of all German-occupied countries on the European continent.  Plus it was in close proximity to the rail lines used to transport the victims to the various concentration camps.  As we walked towards the most famous sign in the camp, I was struck by how peaceful and beautiful the surroundings were despite the knowledge of what happened there.

Total madness, right?  It was when I saw the infamous sign “ ARBEIT MACH FREIT” – Work will set you free that I finally knew where I was standing and a chill came over me.

The museum is a path where each block building number has been given a particular name to identify the horrors that took place during the Holocaust with pictures, signs and panels telling the story of what happened there.  Szymon would bring us into a building where we would see the museum displays.  Each building got progressively worse as we learned more about what happened here in graphic detail.  I noted that whenever Szymon spoke about the beginning of the camp he stressed that the original prisoners were Polish political prisoners some of whom were Jews.  I wondered whether or not that this was because of Poland’s Holocaust Law that states that it is illegal to accuse the Polish nation of complicity in the Holocaust.  Regardless, he still did not spare us any details about the atrocities.

I have visited both Yad Vashem and the US Holocaust Museum and seen the piles of shoes, suitcases, etc.  But this time I was seeing the detritus of these poor souls in the place where it happened.  These rooms were the hardest to visit.  I found myself staring in disbelief.  You notice the small shoes amongst the many piled there.  An overwhelming sense of loss and sadness welled up inside me.   I tried to imagine that child who’s life was taken too early for no reason at all.  But I couldn’t find him or her.  I realized that this is why we visit Auschwitz – to become a witness for the witnesses.

It took so much will on my part not to breakdown and simply sob as I continued to the room filled with the suitcases.   You see that each one has a name and a date on it.  There they were all piled together each silently telling a story of a family torn apart and lost to us.  Of course I couldn’t help but think about  the lies the Nazis told the prisoners as they arrived into the camp.  Standing there looking them in the eye and assuring them that they would get their belongings back after they had taken a shower.  I tried to understand how one human could do that another.  But sadly there is absolutely no human logic to it.

In my life I have read many books that had dramatic effects on me over the years.  This was because I could imagine and picture to a certain degree the feelings that the victims felt at the time.  But this time and at that place seeing the real evidence left me speechless.  So I gave into my emotions and let the tears fall.

The final blow that had pushed me over the edge was when I walked into the room filled with the hair of the victims.  Szymon told us that it represented 40,000 people in this one small room.  You could still see all of the different hair colors, course, thin, curly, straight, etc.  Standing there and seeing this was so hard.  Plus we had just been told that the Nazis had sold the hair to fabric manufacturers made me sick.  The hair was used to produce socks and carpets.  There are no words to describe the deep disgust, sadness and frankly hatred I was feeling at that moment.

We then had a chance to go into a new exhibition created in conjunction with Yad Vashem located in Block 27.  It says:

“Open your heart, visitor. And your mind. And your soul. As you walk through the exhibition "SHOAH" and are enveloped by the sights and sounds of the past, hear the voices of the victims, see the drawings of the children, touch the names of the murdered. Be this place's messenger. Take with you a message that only the dead can still give the living: that of remembrance.” - Elie Wiesel

It was an incredible exhibit.  The room that almost brought me to tears again was the children’s room where they had recreated drawings on the walls depicting what the children drew depicting what they saw around them.  The drawings were copied fragments of the originals drawn in a pencil, exactly as they were, onto the walls of the room dedicated to the children.  We all know that children will draw on whatever they can – even on the walls surrounding them.  According to the exhibit these drawings were drawn on a scale of 1:1.  As you walk around the room the drawings drawn at the height a child would have drawn encircle you creating a powerful message giving voice to the children who perished.  So moving.

We then had a chance to see some video of survivors telling their story before going to the final stop in a room that contained books hanging on a rack.  One of Yad Vashem's central missions is to collect the name of each and every individual victim.  According to Hillel, Yad Vashem has been collecting these names for over 60 years.  The result is that they have 4.2 million names of the 6 million Jews murdered so far.  The "Book of Names" shows the name, birth date, home town and place of death for each victim.  There are 58 volumes of 140 pages each with 500 names per page.  Here in one place you can see and read the immeasurable loss of the Jewish people and ultimately to humanity.

I thought I should take a moment and look at the book to see if there were any Frumkins there.  I found the book with the list of names beginning with “F”.  I figured there might be a couple of Frumkins listed.  So I wasn’t surprised to find the first names in the book on the bottom of the page.  What totally threw me for a loop was when I turned to the next page and it was filled top to bottom with Frumkins.  There they were 500 Frumkins all who were killed unmercifully by the Nazis.  I had no idea how many of these names were my direct descendants.  But I felt an enormous sense of permanent loss.   I had to sit down for a few minutes to try and process my feelings before we headed to the last stop on the tour.

The last stop was at the gas chamber/crematorium at Auschwitz I.  As I walked into the gas chamber I had the most uneasy feeling.  This huge gas chamber could contain a maximum of about 800 people.  When the gas chamber was filled with victims, the gas-tight door was closed and bolted, and the SS doctor on duty gave the order to insert the poison gas.   After 5-10 minutes death by suffocation usually occurred.  When I looked up, I could see the holes the Nazis had dropped the Zyklon B through to kill their victims.  It sent chills down my spine.  Through a door on the left we walked into the room with the reconstructed ovens.  The ceiling in the room was black from soot.  I simply couldn’t stay in the room for more than a few seconds.  I felt nervous, scared, mad and sad all at the same time.

We then headed out to the exit where we would meet our bus.   As I sit here just a few hours after leaving Auschwitz, I still can’t describe the alienating feelings and the overall numbness I am feeling.   I realize now that nothing could have prepared me for this experience.  While I will try to tell those who ask what it was like, I truly believe that no one can really understand what I was feeling as I left Auschwitz I.  I will tell them that the only way to truly understand is to experience it first hand and then they will understand how difficult it is explaining how it affects you.  I felt all the emotions as I walked through the camp.  I was numb, sad, detached, mad, frustrated, speechless all at the same time.  I kept coming back to the thought that I came here to pay my respects to the victims and to be aware of what human beings are capable of doing to each other.  And I couldn’t leave without remembering the words of George Santayana “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

We headed from Auschwitz I to Auschwitz II (Birkenau).  As the bus approached the site the sun finally came out.  As I said earlier, a bright sunny day felt wrong.  But at the same time, I thought it would not allow anything to hide in shadow.  The entire camp would be laid out before us and we would be able to see every detail.  We could see the size of the camp as we pulled into the parking lot.  My first reaction was that it was so much larger than I expected.  The other thing was that there is not much left standing.    As we got off the bus and looked towards the front of Birkenau, I finally actually felt cold inside.  It was a very strange feeling standing there in the bright sun and feeling cold.

