So, it's like two o'clock in the morning and my relay race team and I are waiting in the dark for our runner to get to the 1.5 mile mark. The interior of the van is lit only by the dashboard lights, as the cool sounds of Bob Marley drift through the enclosed space. Eventually, we will see her headlamp light bouncing up and down the dark, signifying that she is on her way, at which time I have volunteered to jump out of the van and give her some H2O and well earned support. Feeling really cramped in the van, I decide to jump the gun and make the move to exit and stretch my legs. Grabbing one of the pre-filled Nalgene bottles, I pull the van door open and slide to the asphalt. I have yet to complete my "night run," and am admittedly a little nervous about the challenge, so figure I'll move around a little to quell my nerves.
Fortunately for me, the moon tonight is full and bright, so I really don't need to wear my headlamp, or utilize one of the two flashlights our captain has at the ready. The blink-blink-blink of the vehicle's hazard lights offer occassional glimpses of the surrounding environment. With still no sign of any light coming down the road, I wander behind the van.
Sensing that I could go pee if I wanted to, and aware that it could be a few minutes before I'm called to cheerleader duty, I survey the area for an off-road spot to relieve myself... the van is resting at the side of an unlit two lane road which winds through the middle of backcountry Colorado. Gullies line either side of the road and some fields, short bushes and sparse trees are sort of visible in the blink-blink glow.
As I move about twenty feet from the van, I proceed to prepare myself to pee when a muted moan suddenly surrounds me...
"MUHHHH, UHHH, MUHHH, MEEEH!"
Still no sign of either my teammate running down the road or anyone else exiting the van. I look more deeply into the darkness for the source of the moan.
"MUHHHH, UHHH, MUHHH, MEEEH!"
To me the moan begins to sound vaguely like someone calling for help. I decide not to relieve myself on the side of the road, and attemot to look more deeply into the dark. I ntoice some large bulky figures seemingly laying in the field to the left.
"MUHHHH, UHHH, MUHHH, MEEEH!"
Heck, yeah, something in the field moved! Now, I'm getting nervous. There must be some other poor runner in the gully, some runner whose team is waiting for them at the next exchange rather than chekcing on their progress...
"MUHHHH, UHHH, MUHHH, MEEEH!"
Very quickly, (very!)... I stumble to the van, pull open the door and feeling kind of silly, begin to feel the crowd for some sense of the danger level. The others are somewhere between being engaged in the tunes, sleeping or waiting for our teammate.
"So, its pretty dark out," I begin, "I'm not really looking too forward to running in the country, what with crazy killer hillbillies and stuff."
"Don't worry about it, it's not so bad," clarifies one brave soul who has already finshed his (much more difficult than mine) leg, "there's nobody out here but us."
Feeling more urgent about the situation, (heck, someone may be laying injured in the gully), "I was thinking of going pee, and when I went to the side of the road, I heard someone crying for help! They were going UHH-UHHH-MAHHH"
"Seriously?" inquired another, feigning surprise.
"Heck, yeh!" I confirmed the obvious... shouldn't they be jumping from the van to help?
"You goofball, that's the sound cows make when they're laying the fields at night!"
Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!
1 comment:
Hahahaha! I had my ipod on, so I was immune to the night sounds on my leg. This was actually a strategic move - I would have been freaked out by every little noise, thinking it was a bear or a mountain lion. Although, considering I was running closer to Walden than the woods, i think scary hillbilly would probably be more likely :-)
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