ROCK RUN
a footrace for the ages
BY STEVE SHEPPARDE INDEPENDENT SPORTS EDITOR
Most people would find it daunting just to walk around the island, never mind run around it.

But that's what a host of long-distance enthusiasts will do this Saturday, when they traverse the perimeter of the island in a day-long, 50-mile jaunt.

There are about a dozen individuals signed up so far, with 21 teams coming from near and far to run for charity in one of New England's signature endurance events.

And to think it all started with a bet.

Now the general manager for both the Harbor House and Jared Coffin House, Jim Storey worked as a lifeguard in the mid-to-late '80s and became close with other guards like Nick Judson and Hector MacDonald. They competed good-naturedly against each other - swimming, paddling or running, which was Storey's specialty. "I used to run for my morning training," he recalled.

The lifeguards egged each other on, and when a summer resident overheard them one night he posed a challenge: "I'll bet you a thousand bucks you can't run around the island."

The race was on.

Storey ran the course alone that first year, with the help of his lifeguard friends, who met him along the way with water and sandwiches and served as running buddies. "Hector went out to 'Sconset and ran to Surfside with me," Storey recalled. "Nick met me at Madaket."

They were flying by the seat of their pants, of course. "That first year, we had no idea," he noted. They planned the route to begin at Jetties Beach; Jim would simply follow the shoreline from there. "I swam across to Coatue and ran from there all the way to Great Point - it's quite a stretch."

A run around the lighthouse was the fulcrum to start the journey south towards 'Sconset, "just about the halfway point" of the run, he points out. From there, it was around the island's southeastern-most point to Tom Nevers, the most difficult passage because of the erratic shoreline, and on to Surfside, Cisco, Madaket, around Eel Point and back along the north shore. "When you get to 40th Pole, you're feeling good," he said.

Keep in mind that along the way there are bulkheads, impassable stretches of beach, rocks, shells, insects and all types of sand. "I used to do it barefoot," Storey said.

According to the bet, he had 24 hours to complete the assignment - he finished in under 12. "We had fun that first year," he said. "We stopped at Tom Nevers and hit golf balls into the water." True to his word, the man who initiated the bet paid off, and the money went to the Nantucket schools' Special Needs Advisory Council. Storey did it again the next year, and again the money raised went to SNAC. By the fourth year, Judson found a sponsor who would donate $1,000 for every person who finished the route - 14 people ran around the island for charity that year.

The race has evolved and grown since then. MacDonald continues to oversee race operations and the Rock Run has contributed thousands of dollars to several island charities that benefit children. This year, monies raised will go to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Nantucket.

Interest in the race has expanded to the point that participants relish both team and individual challenges. The U. S. Marines and Nantucket lifeguards, for instance, have developed a fierce team rivalry, trying to best each other year after year with times in the six to six-and-a-half-hour range.

Storey's run the route eleven times in all, finishing ten times. "In the eleventh year, I crashed and burned at Nobadeer," he said. "Fifty miles is not easy."

This year he'll run part of the race, if need be, in support of Topper's restaurant manager Simon Shurey, who is taking part in his first Rock Run, and is excited about the course and the cause. "Basically, it's been work, sleep, run," he said of his summer to date, which has seen him putting in hours of beach training. "Last Wednesday, I ran from Wauwinet to Surfside. I've learned that when you see seaweed, you run on it."

His motivation is simply to raise as much money as he can for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Nantucket and try to "have a positive effect on kids." Both "Bigs" and "Littles," as they are called, will be at every checkpoint Saturday to urge Shurey on.

As they will all the runners. Storey spoke of the beauty of seeing the island at daybreak and of how runners are alone for most of the race. When they hit Surfside, however, the crowds will be cheering.

There will be a pre-race meeting at Children's Beach Friday night at 6 p.m., and last-minute participants are welcome. "We can always get somebody on a team," Storey said. Come Saturday morning, runners will board boats for Coatue, where the race now begins.

Perhaps this year someone will best Scott Poteet's individual time of 8 hours and 30 minutes. "He ran with

one shoe off and one shoe on," Storey recalled. I

For more information, visit therockrun.com.