Hillel suggested that we walk silently into the camp through the main gate before we even started discussing anything.  I cannot find the words to explain the great sense of loss and sadness I felt as I surveyed the area.  We were standing on the ground where so many of my fellow Jews got off of the transports and their fate was decided.  We, of course, know the end of their story.  Yet I cannot fathom what they were thinking as they descended the transport and were separated from their families many never to be together again.  It was a truly sobering experience standing there. 

When we reached the entrance gate, I realized immediately that wherever I looked, all I could see were countless identical barracks on the left and almost none on my right.  On the right it seemed to go on forever.  The site was massive.  I stood there in the middle of the rail lines surrounded by destroyed barracks where only the remaining chimneys could be seen and feeling completely alone despite the fact that there were people all around me.  No words or tears.  Just a deep sense of emptiness.

We left the entrance gate and started walking to the back of the camp.  There is a historic train car that has been placed at the ramp or unloading platform where beginning in the spring of 1944, Jews deported to Auschwitz by the Germans disembarked and underwent selection by SS doctors there.  They were ordered to form lines to prepare themselves for the selection process.  It was here that the Nazis selected which Jews would be sent straight to their deaths in the gas chambers and which Jews would remain alive - temporarily.  As we know, more than 80 percent of those who arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau were immediately murdered.  The majority of the remainder died as a result of overwork, mistreatment, disease or lack of food.  It was here that I felt the first sense of the souls of the victims.

As we walked on there was only empty spaces and the rails.  We finally stopped at a dead end on the far western end of the camp where the main crematoriums and gas chambers were built.  They of course were destroyed by the Nazis in an attempt to cover the evidence of their atrocities.  There between the ruins of the two largest gas chambers and crematoria (Krema II and Krema III) is the International Monument.  The Monument sits at the end of the railroad tracks which were built in April 1944 to bring the Jews to the western end of the Birkenau camp where they disembarked near the gas chambers making their deaths more efficient.  At this place those selected for immediate death were walked directly to the Krema II and Krema III gas chambers that were on either side of the tracks.  Those who were selected to work walked down the road behind the Monument to the Sauna where they took a real shower and were given their striped uniforms to wear.

The monument itself is quite large with a jumble of dark stones that to me looked like grave stones.  Hillel told us that they actually were meant to resemble the victims.  I couldn’t see it.  I walked along the front of the Monument and could see the row of granite slabs, each with a metal plate on top which has an inscription in a different language, including Yiddish, English, and every major language of Europe. I found the granite slab inscribed with English words on the far right of the Monument, as you face it.  The inscription reads:

Forever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity, where the Nazis murdered about one and a half million men, women and children mainly Jews from various countries of Europe.   AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU 1940-1945

We then went over to the gas chamber/Krema II which is left in the same condition the Nazis left it in when they were trying to destroy the evidence.  As we walked around the ruins, we came upon 4 stone markers that were placed in front of a pond.  Here is what is written on the stones in English, “To the memory of the men, women and children who fell to the Nazi genocide.  Here lie their ashes.  May they Rest In Peace.”  Hillel explained that this is known as the ash pit of Krema II.  The ash pit contains the ashes from the crematory ovens in Krema II.

There is no way to know how many Jews ashes were disposed of in this place.  I have still not processed my feelings from seeing this site.  I stood there looking at that pit, that silent land and thought that nothing made sense any more.  I knew what happened there but standing on the spot some 70 years later, I suddenly didn’t want to believe that it really happened.   Yet in this peaceful place there are no traces of the atrocities that occurred there.  

My Temple brethren and I held a memorial service at this place.  We lit 6 yahrzeit candles which each represented 1,000,000 of the 6,000,000 Jews who were killed in the Holocaust.  The first reading helped me to remember why I have wanted to visit this place for so long.  It was written by Elie Wiesel,

Memory
Remembering is a noble and necessary act.  The call of memory, the call to memory, reaches us from the very dawn of history.  No commandment figures so frequently, so insistently, in the Bible.  It is incumbent upon us to remember the good we have received, and the evil we have suffered…How are we to reconcile our supreme duty towards memory with the need to forget that is essential to life?  NO generation has had to confront this paradox with such urgency.  The survivors wanted to communicate everything to the living: the victim’s solitude and sorrow, the tears of mothers driven to madness, the prayers of the doomed beneath a fiery sky.

For us, forgetting was never an option.

I read to myself these words, “One hole in the net and you slipped through?  I couldn’t be more shocked or speechless.  Listen, how your heart pounds inside me.”  All I could think of was that but for the grace of God, go I.  I too, like these nameless victims, might have suffered a similar fate, but for God's mercy.  “May the memories of all who suffered at the hands of the Nazis be sanctified with joy and love.  May their souls be bound up in the bond of life, a living blessing in our midst.”  I feel blessed to have had a chance to say Kaddish for those who have no one left to say it for them. 

Our last stop was one of the last standing women’s barracks.  I went into the building not sure what to expect.  It had a dirt floor and bunks that were just wooden slats.  The barracks were spot clean except for the dirt floor.  As I stood there in the barracks I just couldn’t sense the evil nor the pain and suffering. Then it dawned on me the people who lived and died in here didn’t leave any trace of human feelings. They had been de-humanized so deeply that they simply couldn’t leave a trace of humanity behind.  I don’t know how any of them could have survived.  It left a lasting impression on me.

Before we left this spot, Hillel wanted to tell us a redeeming story of hope.  It is the story of Angela Polger whose mother Vera Bein arrived at Birkenau May 25, 1944 and was 2 months pregnant.  Somehow she was able to get through the selection process, survive the hard work and even being used as a guinea pig for sterilization experiments.  Somehow she gave birth to Angela on December 21.  Her fellow inmates helped Vera hide her baby and a little over 1 month later they were liberated by the Soviet Army.  Angela was even lucky enough to get official proof of her arrival in this world: a birth certificate that her adoptive father got for her before the family left Poland.  Prepared in 1945 in Oswiecim, the Polish name for Auschwitz, the certificate gave her name as "Angela Bein." The surname was that of her biological father, Tibor Bein, a lawyer, who died of maltreatment in the camp.   She even has a copy of her birth certificate, issued in 1989 by the Communist authorities in her hometown, Sarospatak, Hungary.  It was a really uplifting story to end a very emotional day.

