Rainy June

Did you see the stories that we are in one of the top 5 rainiest June's in the Syracuse area? (Sitting at 4th at the start of today with a chance to move up.) Much better than fighting over water like they are in California though, right? This triggered a look back at the wettest, and somewhat deadly, June in Syracuse.

A big THANK YOU to Tim and Lindsay for a great TRY gathering on Friday night! I believe with kids and dogs that 20 "beings" attended? That is quite the get together for a random night in June. Thank you for being generous with your house and time. :-)

Today is forecast to be rain or storms all day, so a good chance of getting wet tonight. It's less than 2 weeks til the Boilermaker so could be a good time to hit up Faith Hill? Especially if people have not been getting any hilly runs in?

You married people know what I'm talking about here - sometimes it's just hard to "get in the mood" after doing the same thing over and over again. With the rainy, cool, weather it's not worth attempting a Thursday outing this week and there isn't much going on to write about from my beautiful mind this week.

BUT, Jill had a fun, different, event to share about. She is taking part in the "Anything That Rolls" event coming up on Sunday, July 19th. It appears to me that it will take place on the parkway itself (so basically the Corporate Challenge course) and is a non-competitive event (don't want to call it a "race") that supports AccessCNY (formerly was called "Enable and Transitional Living Services") as it raises money for services that support all sorts of disabilities.

Jill is requesting teammates for her "Tigger Rolls Too" team and while she didn't ask me to do this - I'm sure she'd welcome donations to either her or her team as well. Her priority is recruiting teammates to make the event more fun.

Stealing shamelessly from their event page:
"This annual event invites people of all ages and abilities to walk, ride, or roll with us down Onondaga Lake Parkway to support AccessCNY's services for individuals with developmental disabilities, physical disabilities, mental health issues and acquired brain injuries.

Bring your wheelchair, powerchair, bicycle, tricycle, unicycle, recumbent bike, roller skates, wagons, strollers, coat racks... anything goes! Travel as far as you'd like down our 3.5 mile route on Onondaga Lake Parkway. Stick around afterward for awards, games, photos, and fun!"

It's only $10 to join in (10 and under are free) and if you raise $50 or more you get a t-shirt. So, a really cheap option and something different to do. For people that need to see if the weather will cooperate, registration starts at 8:30 that day, "roll-out" is from 9:30-11:00 and the awards ceremony is at 11:15. (The event is centered at "Wegman's Landing" and the parkway itself will be closed, of course, for the 3 or so hours of the event.)

Fun Week and an Origin Story

Tuesday morning storms should give way to very pleasant summer weather in time for TRY. Normal time and place for our meet-up.

There are some fun things lined up for this week.Tuesday night and running are always fun, of course! Then we are attempting our first Thursday night field trip night of the summer, followed by an invite to a TRY friendly house party Friday night. (See Timmy's post on the FB page for details. He is asking for yes' by Wednesday for planning purposes, so please let him know by then.)

Thursday night: Since it is a "dollar night" at the Syracuse Chiefs and there are only a few of them throughout the season, I thought we could tie into that. The plan allows for running and baseball or just running, or just baseball.

Details:

Meet at 5:30 at the back end of the pedestrian bridge parking lot at Destiny Mall. From 5:35-6:30 do some sort of coordinated run along the Creekwalk. The group runs there in late November and December but this is great chance to actually run there in nice weather and even stop quickly to enjoy the view from the southern end of Onondaga Lake. Wrap up your run by 6:30 and call it a night. OR, make your way over to the baseball game (about 3/4 of a mile away?) and buy general admission tickets around about 6:50. (Slightly later if it's busy.) The baseball only option for people is to meet us over there or once inside the stadium. 

For baseball game part:

Parking is $5 or you can walk from street parking or Destiny mall for free (or carpool from our running location to save on number of people paying for parking). GA tickets are $5. Dollar Thursday means 1 dollar for hot dogs and sodas or 2 dollars for certain beers. We will find a space in the upper deck where we can safely stuff our faces and no one will notice our post running stink.

The education part:

(Nothing "important" from a TRY perspective from this point on, so continued reading is optional...but an interesting story for those who enjoy such things.)

