It was a dark and stormy night. Which was O.K. The race was in the morning and it has sunny and the roads had dried. This was the second running of the Buckley Heritage Days 5K. It has only been promoted locally and each of the runners was a local. The last Census put the population of 550. I called the race’s sponsor for details. The ad posted at the local party store said to do that. The event’s sponsor did not have a clue as to the details. Simply that the race started at the “Old Fire Hall” at 7:00 AM. Something told me this was going to be a small race. The entry fee was $7.00 and it included a T shirt. Registration was 7:00 and race time was 8:00AM. The total number of registrants turned out to be 28. Many of the runners were in the school’s cross country team. Since it was a local race to promote a sense of community, I decided to wear a black, ribbed Batman tank top, black running shorts, off white socks and Asics gel with some numbers in the name. Ray was there, he’s a powerful runner and last year’s Master winner. It was a great surprise to see Jim there. It was kind of kewl to know most of the racers. DS’s best friend, Andrew, was there. I met a few new people too. As most of the runners were less than ½ my age and even more looked green, I started in back. So did Ray. Kewl. The man with the whistle said “On your mark, get set…” Then the whistle failed. Some of us came back and the whistle failed again. We all took off again and behind us we heard the whistle loud and clear. Third time is the charm. The first mile is a steady up hill and most of the fast starters began to fade. I knew it wasn’t a big hill, so I left my utility belt at home. I was still behind a number of runners and I needed to think fast. One kid, about 15 had a very full head of hair and it nearly made an afro. I shouted up to the young man, “Buddy, I’ve got some bad news for you. When I was your age, I had hair just like yours”. He turned back and looked. The sun reflected off of my ample forehead, into the teen’s eyes. He fell to the ground in a fetal position and began crying for his mommy. When the rest of us trampled over him, I nearly tripped. Rotten kid. After we reached the top of the hill, I picked up the pace a bit since the next ½ mile was a gentle down hill. As it’s been a while since I’ve had steady training, I simply got in the groove and counted my blessings. At the next turn, I passed three more runners. A ways a head of me, I saw the next runner. There was not much chance of catching her and it didn’t matter because she could not bump me from hardware. Then it dawned on me that I was giving myself permission to do less that what I know I could. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. A bull’s eye appeared on her back and she became a target. During the next mile of gentle rolling hills, I gained on the target. She beat me to the turn and there was about ½ a mile left. Reaching deeper, I caught up to her and she said, “You did this to me last year”. It’s nice to be remembered. She ran faster, and so did I. We hit the base of one last gentle hill and she faded. Around the last turn, I had a clear shot to the finish line and was tempted to coast. Some one yelled, “She’s behind you!” Or something similar and I let it all out. Crossing the line I nearly puked. Embrace the pukey feeling. The woman behind me was not the woman I passed a bit ago but some mysterious stranger. DW was at the finish with Ace, our dog. He’s an unruly beast and was in much pain because he wasn’t the center of attention and all the kids were not fawning over him. Andrew took 1st OA. Ray 1st in Masters again. Jim 1st in 35 to 39 AG. I took 1St in 40-49 AG with 29:15. One man who took 3rd in his AG ran the race pushing a stroller with two kids and he was wearing blue jeans. There were at least four in his AG. There were only two people over 40. Ray was one of them and he’s 53. So, I had 1st AG as well as DFL in AG all in the same race. Man did I get my $7.00 worth!!! 11th out of 28 OA.

Great racing and thoroughly enjoyed your report! Thanks!

I agree with Stumpy---your reports are always wonderful. The joy you have when you are running is without equal. Your race reports always make me smile, laugh, cheer and think deeper thoughts too (well, not TOO deep). I hope there was some net revenue from the race fee to get a new whistle for the RD! I use the abundance of hair in my ponytail as my weapon. A good strategic head toss and those at my side are vanquished. Ha! Good racing and report. Thanks Steve as always. Karin

Hilarious as always!! Hey, an AG award is an AG award! Thanks for the report.

$7, a DFL and a 1st in AG??? Priceless!!!!

Yep, 1st in AG and $7 with a t-shirt, you can't beat that! Good job and great report! huskydon

Then it dawned on me that I was giving myself permission to do less that what I know I could. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. A bull’s eye appeared on her back and she became a target.

I love this part... Congratulations on your AG win, however it came....