We had lunch in the town next to Auschwitz – Oswiecim where there are no Jews left.  The last Jew to live in the town was Shimshon Krueger who died at 72 in 2000.   But there is an active synagogue there known as the Osweicim Synagogue.  It was built in 1918.  Next to it where we had lunch is a Jewish center, museum and cultural center dedicated to Jewish heritage and reconciliation. The center is located in Krueger’s home and opened in 2013.   This gave me hope that the Jews of Poland will never be forgotten.

After a little rest, we headed over to the Krakow JCC to have dinner with them.  It was nice to see that despite all of the tragedy and 90% of Polish Jewry being destroyed that there is still a spark of Yiddishkeit growing again in a place that Jews had lived for over 1,000 years before the war came to Poland.

Tomorrow we head to Warsaw for the next stop on our journey.

As I sit here almost a month since my visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau, I am still haunted by the  thoughts of the desolated railway line that brought the men, women and children to their end.  I still find it very hard to express in words what I felt at Auschwitz-Birkenau.  But the feelings are with me.  In time I will be able to find the words to be able to bear witness to the pain, the suffering, the hunger and the emptiness of the people who died there.  I wanted to visit this place to be able to feel a connection and to better understand.  I wanted to pay a tribute to my people who fought for their life every single day.  Upon reflection there is nothing that will ever allow me to truly understand how this could have happened at all. 

Auschwitz-Birkenau is definitely a tough place to visit whether you are Jewish or not.  But it’s critical that we do so to keep the memory alive.  We must visit to allow us learn from the past and to stay alert as similar things are still happening today.  Pittsburg was only a recent incident against the Jewish people.  Jews make up about 2 percent of the U.S. population.  But statistics say that Jewish Americans account for more than half of the hate crimes committed due to religious bias.  The Anti-Defamation League identified 1,986 anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. in 2017, up from 1,267 in 2016 along with a major increase in anti-Semitic online harassment.  Hatred of the other never goes away completely.  We must remain diligent in pointing out hateful words especially our President’s that are contributing to the rise of the anti-Semitic and intolerant sentiments in our country.

I believe that my visit happened at the perfect time in my life and where we are as Jews in our history.  It could happen again.  But if more people like me were to visit and learn about the past atrocities, about the escalation of hatred, about the culmination of persecution, then perhaps the rhetoric would change in our politics.  My hope is that the lessons taught by a visit to a place of such deep evil and hatred would help us better guard against repeating the mistakes of our past.  I know that for the rest of my life, I will never forget that day in Poland.

Am Yisrael Chai  עם ישראל חי (The People of Israel are alive!)

Oct 31 – 6.30 miles (53:37, 8:31 pace) – Speed Work

Nov 1 – 7.20 miles (1:06:13, 9:12 pace)

Nov 2 – 7.20 miles (1:03:16, 8:47 pace)  – Tempo Run

Nov 3 – 10.10 miles (1:35:55, 9:30 pace)

Total Miles:  30.8 miles

2018 Total Miles:  1,580.5 miles

My Trip to Eastern Europe - Part 1

Since I all I am doing for the next 2 months is basic training for the Dopey Challenge, I thought I would share my thoughts and experiences from my trip to Eastern Europe with my Temple group from October 6 – 17.  It was a very emotionally draining trip yet so fulfilling.  As I sit here a little over a week from my return I still am processing all of the sites, information and feelings I experience those 10 days.

Saturday/Sunday October 6-7, 2018

We were flying to Krakow, Poland on British Airways with a change of planes at Heathrow Airport in London.  Since I was flying internationally, I got to the airport a good 3 hours before my flight.  I simply wanted to make sure I could get my bagged checked and have plenty of time to get set before my flight.  I had not slept much hoping to be able to get a long night of sleep on the plane as we flew from Phoenix to London Heathrow. 

We boarded on time and finally were on our way.  I settled into my window seat and felt asleep almost immediately.  Surprisingly and despite my seat neighbors having no sense of personal space, I slept really good for almost 7 hours.  When I woke up the sun was up and we were over England.  After a pretty meager British Air breakfast we landed at Heathrow.

Heathrow is a very large airport.  I had never flown there.  To get to our terminal, we had a to take a bus.  We had to go through another security check before we could get something to eat and make our way to our gate.   Surprisingly the security screening was relatively easy.  Once through, we had another 3 hours to wait until we would board our plane to Krakow.  They don’t tell you your gate until 1 hour before your supposed to leave.  So I went and had a light lunch snack at Wagamama with Karen and Gary Goldberg. 

The terminal we were in was like a giant mall with airport gates scattered about. They had some of the highest end retailers I have ever seen in an airport.  Finally after a lot of wandering around and waiting they finally posted our gate and we all headed over to wait to board our flight.  We boarded our plane to Krakow on time. Unfortunately, we got delayed due to some issues with the luggage.  We ended up taking off about a ½ late.

We finally got to Krakow airport at 9:00 p.m. on Sunday night.  We got off the plane and went through the passport line in only about 10 minutes. I couldn’t believe how easy it was.  By the time we walked over to the carousel my bag was coming off.  Phoenix Skyharbor airport cannot get our bags off that fast.  Despite feeling tired from the trip, I was really excited to finally be in Poland.  I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep much that first night.

We met our guide and got on the bus for a short 25 minute drive from the airport to the center of the City.  Our Polish guide Tomasz Klimek gave us a brief overview of the history of Krakow as we travelled to the hotel.  First he told us that Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596.  He let us know that Krakow was not destroyed during WWII and in fact only a few buildings were harmed.  The reason it was spared was because the Nazis decided that Krakow was an urdeustche Stadt (Ancient German City).  Also Krakow had surrendered without a fight, twice in fact (1939 to the Nazis and 1945 to the Red Army).  In 1978, the area of Krakow where we would be staying was designated as one of UNESCO’s first ever sites for its new World Heritage List, including the entire Old Town including Krakow's Historic Centre.  As he concluded, he said that while Warsaw is the capital of Poland, Krakow is it’s heart and soul.

