I was just about to click the buckle of my seat belt closed when I heard the loud 'bong' that heralds an announcement from the cockpit: "This is the captain, folks. I'm sorry to announce that we have a maintenance problem. We thought we could get it corrected, but unfortunately we haven't been able to. It is a safety-related issue and we cannot operate this airplane. We're sorry for having boarded you, but we're going to have to ask you to deplane. This flight is canceled."
It was 23 hours until the start of the Strolling Jim 40M Run in Wartrace, TN (about an hour southeast of Nashville) and I was now stuck on the ground at my starting point in Syracuse, NY. This had just become a longer endurance event than I had planned on.
