What a great bunch of runners I was able to meet on this past July 4th. On the left is Dave. Dave was in site the whole race. Unfortunately it was his back that was in sight and even though I got to within 10 feet of him on occasion I just wasn't able to pass him. But Dave became a great new friend and introduced me to many of his friends. On the Right are Debbie and Jillian. Not only was it great to meet them at this race, but one week later i met them at another race. Deb Took 2nd in her age division at that race and finished far enough ahead of me that she was able to be one of the cheering supporters as I was finishing my race--THANKS.I am used to traveling a good distance each weekend to run a race. I do this because as a small business owner I like to just "run away" and leave my home turf for a few brief hours. Usually by leaving the area I am able to either 1: forget about--IT ALL-- because -IT ALL- is not surrounding me wherever I go and 2: the travel time, sometimes, allows me to think about-IT- and make some decisions peacefully. However on this past July 4th I decided to go to a race that was advertised as a 5k and had a picture in it's newspaper ad of at least 100+ runners at the start of a race. WOW, a 10.5 mile trip, on a holiday weekend, to be able to run with a big group of people sounded great. There was also a festival going on in the same park during the weekend and that included alot of the best live music the area has to offer--a home run! Where the picture in the ad came from I don't know. 35 of us actually ran. Turns out it was the 1st annual race put on by this group. Also turns out instead of a 5k it was a 5 miler.---TIME OUT--- I need to say something here that some of you may disagree with, but, I feel it has to be said. I watched people come to the sign up table, find out it was a 5 miler, and leave. These people had decided to come to this park to run this race. They had set the time aside to- enjoy the run, the day, the people they were going to meet,and feel the feeling of completing a road race---AND THEY LEFT. These people walked away from the chance of having one of the best running days of their running experience. You need to understand that there are only a small number of people that even think they have a shot at winning any race of this type. The rest of us should be there to do the best that we can do--OUR OWN PERSONAL BEST. As I told a couple who came together and left together because they didn't want to try the extra 1.9 miles---JUST SLOW DOWN AND GIVE IT A SHOT. The times of the first few runners are the only ones matter to the whole race. The rest of us should be there to give it your own best. Had those people stayed and ran or walked across the finish line they would have done what they thought they couldn't do--- WHAT A BOOST TO THEIR RUNNING EGO IT WOULD HAVE BEEN.
What a great bunch of runners I was able to meet on this past July 4th. On the left is Dave. Dave was in site the whole race. Unfortunately it was his back that was in sight and even though I got to within 10 feet of him on occasion I just wasn't able to pass him. But Dave became a great new friend and introduced me to many of his friends. On the Right are Debbie and Jillian. Not only was it great to meet them at this race, but one week later i met them at another race. Deb Took 2nd in her age division at that race and finished far enough ahead of me that she was able to be one of the cheering supporters as I was finishing my race--THANKS.I am used to traveling a good distance each weekend to run a race. I do this because as a small business owner I like to just "run away" and leave my home turf for a few brief hours. Usually by leaving the area I am able to either 1: forget about--IT ALL-- because -IT ALL- is not surrounding me wherever I go and 2: the travel time, sometimes, allows me to think about-IT- and make some decisions peacefully. However on this past July 4th I decided to go to a race that was advertised as a 5k and had a picture in it's newspaper ad of at least 100+ runners at the start of a race. WOW, a 10.5 mile trip, on a holiday weekend, to be able to run with a big group of people sounded great. There was also a festival going on in the same park during the weekend and that included alot of the best live music the area has to offer--a home run! Where the picture in the ad came from I don't know. 35 of us actually ran. Turns out it was the 1st annual race put on by this group. Also turns out instead of a 5k it was a 5 miler.---TIME OUT--- I need to say something here that some of you may disagree with, but, I feel it has to be said. I watched people come to the sign up table, find out it was a 5 miler, and leave. These people had decided to come to this park to run this race. They had set the time aside to- enjoy the run, the day, the people they were going to meet,and feel the feeling of completing a road race---AND THEY LEFT. These people walked away from the chance of having one of the best running days of their running experience. You need to understand that there are only a small number of people that even think they have a shot at winning any race of this type. The rest of us should be there to do the best that we can do--OUR OWN PERSONAL BEST. As I told a couple who came together and left together because they didn't want to try the extra 1.9 miles---JUST SLOW DOWN AND GIVE IT A SHOT. The times of the first few runners are the only ones matter to the whole race. The rest of us should be there to give it your own best. Had those people stayed and ran or walked across the finish line they would have done what they thought they couldn't do--- WHAT A BOOST TO THEIR RUNNING EGO IT WOULD HAVE BEEN. 