supercrewman: scott griffith

two days before the "patriots' run" i was getting prepared to crew for myself. i purchased a new cooler with quick top access and a side pocket for all my extra gels and protein bars. i was prepared to set up a t.v. tray and put my cooler on top and a garbage receptacle underneath. this was similar to what i had done on many long runs during the summer, so it felt like something i could handle in stride.

my great friend scott called me later that day and informed me that he was able to get the day off from work and was available to crew for me. at first i was actually a little resistant to the idea. i felt prepared and ready to go, and it felt like it would require some adjustment letting someone else manage my gear. but how in the world could i turn down the offer? the thing i desired the most was having someone to drive me back to my home in republic after the event.

in retrospect, having scott crew for me was awesome! we had an enjoyable and relaxing journey to the event location. we got there with plenty of time to spare, which is my preference. we walked the course loop together strategizing the best location for scott to set up camp for the day.

from the word "go", scott was totally on top of helping me out. i was keeping an 8 ounce water-bottle with me, with seven more in my cooler. it was pretty common that i was needing to switch bottles every other lap, and scott was on it. i brought extra water in a two gallon water cooler, and i am pretty sure it was necessary later on in the day for scott to use that to refill my bottles.

i was keeping a handful of gels, fruit snacks, and protein bars in my pockets and about every two hours scott was on top of grabbing my trash and handing me a fresh supply of calories.

i was also taking in a few excerdin tablets as the event continued, and when i requested them scott would be ready on the next lap with my meds in hand.

what i possibly appreciated the most was scott's operations of his iphone. via his iphone scott was not only taking pictures and videos, but he was updating my facebook status and sharing those pictures and videos with my friends and family. then when friends and family would comment, scott would share those comments with me. via this facebook connection i really sensed a lot of support. it was awesome!

during the last portion of the evening scott joined me for a few laps. when he initially joined me i was struggling a little bit with not being able to take in calories. we discussed what i might actually be able to take in and we came up with breadsticks. while running scott searched his iphone for restaurants in the area and located a nearby dominos. he then proceeded to call them and place an order for breadsticks without butter. scott then jumped in the car to retrieve the breadsticks. when he got back he ran a few more laps with me. i was a little concerned for him due to the fact that he was running in hiking boots. i didn't want him to get injured, especially given that he was two weeks out from a marathon he has registered for. he tried hard to keep me running knowing that i wanted to get 50 miles before the event was over.

i hereby award scott with the supercrewman of the year award! thanks scott - big time!

below are the videos scott took with his iphone: