The morning of July 18th was warm and humid. The rain had stopped and the temperature started to rise as race time approached. I was in Shrewsbury, Ma for a run to raise money for the Shrewsbury Parks and Rec. Special Needs Program. Even with the humidity a great number of people came out to help support the cause. Of all the people there for race day the fastest person in the entire crowd was Peggy. Peggy, the race director, is the woman pictured with me and Joe. She has a full length leg brace, which you can see the top of in the picture. WHAT!!!! OH YEAH. Peggy was in and got to more places faster than any sprinter I know. She was in the school answering questions before the race. She was at the starting line giving out instructions. I saw her in at least 2 different places along the course. She somehow got back to the finish line before I did. She did the final sweep of the course to make sure nobody was still out there. And was back giving out awards to finish the day. Overall Peggy, Joe, and all the volunteers put on a great race and did a great job.

Then there was Ann. Ann is pictured with me wearing her 30k race tee shirt. That was what started our conversation. Ann I found out is an English teacher. I immediately apologized for the grammar mistakes I was probably about to make. She was also a very talented runner, whom, like many runners, thinks her accomplishments don't stack up well against some other runners. In our conversation, however, I learned that on her __th birthday she ran the Boston Marathon. Did I mention I've never run a marathon? Our conversation was then interrupted when Peggy announced that Ann had taken 1st place in her running bracket. AND AND I heard that she had kicked my butt time wise for the course. If you go back to an entry I made that had a picture of a woman pushing a stroller with 2 kids in it, you would read something interesting. It talks about how I have this running backround, how I'm Italian, and how I have that male ego thing we don't like to admit to. And with all that said, all I could think of and say was" what a great day for Ann". She truly helped make the day wonderful watching her being rewarded for her talent.

So a great day, meeting new and old friends, running another race, money raised for a great cause, great conversation, in a place I'd never been before. And some people ask why I go to these races. I'll close with some great words said to me by Ann. When I asked her why she did the long runs she said: "Because one can".