Alas, Late Night 2000 is now but a memory. On a rather cold December 23rd, 2000 in 12-15F weather, four loyal OKers took off from the parking lot into the night... Mook (of course), Spike (the only other person to have run in all Late Nights since its inception), Mary (the only other OKer to have run in 2 consecutive Late Nights), and Fritz (the only other OKer to have run in at least 2 Late Nights). All in all, a good night for OK. Some say it was the best Late Night ever, an that's sayin' somthen!

Spike pulled out the first ever official Late Night map! He drafted the map from terraserver photos and memory, and while it didn't cover a larger section of the course, it did get everyone headed off in the right direction.

Fritz wore one of his better known hats... a joker's style with multiple tails, each ending in a jingle bell.

Mary took off first on her walk, setting a blistering pace. The other three were to follow at a run, but it was a while before they caught up. The start was only delayed slightly as Mook circled back to assauge the fears of a cop who had pulled into the parking lot wondering what was going on. When he learned that he had stumbled upon The Late Night, he replied "That takes real dedication!". It is now generally believed that he was making a veiled reference to those OKers who were not there.

The trail was snowy, with 4-6 inches most places, and a few deeper drifts. The sky was clear and dark. For some reason that noone seemed to figure out, a disgusting sewage smell persisted over a good section of the trail.

I don't know exactly what Mary did, for she was out of radio contact much of the time, but Mook, Spike, and Fritz ran over the traditional route. Reports were that the river looked low and quite icy. At one point we spotted a shrew that was digging its way through the snow. I guess it must have had a "high metabolism".

The pack stayed together most of the time. From time to time one of us would push the pace a bit, trying to shake off any would-be contenders. Things really started to heat up as we headed back in. At the power lines, Mook broke away, out of sight and out of mind apparently as Spike and Fritz jogged on by the hidden Mook completely unawares. Mook soon joined them from behind... but just as suddenly Fritz was out ahead pushing the pace. Spike had slackened off a bit, and Mook was stuck in back. Fritz gained some 20-25 meters and seemed to be holding his own for a while! But was it too early to make a move like that?

Slowly but surely, the pack began to organize itself. It was reeling Fritz in! The lead dropped to 15 meters, then 10. Spike was setting Mook up for the kill!

Spike pulled off the pace just as he attached Mook on to the back wheel of Fritz, who was laboring heavily at this point. Fritz was still at the front pulling hard, but it was becoming increasinly obvious that Mook still had the fresh legs to go by him. And that's exactly what happened near one turn. Mook surged into the front and put the hammer down and that's all she wrote!

Late Night 2000 was a terrific success, but it wasn't over of course! Suddenly Mook broke out the bullar!

There were bullar enough for everyone and some to spare. The bullar got pretty good reviews. Spike, who is widely considered OK's resident expert on bullar, proclaimed the bullar "excellent". There would be, of course, no bullar for those who were not there. The absent OKers were "noted". Of particular note is Snorkel who had earlier campaigned heavily to move the run to Saturday so that he could attend. Apparently spending Christmas with his daughter took priority over Late Night for Snorkel. It really makes one wonder. No bullar for Snorkel this year (Lick it up, baby, lick... it... up!).

Next, it was off to Papa Kenos. The pizza place delivered its product excellently, although Fritz did notice some unusual (unhygenic) behavior in the back. Everyone seemed to have a good time. There was more celebration and planning for next year's run. Even so, everyone at Late Night 2000 sensed that they had been there at an epic event. It was the sort of night that one looks back on years later. Perhaps others will look back years later thinking only of what might have been.

-- Mook (everett@psi.edu), December 23, 2000

Answers

I can't really add much to Mook's report. It was an excellent event. If you didn't attend this year, plan to next.

-- Michael (meglin@juno.com), December 24, 2000.

I originally lobbied for Late Night to be on Saturday when I had a job that would not allow me to be there on Friday night. With me being in town now Friday would have been much better, but the LNWM homepage had already been published by that point. I ran today for the first time in a long time. I have found that aircasts allow much snow to get between your shoes and socks making for rather cold feet. Much better to find this out later than to come and tarnish the greatness of this late night. Anybody know where to buy a pair of Neoprene socks? I guess I could wait for the snow to melt.

-- Snorkel (danielmeenehan@aol.com), December 24, 2000.

Mike forgot to add he and Mary just made the cutoff time. I believe this was within two minutes of Mook's finish time.

And Dan, try Walmart for the neoprene socks!

-- Fritz (fpmenninger@hotmail.com), December 25, 2000.

Would that be the SCUBA section at Walmart?

-- Snorkel (danielmeenehan@aol.com), December 25, 2000.

I'd check the "hunting" section at WalMart. I bought a pair of neoprene gloves at a WalMart. Hunters stand around in cold/wet weather, so they might need neoprene socks.

I bought mine at Campmor (try www.campmor.com). I'd guess a place like REI (www.rei.com) would sell them, too.

-- Michael (mike_eglinski@kcmo.org), December 26, 2000.

I got my neoprene socks at REI. They really work GREAT. Can't run in the snow without them.

I really just responded to this to prove I still read this stuff.

-- Peggy (Pdickison@aol.com), December 27, 2000.