The Letters!

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In person, Jon Kelley bows down on one knee, and "proposes" to join the Aroostook Dirty 30. This, though unorthodox, qualifies him as a Dirty with the rest. May the Torture Maids on Bicycles have mercy on his body....not.
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Ok Kale here it is. I am scared shitless of entering this contest but just crazy enough to push my fears aside and say PLEEEEAAAASSSEE accept me for the Aroostook Dirty 30!!!! Thank you for your time and consideration!! Now please let me get dirty!! Jess.
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After a crazy internal debate...and much self doubt, I have decided to suck it
up and write a letter for this "Dirty 30" you speak of. When I read about your
travels, your adventures, your life, I am so impressed and amazed. You are a
machine!! For that reason, I really doubted that I should sign up to do
something that you designed. But today was the day that mindset changed!! I
could tell you that I had a life changing event, or that I suddenly started
truly believing in myself. Truth be told...lack of sleep and too much Starbucks
French Roast have probably lead me to this decision.
I cannot wait! I love a challenge!! Thanks for creating one!
be well
sarah ellsworth
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to anyone who might care

I am a very dirty boy and sometimes I like it rough! I look forward to getting spanked at the Aroostook Dirty 30!

Dirty deeds done dirt cheap!

best wishes

Gary Allen
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Dear Kale "Tent Man" Poland,

I, Kathryn A. Foster (better known as Kati) desire to participate in your extreme events: Aroostook Dirty 30 and Trouble in Turner. Since I have been in Maine I have heard many endearing stories of the previous Dirty 30, and I too want to frolic through nature and attempt absurd obstacles.

Thank you and have a nice day.
-Kati
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Dude, I was waiting until this race was filled FIRST, and then to beg to NOT be selected!! Who'd want to put up with 30 miles of mud, dirt, sweat, streams, punishment, etc, etc, etc. (Lol...) Ya'll thinking I'm a MAINE-iac or something... I AM... but not a masochistic!!! What would possess ANYONE to try this ridiculous activity ANYHOW?? I think ya'll are NUTS... PLEASE DON'T select me!! :D
as I have too many marathons and ultras to run and NOT ENOUGH TIME!!! I might get my shoes "dirty" or sumtin
-Dave
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Why the heck would I want to put myself through that again? I barely made it out alive the first time. Nearly every muscle in my body was shaking and I could hardly stand up by the end of it. I reeked of the swamp and river I had to wade through, not to mention the sweat and blood that soaked my body. I pressed on through burdock patches, rose bushes, found a tangle of freakish looking prickly vines, at times not knowing if my next step was going to be on solid ground, in a foot of muck, or into a hornets nest. We kept being lead by the starting point and pushed past it as if you were mocking us, letting us think we might - just might - be close to the end when you would laugh like insane sadists and tell us we ain't done yet! My high morale only lasted the first ~24 miles. I wanted to stop and cry so many times, call for a ride, or just find a hiding place to rest my crumbling body.

Why would anyone want to be put through this once, let alone a second time. A second time where it's undoubtedly going to be much more difficult, based on how disappointed Kale was that anyone finished this year.

I guess I've learned something new about myself this year, since I'm bent over waiting to take it again.

Next year's will be twice the race this event was. Like the evil mistress said: "There's no teamwork in the Aroostook Dirty Thirty"! Game on.

Kyle
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Once upon a time there was a woman named Amy who had a fire inside her. She skied, ran, hiked, and biked with wild abandon. Then she got comfortable, got married, and had two kids. Now she watches Food Network, knits, and plays Bejeweled Blitz. But, when she saw the pain, agony, and spirit of this year's AD30 victims, that fire was relit. She wants IN to next year's mayhem, and the opportunity to have that pain and agony inflicted on her.
Amy

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I am SO there! I wouldn't miss it for the world. By next september I should be over the dengue fever I got from crawling through the swamps and that funny smell from going through the river at the sewage plant should be gone. Hopefully the canadians who were sent to spy on us in the raft on the riverbank will have given up by then also. And maybe the hurricane remnants could come a week earlier so we could have that too.
I have a friend in west virginia almost as sadistic as you and she said she would come up and run the ab stations for you because she likes to see people suffer - you, her and Kate should get along fine. At least Mark seems to have some human kindness left in his soul. Not sure if you and Kate have a soul.....
I will be there with my railroad spike and ready to make you work just as hard.
Barb

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When we were running next to the river, we saw a dead raccoon, and I wondered, "Does this foreshadow things to come?" By the eighth mile, I found that the answer was yes. By the ninth, I had to call quits, but next year my goal is half-way. Next time I'll train a bit more... I had a weeks notice. I am glad I will have a chance to try again, keep doing this year after year, and maybe, I too will get... a railroad nail. Oh, and Kale, I take it back, it was NOT easy. And a question, why did we need extra underwear? Keegan

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So Kale....what's this "blog" dealie all about? Is it a particularly wet section of some blowdowns in the woods for next year's AD30 or something? I could handle that...isn't there gonna be anything tough?? You'd better count me in...somebody has to lead all the youngsters around so they don't get discouraged or hurt!