After checking into our hotel (Sheraton Grand), most of us went down to the hotel’s sports bar.  I was surprised to see the Vikings/Eagles game on the TV.  I grabbed a Żywiec beer and ordered some fish & chips and settled in to watch the 1st half of the game.  After we ate, we all headed back to our rooms to get some rest.  I think the beer helped me get to sleep.  I ended up getting a good night of rest.

Monday October 8, 2018 – Krakow, Poland

What a first day!  It was both historic and interesting to learn of the 1,000 years of Jewish History here in Krakow.  Our guide Hillel Meyer told us we would be taking a journey over the next few days.  This would not just be a trip or vacation.  We would all be travelling our own journey of exploration and feeling - he was not wrong.  The journey started after breakfast at the hotel in the Kazimierz Jewish Quarter of Krakow.  A large portion of the Jewish population of Krakow moved to this district at the end of the fifteenth century and it served as the main cultural center of the Polish Jewry up until September 1939.  At the time of the war Jews made up 25% of the population of Krakow or about 60,000 Jews.

Our tour started at the Altschul or Old Synagogue which is the oldest synagogue in all of Poland.  It was built sometime in the 1400’s.  There is not good source to be able to be exact on the dates.  But the origin of the building as it stands today was built around 1570.  During WWII, the Germans used it as a storage building or magazine.   After the war it wasn’t used as a place of worship.  Today it used to teach the life cycle of the Jewish People.  As a fan of American History, it was interesting to learn that Tadeusz Kosciuszko spoke from the Bima of this shul to gain support for Polish Independence from the Jews in 1794.  He, of course, is known in the United States as one of the key people who helped he Americans win independence from the British by helping with tactics and reinforcement of fortifications along the East Coast including West Point.

As our day progressed I would find that although there were many positive stories about the Jews and Poles getting along, there would always be a dark story associated with the place starting in 1939.  As the guides were telling us about the history of the synagogue, I noticed a stone cube with the word “Hitlerowcy” engraved on it.  When they finished, I asked what the cube represented.  Tomasz told us that it was a monument to 30 Polish hostages executed by the Nazis in 1943 against the wall of the synagogue for helping Jews.  The names of the 30 victims are listed on the monument.  It was the first of many sad realizations that despite the long history of harmony between the Jews and the Poles, their story would take a turn for the worst after the Nazis arrived.

We then walked over to the Rema Synagogue of Rabbi Moses Isserles (the “Rema”) who was teaching at this synagogue in the 1550’s.  Isserles is a renowned Talmudic and legal scholar.  He was also know as a famous Kabbalist, and studied history, astronomy and philosophy.  He taught that “the aim of man is to search for the cause and the meaning of things”. He also held that "it is permissible to now and then study secular wisdom, provided that this excludes works of heresy... and that one [first] knows what is permissible and forbidden, and the rules and the mitzvot".  The synagogue had been recently renovated as was beautiful.

The Rema’s grave is the most visited tombstone in the cemetery.  It was one of the few graves that survived the Holocaust unscathed.  On his tombstone is in scripted the words. “From Moses to Moses, there was none like Moses.”  This was meant to show the lineage from Moses to Moses Maimonides to the Rema who was heavily influenced by Maimonides.  Jews visit his grave because they believe that they can be spiritually guided and protected from the Rema. 

As I said, there is always a dark side.  When we had finished visiting the Rema’s grave, we started to walk through the cemetery.  As we proceeded, Tomasz told us that at one time during early pogroms the community tipped the gravestones on their side and covered them with soil.  This would allow them to protect those graves from being looted and disrupted.  This was somehow forgotten when the pogroms had stopped.  Later on the community placed other graves on top not realizing that they were covering 16th century Jewish grave sites.

During WWII the Nazis demolished the cemetery carrying off the tombstones that were there to be used as pavers and or sold off.  They then used the cemetery as a dump.  After the war, when it was finally being tidied up and inventoried, the workers realized a huge portion of the cemetery was empty, without any traces of the removed graves.  To figure out why an excavation was carried out, which led a unbelievable discovery - around 700 gravestones were found dating back to a period between the second half of the 16th century and the first half of the 19th century, covered by a thick layer of dirt.  They decided to put the old cemetery back into its previous state.  As the work progressed, they decided to leave a portion of it as it was so that we can see both levels of the lives of the Jews of Krakow through the centuries.

Before leaving, we visited the grave of Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller.  Heller was was a Bohemian rabbi and Talmudist, best known for writing a commentary on the Mishnah called the Tosefet Yom-Tov (1614–1617). Heller was one of the major Talmudic scholars in Prague and in Poland during the "Golden Age" before 1648. 

As we started to walk towards our last stop, we passed a monument erected to the memory and legacy of Jan Karski - a member of the Polish underground army, known to the history books as the "man who tried to stop the Holocaust." During World War II, Karski smuggled himself into the Warsaw Ghetto and Nazi concentration camps with the express intent of witnessing and recording the horror being perpetrated against the Jews.  His goal was to report it to the West in hopes of getting them to intervene.  In 1942 he went to London to meet with the London-based Polish government-in-exile, as well as the Allied leaders, including UK Foreign Secretary Antony Eden and US President Franklin Roosevelt.  Sadly everyone ignored him.  Karski lived until 2000.  He always wondered to the end of his life could if he could have done anything more to have stopped the Holocaust.  In my view, he put himself in harm’s way and tried to stop it.  Unfortunately the world didn’t care enough to listen.  What more could he have done.

Our next stop was at the Kupa Synagogue which was opened in the 17th century thanks to donations from the local community.  It was known as the Poor People's Synagogue, as poorer members of the community worshipped there.  This synagogue has some extraordinary artwork and paintings.  The ceiling of the synagogue has many intricate designs and paintings.  They include images of musical instruments as well as paintings of Jerusalem and the Great Flood (Northern side), Jaffa and the Wailing Wall (Eastern Side), Tiberius and the Mamre Oak (Southern Side) and the towns of Hebron and Haifa (Western side).  What was interesting is the depiction of these places since the artist never actually visited Jerusalem.  The balconies of the women's galleries that surround the ground floor also have signs of the Zodiac and their Hebrew names painted on them.