Many of you run either the Boilermaker or other races and come across wheel chair runners...my interactions are almost always positive as the upright runners take time to cheer on the "chair" as they pass. (In the BM, it's almost always a slower one that gets caught by an average runner like me, and usually on a tough uphill section so the "chair" is usually struggling when I interact with them.) But how often do you get a chance to think about that specific racer and the path they've taken to get to that point? Well, that is why I thought this next story might strike a chord with some of you curious minded TRYers. A bunch of you were introduced to Desiree last month. (She was the woman in the racing wheel chair.) Some of you got to ask some question but here are some background for all of you...(Yes, I have her full permission to share her story.) She will hopefully be out at TRY another couple times this summer, so I think it's best if most of you know her story to better empathize with her and understand the ride she has been on.

Desiree was a fully able bodied athlete just over 3 years ago. Escalade and I met her during our first Tough Mudder adventure - the one in the Poconos in late April 2012. 

Through talking that weekend I learned she had done a few marathons and had even done fitness competitions! She was in better shape then I ever dreamed of being.

Through the magic of Facebook friendship I saw she did the Mountain Goat that year (here she is doing the kids run part with her 4ish year old son)

and another 5k or two, then not long after - in early June 2012, something weird happened. Long story short - she had a bulging disk in her neck that had bothered her some, but no big deal, right? Then one day, while simply standing up to get out of a folding chair at a school event for her child, the disc ruptured and she slumped back into her chair. From that very simple moment, she has not stood up on her own again. 

(Escalade and I visited her at St Joe's just before the RFL in 2012 - so we came bearing gifts of a cowbell to help her get the help she needed.)

Part of the disc that ruptured impinged on her spinal cord and it took hours and hours for a doctor to remove it. The long-term damage had been done and in the days and weeks following the surgery she would learn that the injury left her as a quadriplegic. There is a lot of uncertainty in spinal injuries so part of it is a waiting game to find out how the body responds and, of course, countless hours of physical therapy. Desiree is a tough bastard (physically and mentally) and has worked hard to get as much arm and hand function back as she can, but it's been a long, frustrating, process. Mentally, physically, and practically - her house had to be retro-fitted with ramps and accessible features just so she can make the most of it. She loves getting back out there and "running" with people like she used to. The simple training run she did with us led to a very happy Facebook updated. Then, that weekend she got out and did the Socci Stiletto Stampede 5K - and even got her picture in the online album at Syracuse.com. This was the day after Paige's and the several TRY shots we had in that album.

She's done a few road races since her injury and wants to do more. But it's difficult to get her and her chair to places to train or to race. (The chair is very light weight buy bulky, it takes two people to "load" her into it, and then there is the problem of finding people and timing it to get out and train or race. And she is not quite independent in the chair, so needs a race that allows her a running buddy to help her if she gets in trouble.) She, naturally, wishes this has never happened to her, but is determined to make the best of it and often has positive posts on her Facebook feed about what she has been able to do or advances in the medical community that may allow for a "miracle" cure - or at least advancement - someday? Here was a "shocking" photo when it showed up online...back on her feet through the miracle of a bracing system.

I remember we had to learn a bit about spinal cord injuries in high school, but most of what I know now I have learned over the last three years from either talking with her directly or mostly because of articles she posts online.

The location of a spinal cord injury determines what nerves are impacted and what mobility remains. Desiree's happens to be in the C5/6 vertebrae. (Cervical - therefore right near the top. Generally, the higher the injury on the spinal cord, the greater the degree of paralysis that results.) From what I remember hers is right at the point of impacting the arms and hands, or not, so there was a lot of wait and see what movement returned in the early days. At first she could barely use her hands but soon got to the point where she could close them enough to grab things and eventually use a wheel chair. I think to this day she still cannot make a fist though.

She corrected me in the past in defining her paralysis. She calls herself a quadriplegic, at which point, I naively asked: you can use your arms some, why aren't you considered a paraplegic? The answer is that she has limited use of her arms and since they are limited, the "quad" definition applies. Looking up references for this post, wikipedia actually redirects the entry for quad and puts it under "tetraplegia". You can read the details there, but it clearly states "partial, or total loss of use of all their limbs and torso". (Not that I doubted her answer, but it is a common misconception and I know I had it until knowing her.)

Something not directly related to her injury but very interesting from a humanity perspective is how her injury has taught her who her close friends really are. It turns out that there is nothing like a life altering event to show the quality, or lack thereof, of her family and friends. Some people surprise you in both directions and has been a cause of great joy and great misery for her as she found that out over the initial months and now years of being almost fully dependent on others. (Full disclosure - I haven't been that good of a friend to her myself - as I've been a bit busy the past three years. But we're all busy, so I do question myself and why I do not get in positions to help her out more? So, that is why I hope and plan to get her to TRY a few times this running season and help her get some training runs in so she is more prepared for any 5K's she may choose to do. And hopefully, at least once, I'll get to help her on race day because I think that would be very fascinating to see a race from that perspective. I like to see things from different angles and that definitely is a different angle.)

It is hard to know my audiences interest so I'm going to stop at this point. She has posted so much over the last three years that I have found interesting and sometimes fascinating, but I'm not sure if anyone else will? If people are curious, let me know, and I'll add some more unique references to future posts...including the surprising details to me that paralyzed people still can and do have a sex life. (She re-posts from a national blogger who has made it her life's mission to de-mystify some stereotypes that the world has about paralysis...the details have not come from Desiree's life directly.)

Thanks to anyone who has read to the end - let me (or Desiree) know if this has spurred any questions in your mind?

Challenging Times

It's Corporate Challenge week so that means that there is no room for TRY at the normal time. After consulting with a few of you, we have decided to aim for a 5:10 meet-up time with a 5:15 start up time for "early" TRY - look for familliar faces very close to where we usually meet - but perhaps a handful of steps further in the park if too many muggles are around. It's not all that early, but that 20 minutes difference makes a difference in hundreds and hundreds of more people getting into Liverpool, so those minutes do count and hopefully still allow almost everyone that wants to make it, to get there. (No parkway access, so travel time into Liverpool is increased.)

I plan to be there a bit earlier (by 4:45) and hanging around the playground area with the boys and a sister, so you don't have to wait to hang out if you can get there ahead of time. If you get to the start area after 5:15, just run down the normal park as always - we'll be out there doing our 2-4 mile runs as usual, and expect to be done and going separate ways (if need be) by 6.

The corporate challenge should start about 6:25 (last I knew - someone please correct me if that is much different) and I plan to get out about a 1/4 to a 1/2 mile down the course (a little past the main throng) and cheer on any and everyone I know...think cowbells if you want to join in on the cheering section! We have TRYers on teams from Lockheed Martin, Wegmans, Goulds Pumps, Eaton, and probably more that I do not know about?

I'll leave it up to the cool people as to whether there is an after CC gathering at one of the local places? It makes for a fun (but busy) night with all the different people hanging out in their team colors.

Call me Caitlyn

Let's start with some fun. Did you all see that a 92 year old woman set a record by finishing the San Diego Rock n' Roll marathon over the weekend? Did you see the local connection that she is a Syracuse alumna? If you want to have your faith in humanity destroyed after reading this heartwarming story - read the comments below the local story. People are dicks! Especially people who do Ironman triathlons. There are only about one step up from those inhuman cross-fitters. :-/ (Since not everyone will read it, the key negative commenter chimed in that she finished outside the official marathon course limit of 7 hours and therefore is not even an official finisher.) FYI - she did it in just under 17 minute per mile pace.

Next week is one of the two Tuesdays all season where there is not a normal TRY meet-up. The Chase Corporate Challenge kicks us out of the park. Several TRYers are taking part in the Corporate Challenge itself so will be around for that. For others of you, if you don't mind some crowds, I encourage you to come to the park a bit early and join me for a run before the challenge. I do request attendance for this so that we can coordinate. You have to avoid the "parkway" and depending on timing, you have to park outside of the traditional park as well. We'll meet at approximately 4:45 and start at 4:50 (if that works for the few of you that can do this - if not, it can be a bit later - let's talk) and I'll use my phone to track down anyone that is a bit late due to travel issues. We will do a simple run on the normal part of the park trail and then are done in time for you to leave, or grab a drink or ice cream, while waiting for the corporate challengers to get done and join you. (It's always fun to cheer on as well. With the huge turnout and the team shirts it makes for a colorful crush of people going by.)