Brent
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I had burdocks in my butt crack, my drenched cotton socks were chafing my ankles and the mud, rain, and river-trudging only added to a level of misery for which I was totally unprepared. I felt a sense of deflation I don’t ever remember having after lacing up my sneakers and “exercising.” I felt fear. Fear of the unknown and that’s usually an emotion I try to avoid by controlling which situations I put myself into. I’m not going to lie to you; I dreaded doing this. The only reason I didn’t shut my alarm clock off and stay in bed that Saturday morning is because I respect the limits to which you push your own body and I not only see you as a role model for my fitness journey, but I see myself as a role model for others on their journeys. If I can’t dance outside my own comfort zone when asked, how can I ask others to do the same?

I can’t promise I’ll finish 30 miles at the next Dirty 30 and I can’t even promise I’ll be better prepared for the course (knowing that a barmy, unpredictable chap like you is planning it again), I can only say I’d like to attempt it again. Chances are, there are 20 other people in better shape than me, who have ten times the endurance I do and actually enjoy that level of twisted, soggy, prickly pain. If you’d like to give others a chance to get pissed at you instead of those of us who already gave it a shot, that’s cool. But keep me in mind as one of your sadistic torture maids on a bicycle.

Renée
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3 weeks ago I never heard of the dirty 30, last Saturday I got my first dose of the " run ". Never thought after trying it one time you could be addicted. So I need my fix next year. Consider this my request to be tortured next year.

Chris
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Videos

Just so all the videos are in one place....

Final Transmission

Allllllllrighty then.

This is the last post before AD30.
I'll can the rhetoric and get straight to the point.

Again, my recommendations:
-Headlamp for the first hour and a half
-Small backpack.
-1 extra pair of shoes
-extra clothes
-gloves?
-cell phone in case you want to drop

REMEMBER THAT THERE IS NO AID.
This means there are no volunteers out there giving you water with a smile.

The course DOES come back into town around mile 11, meaning you can stop in a store on your way by one.
PLAN accordingly.

The course will be marked using arrows, chalk, and yellow ribbon. We will also be in critical places to ensure that you are going to the right way.

IF YOU CHOOSE TO DROP, it's not our responsibility to come get you, NOR IS IT OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO COME FIND YOU IF YOU TAKE A WRONG TURN.
I've designed the course so you are never very far from civilization, so you can't really get lost, per se.

Please call me if you have made the decision to drop.

Now that that stuff's out of the way, I'm looking forward to a great time, and you should be too.
Not many people have the guts to attempt something like this, so I applaud your courage.

Be here early, around 4:30.
The start is at 5 sharp. We wait for no one!

The Evolution of Dirty

There is but a mere 4 days until the event Aroostook County has been waiting for.

A select few will dare toe the line.
Hardy, gritty souls.
Dirties.

The rest of the dishrag, limp-noodle world will be fast asleep when the race begins at 5am this saturday.
At 1pm- the cutoff of AD30- these same people might be BBQing, drinking a beer and wearing Carhartts, discussing the rumors of what's been going on around town that morning.
"Did you hear about those people doing ____ over by the river this morning? I guess it's supposed to be some kind of race or something. I dunno, I think they're crazy, bub."

The start WILL happen.
The finish might not.
You'll laugh at things.
Even though you thought I might have been a little bit crazy before, you'll be sure that I've lost my mind.
You'll ask yourself, and the Volunteer Sadists, "Are you serious? You want me to do WHAT?"

With any luck, you'll eat right. You'll drink right.
You'll pace yourself and keep your emotions in check so you can make smart decisions in taking care of yourself.

Or maybe you'll be so caught up in the moment that you'll do none of these correctly...and end up crying in a ditch, cell phone to your ear and shivering, begging your family to come get you.

Think clearly.
Run smart.
And don't train hard these next couple days.
You're going to need some reserve.

Subterranean

I had someone call this race "subterranean" yesterday.
"I really had to dig to find it", he said.

Well put dude. Dig, subterranean, all things that involve dirt.
Punny.

Subterranean.
We're not putting the word out. No advertising here.
Not going to be on any race calendar.
It's my belief that, after the inaugural running, people will be talking.
Especially if only a couple people finish.

I can't wait to see how things play out.
My experience in Peak's Death Race tells me that the strongest person may be the person you would have never expected it to be.
Maybe not the fittest person, just the person with the mental goods to get it done, when it would be easier to cry.

Let me ask you this.
-Do you have a Camelbak or small backpack with plenty of hydration? Not just water, ELECTROLYTES.
-Any extra clothing or shoes, socks, etc?
-Food?
-First aid?
-Ibuprofen?
-Cell phone in case you want to quit?
-A therapist(physical and emotional) for after?
-Costume???

Oh, my brain is exploding with how much fun I know this is going to be.
You're going to be doing some of the craziest stuff you've ever seen.

To make my own version of a famous running quote:
"If you want to run something, sign up for a marathon. If you want to EXPERIENCE something, try the Dirty 30"

2 weeks!


krp