During the Nazi occupation the synagogue was severely damaged and its furnishings destroyed.  Although some prayer services took place after the war these soon stopped.  Even though the synagogue was used for other purposes, it neglected for years.  A thorough restoration took place in 2000-2001 which not only restored the paintings of the synagogue but also uncovered some of the synagogues older features such as murals on the walls.  The murals we actually the prayers the worshipers would recite during services.  It was a fascinating look into how Jews worshiped in the 17th Century.

Our last stop before lunch was at the Temple which is the first Modern Orthodox synagogue in post war Krakow.  The building now houses a new Jewish place of worship and the JCC.  The building was originally built back in the 1860s.  It was ruined during WWII by the Nazis when they used it for an ammunition storage facility.  It is now not only a major place of worship, but also a booming center of Jewish culture, which hosts numerous concerts and meetings, especially during the Jewish Cultural Festival held every year.  The amazing thing is how there is no security.  Anyone can come in an join in any of the events.  We don’t even have that luxury here in Scottsdale.

I decided to grab lunch in the market square which was the old kosher slaughterhouse.  I grabbed a zapiekanka.  It was an open-face sandwich made up of half of a toasted baguette covered with mushrooms, chicken, cheese, green onions and tomatoes.  It was delicious.  I love trying new things and especially something that is totally local. 

When I finished the Rabbi and I decided to walk around the area.  We stopped into the Izaak Synagogue, formally known as the Isaak Jakubowicz Synagogue.  It was built around 1644.  Today it is a Chabad place of worship.  The synagogue was named for its donor, Izaak Jakubowicz who was also known as Isaac the Rich, a banker to King Władysław IV.   On December 5,  1939, the Gestapo came to the Kraków Judenrat building and ordered, Maximilian Redlich, the Jewish official on duty that day to burn the scrolls of the Torah from the synagogue. When Redlich refused he was immediately executed.  The Nazis then destroyed the interior and left it.  It was used for various things until the fall of Communism when it was finally renovated and returned to an active ultra-orthodox shul.

We then met up with the rest of the group to get on the bus to head over to the Oscar Schindler Factory Museum.  It is housed in the former administration building of Schindler’s enamel factory.  Besides having a chance to see Schindler’s desk, the museum was an amazing place overall.  As you travel the floors of the building the displays tell the story of the City of Krakow from prior to the invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 through the Nazi occupation and what happened to the Jews of Krakow.  It was a very moving experience as I could feel the ghosts around us.

We left the museum to walk over to the Jewish Ghetto of Podgorze which we had learned about in the museum.  We crossed the street and walked into a large open square which had 33 chairs made of iron and bronze.  Tomasz then explained that we were standing in the center of the old Krakow Ghetto. The main gate to the ghetto once stood where the present entrance to the square is, coming up from the Wisla river. In March 1941 the Germans locked up all the Krakow Jews inside the recently-built ghetto. There were over 20,000 people living within the ghetto walls, where previously only 3,000 people had lived.  This spot was where the end of the story of the 65,000 Jews of Krakow would begin as they were gathered up and shipped off to the camps.  The square was originally known as the Krakow Umchagplaz and now is known as Ghetto Heroes Square.

Hillel had a yahrzeit candle with him.  So we gathered around one of the chairs and Rabbi Schneider lit the candle.  After a moment of reflection, the group put their arms around each other and we sang,

Oseh shalom bimromav (He who makes peace in His high places)

Hu ya'aseh shalom aleinu (May He make peace for us)

V'al kol Yisrael (And for all Israel)

V'imru, v'imru amen. (Let us say, Amen.)

Ya'aseh shalom, ya'aseh shalom (May he make peace, may he make peace)

Shalom aleinu v'al kol Yisrael (Peace for us and for all Israel)

Ya'aseh shalom, ya'aseh shalom (May he make peace, may he make peace)

Shalom aleinu v'al kol Yisrael.  (Peace for us and for all Israel.)

We wrapped up the day at the Galicia Museum. There we had a chance to look at the photo exhibition documenting the remnants of Jewish culture and life in Polish Galicia, which used to be a very vibrant part of the area.  It was a good way to wrap up a day filled with so much history and deep feelings. 

After a rest in the hotel, we headed to dinner at the Hawelka restaurant in Krakow’s historic Market Square.  The square dates back to the 13th century and is one of the largest medieval town squares in Europe.  It was so beautiful lit up at night.  Our dinner was fantastic.  After dinner I walked back to the hotel with Rabbi Schneider back through the square.   What a nice way to end a long day.

Oct 1 – 3.10 miles (30:00, 9:40 pace)
Oct 2 – 5.30 miles (45:39, 8:47 pace) – Speed Work
Oct 3 – 6.20 miles (58:24, 9:25 pace)
Oct 4 – 6.20 miles (55:26, 8:56 pace) – Tempo Run
Oct 5 – 5.10 miles (47:01, 9:13 pace)
Oct 6 – 15.10 miles (2:25:47, 9:39 pace)
Oct 9 – 3.10 miles (28:29, 9:12 pace) – Krakow, Poland
Oct 10 – 6.10 miles (56:00, 9:11 pace) – Krakow, Poland
Oct 11 – 4.10 miles (35:34, 8:40 pace) – Tempo Run, Warsaw, Poland
Oct 13 – 8.10 miles (1:12:39, 8:58 pace) – Berlin, Germany
Oct 15 – 3.20 miles (27:35, 8:37 pace) – Berlin, Germany
Oct 16 – 6.10 miles (59:33, 9:46 pace) – Prague, Czech Republic
Oct 19 – 7.60 miles (1:08:11, 8:58 pace)
Oct 20 – 9.10 miles (1:27:04, 9:34 pace)
Oct 22 – 6.20 miles (52:49, 8:31 pace) – Speed Work
Oct 24 – 5.10 miles (42:06, 8:15 pace) – Tempo Run
Oct 25 – 7.20 miles (1:05:59, 9:10 pace)
Oct 26 – 6.20 miles (57:36, 9:17 pace)
Oct 27 – 16.10 miles (2:33:36, 9:33 pace)

Total Miles:  129.2 miles
2018 Total Miles:  1,549.7 miles

2018 Blue Ridge Relay - Not for the Faint of Heart

I have not had the time to sit down a write my race report from the Password Penguins running of the 2018 Blue Ridge Relay.  I have been on the road almost nonstop since getting back from North Carolina.  Before I begin my report, let me just say that the race’s motto “Consider all others... a warm-up!” is not a joke.  This was by far the hardest relay race I have ever participated in.  I would not recommend anyone making this their first adventure relay race.  The course is very hard and the teams are very serious which didn’t really fit with my rag tag team of runners.  We run these races for the challenge but more for the fun and camaraderie of the experience. 

