Quad State Quad Buster
Always a Run for Roger
Sunday, September 15, 2002
Skip down to report from 2001
Skip down to report from 2000
Arrangements for 2002
What: Day's run on AT from PA/MD border, thru MD, into WV at Harper's Ferry, then final miles in VA. About 46 miles all the way, 40 if you bail at Harper's Ferry. Four States, a ****load of rocks, some great vistas, good company.
Last year, we did the run as a memorial to Roger Allison. We will always think of Roger when we do this run. We hope you can make it, but you need to know up front that this is a tough run and that there are big logistics challenges. Please don't show up without contacting Anstr Davidson.
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Meeting: We will meet at 6:00 AM at the finish point of the run. This point is a parking lot on left side of Rte 340 in VA, about a mile after 340 crosses from MD into VA, if coming from I-70. The lot is a few hundred yards east of the West Virginia state line. (Map) We will then get rides to the Mason-Dixon line and start on the Appalachain Trail on the PA-MD border.
Who: While a casual run, it's not for the casual runner. High tolerance for rocky terrain, resilient legs, and a low maintenance stomach are required. We do have limited support (see below), and that will govern who plays all day Principally because of space limits, who gets to run must involve some screening. We do have one volunteer to drive some runners from the finish to the start so some can run the entire way. Most others will leap frog. Make your reservations early. We will try to coordinate things the week of the run, but be prepared for adjustments at the meeting place.
Aid: We should have support vehicles for aid, but please bring a donation to the aid. Think salt and grease.
Finish: We will finish in Virginia where our cars are parked. There is nothing better than relaxing after this run on a fall afternoon.
Options for participation: Because of the difficult logistics, there are basically three ways to participate in this run:
- Leave your car at the finish and go all the way from the start to the finish (and possibly taking hop in a support vehicle over a section)
- Bring a friend and a car. You trade off running and driving.
- Drive yourself, park at a trailhead and run out and back. You might be able to get someone to drive your car, but you cannot count on it.
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Contact: E-mail Anstr Davidson if you are interested in participating. You should not show up expecting aid or a ride anywhere unless you have talked to Anstr. Anstr's e-mail address is: anstr@att.net
Chris's Report from 2001
This year's Quad State Quad Buster was notably memorable for several reasons.
(1) The Memorial to Roger Allison at Pen-Mar couldn't have been staged under better conditions, with clear, clean, crisp air, and the expanse of the valley to the west waking to the day (complete with the finite line of gold painted rooftops reflecting the sun's rays across the Mason Dixon Line). It was a setting that seemed in tune with Roger's love of the trail. It's easy to picture him still out there, roaming the hills (yet dancing above the rocks we couldn't avoid).
(2) Carolyn Gernand finally did the whole thing. Inspired by our additional cause for being there, she doggedly stuck to her goal, finishing in the dark in over 12 hours. Carolyn planned her siege well, nothing new there, and was one of only 8 people to go the full distance (somewhere between 45 and 54 miles, depending on one's own sense of reality or practiced dyslexia).
(3) We extended the day's frivolity by partying into the night, with a scheduled, segued Wake for Roger thrown in, at the Hilltop House Inn in Harper's Ferry. If the cache of empty beer bottles the next morning was any clue, the party was a suitable finale to an otherwise fabulous day.
(4) I think this is the first year someone earned a Scotty during the QSQB, arguments against such award however well stated, moot. That's the simple beauty of the award: once earned, arguments to the contrary tend only to confirm.
Certainly, others that day will generate their own memories of the 2001 QSQB's unique qualities. The day WAS spectacular, made all the more so by the capable and generous handling of Rick Hamilton, Karen Shiley (BTW, Buzzards, despite treating Karen with the respect due her, only she was honorable enough to follow up on the promise of home brew. Bad dog!! Bad dog!!) and Valerie Meyer, who each gave up their Saturday to help us inch along the AT.
Aside from Carolyn, the Buzzards' Harry Smith, John Weitzel, Marcia Peters, and Dave Fienauer, and the Bills (VanAntwerp and La Dieu), and Jeff Washburn from MA also logged full miles. Everyone else had the presence of mind(-lessness) to forego some sections. It certainly helped to hang out wherever Anstr was, since his camera gave proof that some of us saw some of the more scenic sections of the trail. Which, actually, isn't a fair statement. Even without heaving several tons of rocks off the trail, the landscape throughout the day was still gorgeous. Leaf canopy kept the sun from being a factor, the same trees offering some protection from the occasional chill wind, and occasional open areas served up magnificent vistas. Alas, the papaws weren't quite ripe. We were*
So, who played? Foremost, our support crews, Rick, Valerie and Karen. Runners: Harry, the two Daves, John, Marcia and Bill from PA, Jeff from MA, Dennis and Jeanne from MD, Carolyn, Jim, Anstr, Bill, Noelle, Colleen et moi from VA. Larry and Bunny joined the party crowd later at the Inn. All told, about 20 folks helped make the day one of the best experiences on the trail: certainly God's country, in the company of great people, doing what we love to do (no, not kick rocks*). Thanks for adding history to the camaraderie of trail running, kids!!
NOTE FROM ANSTR: What happened to the freaking Pennsylvanians at the post run party?? We kept waiting for you. Does the term "short ball hitter" come to mind?
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