“It tolls for thee..” What’s going on here? Who is the next the fall to the rising temperatures? With the THI near 110 today, and with no let up for a couple of days, the runners are just “treading water” and trying to keep their mileage respectable. Ashprihanal, seven time winner, had to bow to the heat a few days ago and is still not up to full strength. He has chosen to back off the last few days, a wise choice, and not worry about winning, but just finishing at full strength. He vows to be more careful in his eating habits (i.e. NO MORE COFFEE!). First timers, Igor and Sarvagata are doing well but they are being watched very carefully so as to avoid any heat related problems. Eat, drink and SLOW DOWN! Will they listen? They better, for as race director, at the first sign of trouble I will pull them out of the race immediately. I am not kidding. Just ask Ashprihanal. Pradeep is doing surprisingly well in the heat and has shown a real maturity and natural instinct for this kind of ultra running. Stutisheel is an old pro and knows what it will take to finish. The same is true for Pranjal, Atmavir, Ananda-Lahari and Surasa.