I had been in North Carolina most of the week for work.  On Wednesday, I drove down to Greenville, SC where I would pick up 3 of my teammates.  We all met up on Wednesday evening and headed to our hotels.  We had a nice dinner before getting back to our hotel to get some rest before picking up Mara and heading up to Boone, NC on Thursday to meet the rest of the team.

Mara’s plane came in on time.  After picking her up we headed over to the Sprouts to pick up our van food for the race.  Once we had purchased all the food, we decided to grab lunch in Greenville before making the 2 hour drive up to Boone.  We had a nice sushi lunch which was the perfect food before a race.  The drive up to Boone from Greenville was beautiful.  But it was obvious to me that these were not just hills we would be running starting Friday morning.  They were truly mountains.  I figured that I had trained hard for this race so I would be fine.  I wasn’t sure about the rest of the team.  Little did I know what I personally was in for.

We got to Boone about 4 pm and checked into our hotel.  4 of our runners were delayed in Asheville.  They would not be able to join us for dinner on time.  So we all headed over to the restaurant to have a few drinks and some good food while we waited for them to arrive.  The restaurant was really good.  It is called The Local.  The menu is made up of delicious local recipes and had a full bar with a great beer selection in a warm, ambient setting.  We were hoping the rest of the team would get there before we finished our dinner.  They never made it.  So we all headed back to the hotel to get our last rest before heading to the starting line at Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia.

Grayson Highlands State Park is near Mount Rogers and Whitetop Mountain which are Virginia's two highest mountains.  The views as we approached the park were beyond belief.  The sun was just coming up and we had scenic views of alpine-like peaks that are more than 5,000 feet high.  I wondered just how high the “hills” would be during the race.  After checking in, we hung out together waiting for our 7:30 am start time. 

Right at 7:20 am they called the teams for that wave to the starting line.  Our first runner Michelle was ready to go.  The gun went off right on time at 7:30 and we were on the run.  Since I was in Van 1, we had to head to the exchange area to meet Michelle.  I was Runner #3 so I wanted to have time to get ready and stretch before my run.  We did have to stop along the way to the exchange to admire the views.  The scenery was one of the main reasons I wanted to try this relay.  We were not disappointed.

Michelle handed off to Gordon ad we headed to my exchange.  I was pretty excited about getting started.  I had trained hard for this race and wanted to see if I had prepared enough.  Gordon showed up at the exchange at 9:29 am and I headed out from the Helton United Methodist Church for a hilly first leg.  It was only 66o but the humidity was 100%.  Despite all of my preparation and training, I was dying after the first 2 miles due to heat and elevation gain.  I was pushing myself so I wouldn’t let the team down.  But I was running up a hill that gained 506 feet in 2.5 miles.  I pushed myself as best I could but I could not get my pace down to 8:30 per mile.  I took the downhill and tried to pick up the pace at the end running hard into the exchange at the Landmark Baptist Church.  My second mile is what killed my average pace having run a 12:02 mile.  I had to walk a couple of times at the steepest portion.  But given the weather conditions and temperature I was pretty pleased with my overall time.

Mara’s first leg started at the Friendly Grove Baptist Church.  She had to cover 6.7 miles which would be her longest leg.  Once she started, we headed to a place where we could pull over and give her some water as it was getting pretty hot.  She said she was doing fine.  We met her one more time for a quick check before heading to Frosty’s Choose & Cut where the big exchange to Van 2 was located.   Mara did really well and came into the exchange with a huge smile on her face and at  a strong pace. 

After a little exchange of barbs between our vans, we headed back into Boone to grab lunch.  Once we had eaten, we headed to the next big exchange area at the Mount Vernon Baptist Church.  We all grabbed our blankets, towels, etc. to lay down in the grass and try to get a little nap in.  I was able to get a little bit of shut eye.  Unfortunately the church was next to a baseball field and there were little leaguers practicing and making a ton of noise.  After a while, we got the call that Randy was on his way.  So we gathered up all of our stuff and got Michelle ready to head out for her 2nd leg.

Once Randy handed off to Michelle, we were off and running again.  After Michelle handed off to Gordon, we headed to the exchange so I could get ready for my very hard second leg.  Gordon came into the exchange to hand off to me at 10:00 p.m.  I took off from the Grandfather Country Store knowing I had a very challenging leg ahead.  It was still 66o and 100% humidity.  I headed out figuring my goal was to finish the leg and not worry about time.  It was a relentless hill climb the entire way.  The road was pitch black with almost no traffic on the road except for the other team’s vans.  I was totally drenched in sweat after 3 miles and was already struggling with the climbs.  Overall I gained 1,666 feet with only 934 of downhill over the total course.  I had to take several walk breaks to not overheat and keep moving foward.  As the run progressed, I was getting mad at myself for not being able to run faster.  I had trained for these hills.  What I couldn’t simulate in Arizona was the North Carolina humidity.  It simply sapped all my strength.  After a long struggle, I pulled into the exchange at the entrance to Grandfather Mountain at 11:45 pm.  I felt defeated because I had lost so much time for my team.  But I couldn’t worry about it.  I had to get some rest and prepare for my final leg.

Mara’s second leg started at Newland Elementary School.  It was a run through the town of Newland.  I was a little nervous for Mara because of the darkness and the lack of runners around us.  We had a little scare when she called to make sure she had made the correct turn.  I didn’t see a turn on the map.  So I told her to stay put and we would come back and find her.  But another van came by an confirmed she was right.  We found her and made sure she was doing ok.  She was pushing herself as hard as she could.  But this course was rough.   She made it to the exchange and handed off to Brian.  We all were wrecked at this point and we still had one more leg to go. 

We headed to the Bakersfield Fire Department to get as much rest as we could before having to run our final leg.  There was some nice grassy areas to grab some sleep.  We all found a comfortable place to lay down and it was pretty quiet.  I actually got some decent sleep although it was shortened when another van pulled in and left their bright lights shining towards where we were sleeping.  We got the call from Van 2 that they were on their way.  Again we gathered our things up and got ready for Michelle to run her final leg. 

