MikE
Color Me Gone
Myself and the family traveled to Charleston [wv] labor day weekend to partiscipate in the 31st Charleston Distance Run. As in 1999 & 2002, I would be doing something different from all the two legged runners, I'd be pushing my son the full 15 mile distance in a baby jogger. This year would be Julian's first crack at the race, replacing his older brother Marquise in the cockpit. I had received a special allowance for us to partiscipate and was looking forward to testing our fitness against the field as well as our previous P.R. [personal record] in 1999.
This race is special to me; it was my very first road race in 1974 and I have returned in 1982, 1991 - running solo - to challenge myself. And challenge it is. In addition to the lenght of the race, the course is rather hilly. At mile three there is a hill that extends for one mile, called "Capital Punishment Hill". It's usually hot and humid there as well, so it's always a "ball buster" to say the least. The fact that I'm pushing a baby jogger isn't really as much of a handicap as it would appear. Though while the uphills are tough, the long downhills were worse because of the rainy course I had to be extra careful on the steep descents.
Here's a picture of us finishing up on the track at the end of the race. The reception we received was excellant, and Julian was a very good sport about it. We both received our own finisher's medal, and we were pictured in the local newspaper. There were about 700 runners competing, though no one challenged the Kenyans that showed up. Our time was disappointing but as they say, "The pain doesn't last forever, but the memories will".
MikE
This race is special to me; it was my very first road race in 1974 and I have returned in 1982, 1991 - running solo - to challenge myself. And challenge it is. In addition to the lenght of the race, the course is rather hilly. At mile three there is a hill that extends for one mile, called "Capital Punishment Hill". It's usually hot and humid there as well, so it's always a "ball buster" to say the least. The fact that I'm pushing a baby jogger isn't really as much of a handicap as it would appear. Though while the uphills are tough, the long downhills were worse because of the rainy course I had to be extra careful on the steep descents.
Here's a picture of us finishing up on the track at the end of the race. The reception we received was excellant, and Julian was a very good sport about it. We both received our own finisher's medal, and we were pictured in the local newspaper. There were about 700 runners competing, though no one challenged the Kenyans that showed up. Our time was disappointing but as they say, "The pain doesn't last forever, but the memories will".
MikE