This week - it's all normal though. 5:30 meet-up, 5:35ish group start. Where are all the new people? Are we that offensive that no one comes back more than once?

Does anyone want to join in and check out the new location and setup for the Liverpool Relay For Life this Friday night? I need to find a more precise schedule that I will post on the Facebook group, but I know that music starts by 5 and opening ceremonies (with Ted and Amy from 93Q!) starts at 6:30. It is at the Liverpool high school track and therefore has built in concession stand and much nicer amenities than Long Branch Park had. What it won't have is a natural feel to it, and you know, trees. They've changed the location and moved the weekend by 2 weeks, but I still plan to check it out for a while. I'm aiming for arriving at 6ish and hope to see a couple of you there.

Paige's Butterfly Run is on Saturday - you can still join in. Online registration ends tonight (Tuesday night) and I believe you can do in person registration through the event morning? (I'm too lazy to look that up since I have no idea if any of you are even considering it who haven't already signed up.)

We have two centipede division teams signed up again and plan to run the 5K, witness the Caterpillar Crawl - should have a few kids in that, then walk the 3K, then watch the award ceremony and then have a quick lunch at Taste of Syracuse. For those of you who like to plan ahead, here is a list of all the dollar sample items. (From bacon-infused goodness, to maple candies, to bang-bang...the ToS has so much to offer.)

Lastly - have you ever attempted to raise money for online fundraiser by posting on Facebook? Did you realize that 99% of people just ignore your online appeals? So, if you have some disposable income to burn, some tax deductions to make, or like either of these causes, consider donating. Drew is raising money for his Tour de Cure ride this coming weekend. (It raises money for the American Diabetes Foundation.) And Catherine is off to a whopping start in her efforts to raise money for the Food Bank of CNY. Don't forget you can drop off non-perishable food items for the Food Bank of CNY inside the OLP visitor center, any Tuesday, right next to where we meet for TRY!

Mommy, I Need More Wrecking Ball

Before you read on, remember that this is a holiday...so take it easy on my have butted effort.

Eric V seemed to "enjoy" his first taste of TRY intervals and it reminded me just how important and useful of a training tool they can be...so I encourage those who are ready (I'm thinking the Lisa's, Matt's and Stevil's of the world) to start to incorporate some speed work into your weekly routines - hopefully on Tuesday nights when you have people to suffer along side of. So, that goes for anyone ready to crank up their workouts and are eager to train smarter. Other people, keep building up and let the more experienced runners know if you have questions about where you are at in your running training. We've had a handful of new people show up in the last month - but the return rate has been very poor. Probably just a coincidence but it does make me question if we are being as welcoming as we can be? Obviously being hot and in wicked good shape is going to rub people the wrong way, so I strongly encourage everyone to tone that part of themselves down...we aren't crossfitters after all, so no reason why we should be scaring normal people away!

OK, onto the fluffy part:
You long time readers and TRYers know that I do everything I can to hide my true, gay, self behind a veneer of constant one-liners, ethnic slurs, and hawkward innuendo, and by using my puppet family as props - obviously the kids are a bit too cute to actually be mine. So, it is very rare for me to let my guard down and use an actual true story that cuts to the core of me. Enjoy this rare 100% unfiltered view into my real life:

I swear that in the past few days I've had multiple conversations on the impressive, and seemingly under appreciated,  quality of the song "Wrecking Ball", by Miley Cyrus. It led to some repeated listens during recent road trips culminated by tonight's return to Syracuse where my first born kept requesting it to be played again and again. After a few listens and then attempting to play other songs, at least twice he said something along the lines of "Mommy, I need more wrecking ball" to my first wife sitting in the back seat with him. I honestly do not know if I should be proud? Or if I should call up CPS and hand him over to a more worthy person to raise him? We did limit it to about 6 to 7 listens total within a 30 minute period, but I fear if there is damage to be done, it would have certainly been done within that amount of time. (Not to mention continued damage if I continue on to choreograph a dance to it this coming week - which is a very strong possibility as I write this.)