Michelle took off just before sunrise and had a great run.  Gordon headed out after getting the hand off and we headed to the exchange at the Tipton Hill Elementary School.  I wanted to redeem myself on this final leg after a terrible performance the night before.  Our team was running very close to last place.  Everyone was struggling in the heat and humidity.  Gordon came into the exchange and I headed out.  I knew I had a quick steep climb and then a long downhill before a gradual climb for 7 of the 9 miles I had to cover.  I rocked it down the hill with a sub-8 minute pace.  Then I just locked into a comfortable pace.  My goal was to take walk breaks only if the heat was getting to me.  I did take a couple to lower my heart rate and recover a bit.  But I was able to push on through and get back into a pace I trained at for the past 3 months.  The humidity had dropped to 94%.  I was really gassed the last mile.  But I ran into the Clermont Elementary School and handed off to Vanessa.  As I cooled down, I tried to lock into my memory all of the beautiful vistas I had seen so far during this race.  My last leg along the Toe River was spectacular.  It almost made it worth the pain.

Mara’s final leg was brutal.  Our team was 2 hours behind our predicted pace and were definitely one of the last 3 teams in the race bringing up the rear.  The race was really hot and humid.  We stopped to give her water several times.  She was getting pretty frustrated because she couldn’t run as hard as she wanted.  The rest of the team assured her she was doing really well given the condition.  Despite the difficulty, Mara did appreciate the beauty of her last leg.  She finally came in and handed off to Brian who gave her a big hug before he headed out.  We were finally done.

Since we knew we would have some extra time before Van 2 finished, we headed to the hotel in downtown Asheville.  We took a little rest and a much needed shower.  It was nice to wash off all of the sweat and  grime that had accumulated on our bodies running in the high heat and humidity.  Unfortunately we really were one of the last 3 teams vying for last place.  The race team stopped our Van 2 and had them jump forward 3 legs to ensure that they would finish before the cut off.  As frustrating as that was, I was glad that we would at least get to run across the finish line as a team which I wanted Mara to experience.

We waited at the finish line area for Van 2 to come in.  I have to say that the finish line area was a huge disappointment.  There was nowhere to sit and they has absolutely no refreshments of any kind.  Not even any water.  Randy finally came running around the corner and the team joined him as we all ran across the finish line.  Even though we clearly had our numbers showing the race announcer didn’t announce our name.  Pretty lame in my opinion.  Despite all of the things we didn’t like about the race, we had done our best and finished in 35:38:15.  We were the 3rd from last place team. 

The team gathered together and went out to dinner at Buxton Hall BBQ.  We all discussed the race and in the end were proud of how well we did despite the course difficulty and weather conditions.  There obviously was some disappointment that we were moved ahead on the course.  I personally felt pretty good in the end.  As I said, this was the toughest relay I have ever run.  In the end, I ran 24.3 miles in 3:59:14 seconds which was an overall 9:51 pace.  Not bad considering the heat, elevation changes and humidity.  Mara did really well and ran further in a race than she has ever run.  Since the race did not give out medals (They give you a refrigerator magnet), Leslie and I got her a necklace of hills made by a local Asheville artist.  Mara loved it. 

Now almost a month later I can say simply that I am proud of the team.  We are not the most serious group of runners.  When challenged though, we get out there and push ourselves beyond our limits.  I am so glad to have had the chance to share the experience with my daughter.  As I look back I am glad I pushed myself way past my comfort zone.  As Anne Sullivan (instructor and lifelong companion of Helen Keller) said, “Keep on beginning and failing.  Each time you fail, start all over again, and you will grow stronger until you have accomplished a purpose - not the one you began with perhaps, but one you'll be glad to remember.”  I will always be glad to remember the Blue Ridge Relay.

Aug 20 – 6.50 miles (58:54, 9:04 pace)
Aug 23 – 3.10 miles (31:02, 10:00 pace)
Aug 24 – 10.20 miles (1:26:35, 8:29 pace) – Tempo Run
Aug 25 – 10.20 miles (1:39:27, 9:45 pace)
Aug 26 – 10.20 miles (1:38:16, 9:38 pace)
Aug 27 – 8.10 miles (1:32:12, 11:23 pace) – Hill Repeats
Aug 28 – 9.50 miles (1:26:13, 9:04 pace) – Mile Repeats
Aug 30 – 10.20 miles (1:27:05, 8:32 pace) – Tempo Run
Aug 31 – 7.10 miles (1:06:34, 9:23 pace)
Sept 1 – 8.10 miles (1:18:05, 9:38 pace)
Sept 2 – 8.20 miles (1:17:16, 9:25 pace)
Sept 3 – 6.10 miles (1:01:00, 9:59 pace)
Sept 7 – 5.10 miles (45:49, 8:58 pace) – BRR Leg #1
Sept 7 – 10.30 miles (1:45:14, 10:13 pace) – BRR Leg #2
Sept 8 – 9.20 miles (1:28:11, 9:35 pace) – BRR Leg #3
Sept 11 – 5.10 miles (47:52, 9:23 pace)
Sept 12 – 5.10 miles (48:38, 9:33 pace)
Sept 13 – 5.20 miles (48:00, 9:13 pace)
Sept 15 – 3.20 miles (28:39, 8:57 pace)
Sept 16 – 13.10 miles (2:08:52, 9:50 pace)
Sept 18 – 5.20 miles (45:44, 8:48 pace) – Speed Work
Sept 19 – 5.10 miles (52:21, 10:16 pace)
Sept 21 – 3.20 miles (28:52, 9:02 pace) – Tempo Run
Sept 22 – 4.10 miles (41:22, 10:05 pace)
Sept 23 – 7.10 miles (1:05:27, 9:13 pace)
Sept 25 – 5.20 miles (45:40, 8:47 pace) – Speed Work
Sept 26 – 5.10 miles (56:22, 11:04 pace)
Sept 27 – 3.10 miles (26:24, 8:31 pace) – Tempo Run
Sept 29 – 4.20 miles (38:27, 9:09 pace)
Sept 30 – 14.10 miles (2:15:34, 9:37 pace)

Total Miles:  210.2 miles
2018 Total Miles:  1,420.5 miles

Next Up the 2018 Blue Ridge Relay

My next race is a little over two weeks away.  I will be leaving to head to the Blue Ridge Relay race on Labor Day.  I have to go out to North Carolina to review some real estate for Sprouts before the race.  I will get into Raleigh that Monday night and then work my way around the State visiting sites and some of our existing stores before finishing in Greenville, SC.  A couple of my other teammates will be joining me there on Wednesday night.  The next day the rest of the team and my daughter Mara will be flying in to join us.  We will then head up to Boone, NC to rest before heading to the starting line for our 7:30 a.m. starting time on Friday September 7th.

