In 2009 avid marathoner, Chuck Savage, created a series of 7 races, one a day, beginning the day after Christmas until New Year called the “Savage Seven” The original series was on a track in Ocala, Florida. A few years hence it was moved to this park also in Ocala. The race consists of a 5 mile loop repeated 2 1/2 times for the half and five times for the marathon, with a little additional at the beginning to round out the distance properly. This year the series has been expanded to 13 from December 22 until January 3. The series seems to cater to the mega marathon list crowd (people with 300 or more marathons). Seemed as good a place as any for me to spend Newtonmas. The start is at 5am, but I had not anticipated a lack of lighting on the greenway. So, petzl at home, I had to use my phone. That worked okay, but I didn’t realize the pavement markings were on the right so there were several moments during the first half I wasn’t sure I was headed the right way. In the end I only took one wrong turn, in broad daylight, due to my own stupidity a mile from the finish. Not bad for me. Bad news, most of my pictures didn’t turn out. Fun fact: Ocala is also known as “Brick City,” and the name came about almost by accident. On Thanksgiving Day in 1883, a fire destroyed four blocks of the heart of the city, including the courthouse, several businesses, and five hotels—the inhabitants wisely rebuilt with brick and the name “Brick City” stuck.
