Weather punishing runners for charity

By MARY ANN KOSLASKY

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 19, 2000

Somewhere between nowhere and Perry on U.S. 19 the dusty road stretched endlessly before Steve Bomse and Crystal River Middle School resource officer Phil Gaffney.

On Tuesday, Day 2 of the 180-mile Run For the Money from Tallahassee to Lecanto, the two men logged 20 miles in heat that promised to reach the upper 90s with a heat index of 115 degrees. Around 11 a.m. they broke for lunch and a nap. The final 10 miles of the day were run Tuesday evening.

"We're doing pretty good," said Cabot McBride, program director of the Key Training Center. "It's just so blamed hot. They (weather reports) were giving out warning signals that the 'feels like' temperature would be 115 degrees and the temperature could go up to 102.

"We're glad to be in the room," he added at the midpoint of the day. They passed the night in Perry.

Today's run will bring the little band of runners, volunteers and chase van into Cross City, halfway between the start in Tallahassee and the finish at the center in Lecanto.

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