I am going to be Runner #3 and my portion of this relay will cover 24.8 miles.  Mara is going to be runner #8 and she will run the furthest she has ever run covering 16.1 miles.  My first leg (# 3) starts at the Helton United Methodist Church and finishes 5.2 miles later at the Landmark Baptist Church.  The leg is described as a good climb and descent on gravel.  Mostly flat and rolling before and after the gravel road section.  The first mile is on a pretty heavily trafficked road.  Looking at the grades of the uphill portion of this leg it looks like it will be challenge.  Walking will be necessary to get up this hill.

Mara’s first leg is #6 starting at the Friendly Grove Baptist Church and finishes 6.7 miles later at the Frosty’s Choose & Cut which is a is a family owned choose and cut Christmas tree farm, specializing in Fraser Firs since 1960.  Wow, it is even older than me.  The leg is described as a having a good climb and a steep gravel/dirt descent early on, followed by a long gradual climb through the valley.  A steep paved climb and 1-mile descent finish this run.  They say that runners will enjoy the view of Bluff Mountain and its waterfall as they begin their first big descent.  I will advise Mara to use the walk/run method to finish this leg.

After we get some rest as Van 2 runs legs 7 – 12, my next leg is going to be #15.  The leg starts at the Grandfather Country Store.  This store sits on the eastern slope of Grandfather Mountain and has claimed the site at Blue Moon Gap since the early 1920s.  According to their website, generations of mountain people have bought groceries, hardware, and automobile products at the little store that was once known as Blue Moon Station.  It has had several owners, name changes, and facelifts, but remains ever "The Country Store" to local people who were taken there as children and now walk the same floor boards to buy drinks and snacks with their grandchildren.  This leg is my longest travelling 10.5 miles and finishing at Grandfather Mountain.  This leg is described as a tough leg because of the distance and because most of it is a climb.

Mara’s second leg is #18 and starts at Newland Elementary School and finishes 5 miles later at a Chirstmas Tree lot.  The leg is described as mostly rolling with a big climb on Cow Camp.  They recommend that runners be extra alert for traffic on Spanish Oak.  It has a pretty tough climb from about mile 2.5 to mile 4.  Our team will be there to support Mara as she kills this one. 

Again after a rest we will be ready to run our last legs of this race.  My final leg is #27 and starts at Tipton Hill Elementary School and finishes 9.1 miles later.  Based on our time estimator, I will be running this leg at sunrise.  It has a nice downhill portion at the start.  Unfortunately it has a steady climb from mile 4 to the end.  The leg does run along the North Toe River.  According to Wikipedia, the name Toe is taken from its original name Estatoe, pronounced 'S - ta - toe', a native American name associated with the Estatoe trade route leading down from the North Carolina mountains through Brevard. There is a historical plaque in Brevard with information that affirms the route, which continues into South Carolina, where a village of the same name was located.  Due to difficulty in pronouncing the name it was shortened over the years to Toe.  I am hoping the scenery will take my mind off the pain.

Mara’s final leg is #30.  If everything goes as planned, she will be starting off around 9:00 a.m.  The leg starts at Concord Baptist Church and ends 4.4 miles later.  The route is a very gradual up hill and runs along the Cane River.  The Cane River is a stream in Yancey County, North Carolina.  It originates on the western slopes of Mount Mitchell and flows northward until it joins the North Toe River to form the Nolichucky. It flows through the communities of Pensacola, Burnsville, Cane River, Ramseytown, and Huntdale.  I think this will be a beautiful way for Mara to finish her first ever adventure relay race.

I know that I have trained hard for this race.  I made sure that I did a lot of hill work throughout my training.  I am not sure what I will find when I am out there in North Carolina.  But everything I have read about this race is that it is one of the best relays in the country.  The race director and volunteer’s desire is to share the beauty of their mountain home with other runners.  I have loved the mountains of North Carolina ever since the first time Bev and I drove through them in 1991 when we were moving to Arkansas.  Now for the first time, I will be able to experience them on foot with my daughter and my running friends.  It just doesn’t get any better than that!

July 23 – 6.10 miles (1:12:16, 11:51 pace) – Hill Repeats
July 24 – 6.50 miles (59:13, 9:07 pace) – Mile Repeats
July 26 – 9.10 miles (1:17:55, 8:34 pace) – Tempo Run
July 27 – 6.10 miles (1:03:59, 10:19 pace)
July 28 – 10.30 miles (1:42:34, 9:57 pace)
July 29 – 10.10 miles (1:45:35, 10:27 pace)
July 30 – 8.10 miles (1:35:03, 11:44 pace) – Hill Repeats
July 31 – 6.50 miles (59:04, 9:05 pace) – Mile Repeats
Aug 2 – 9.10 miles (1:18:09, 8:35 pace) – Tempo Run
Aug 3 – 7.10 miles (1:10:35, 9:56 pace)
Aug 4 – 6.10 miles (1:19:54, 10:06 pace)
Aug 5 – 12.10 miles (1:59:20, 9:52 pace)
Aug 6 – 6.10 miles (1:13:04, 11:59 pace) – Hill Repeats
Aug 7 – 8.00 miles (1:12:40, 9:05 pace) – Mile Repeats
Aug 9 – 9.10 miles (01:17:26, 8:31 pace) – Tempo Run
Aug 10 – 6.10 miles (58:29, 9:31 pace)
Aug 11 – 10.20 miles (1:37:13, 9:32 pace)
Aug 12 – 10.20 miles (01:37:42, 9:35 pace)
Aug 13 – 8.10 miles (1:28:20, 10:54 pace) – Hill Repeats
Aug 14 – 7.00 miles (1:02:53, 8:59 pace) – Mile Repeats
Aug 17 – 10.10 miles (1:26:29, 8:34 pace) – Tempo Run
Aug 18 – 12.10 miles (1:59:47, 9:54 pace)
Aug 19 – 6.10 miles (59:24, 9:44 pace)

Total Miles:  189.3 miles
2018 Total Miles:  1,210.3 miles