Parenting is a tricky pickle, no?

I can thank the silly, but entertaining "lip sync battle" shtick for bringing the song back into my life. Kudos to Anne Hathaway for this epic spoof of the original video. I'm starting it at the pertinent part, but the whole thing is worth a watch if you enjoy the Jimmy Fallon lip sync videos that have been coming out for months now from his show (and/or like Emily Blunt the overwhelmed opponent during this round):



And since there is so much turnover in TRY (or if your memory is as short as mine is) this TRY post from September of 2013 is a tour-de-force look at Miley's version. Enjoy it for the first time, or take a swing down memory lane. What's not to love about a little construction soft-core? They don't call them hard hats for nothing! Amirite?!

Lastly, we have two Centipede teams lined up for Paige's Butterfly Run in a week and a half. I'm sorry that some people get left out each year, but I do appreciate the fact that we've entered two teams into the fun for three straight years now and that so many of you are willing and flexible to join and get bumped or switch between teams as necessary to fit the personnel. Splitting people on intervals of 5 is not a simple task, so your flexibility is key. You truly do answer the call when I put it out there with minimal notice and I totally appreciate it!

For those of you not on the teams, there is no reason not to run as an individual - you can hang out with the gang all morning and be a part of 90% of the fun. And even for those of you not up to running a full 5K - say like Jill - there is the mile (or mile and a half?) fitness run/walk that plenty of people run and tons of people walk - so there really is an event for every one that comes out to TRY on a Tuesday night. (Not to mention the kiddie "caterpillar crawl" that all the TRYers in strollers are welcome to do for free.) It truly is a case of the more, the merrier. Let me know if you have any questions about any parts of the event!

Time to Butter-Fly

Just like my life, my posts are a disjointed mess of wonderfulness...so there will be some recaps and repeats here. I can never truly tell (or am willing to spend the time to sleuth it out) who sees the blog stuff, who sees the Facebook stuff and what-not. So, I'll re-cover some ground here, just in case. For those of you who read everything the first time, skip, skip, skip:

Good chance for a rainy and stormy day this week, so choose wisely about coming out and what run you plan to do. Escalade would advise for you to challenge yourself and run in the rain. (Repost from the FB page):



Last week, I put my "good" post out there on Tuesday itself and it had enough potential interesting stuff in it that I think it's worth a read, or certainly a skim - who doesn't crack up at mid-race photos?...so scroll down or jump to last weeks post.

Duerr just shared an article from Syracuse.com tonight that touches on some similar themes as my post last week. I definitely did not come up with the theme - but it's interesting how closely timed that article is. Know this - YOU - the running public - very much have race directors attention. They want to get you and keep you and are very worried about losing you. So, use your power judiciously and reward the races that deserve to be rewarded!

Speaking of rewarding a race that deserves to be rewarded - it is high time to support TRY's favorite local fundraising race - Paige's Butterfly Run. I have a post on Facebook about looking for "Centipede Division" runners, but am looking for more than have replied there. By my unofficial count, EIGHTEEN different TRYers have taken part in the past five years on the seven different teams we have fielded. Last year included six first timers out of our ten runners for our faster and slower teams, so you don't need to be afraid to give it a shot. I expect almost everyone this year to be a repeat runner, based on TRY demographics, but maybe not? I'm going to save the sales pitch, since almost everyone should know it...but if you need more convincing than what follows, let me know.

Just realize that, while I'm certainly overstating our value, we have become a part of the event. Not just as participants, but more like a part of the fiber of the events tapestry. As I write this, Runaway Bride is prominently featured on this years registration materials (a random person just told me last week they had just seen my face somewhere)...and an email just showed up today that pulled out a photo of RUNder Contruction from 2012. So, if you are interested in giving to and connecting with an event in a way that goes a bit deeper, this is your chance. All I ask is that you bring your sense of humor, set aside your morning for the cause, and get CONNECTED. :-)

We have one more week at cheap registration prices, so lets get things decided soon...I'll talk to who I can at the run at the park but who else wants in? Look at the Facebook page header photo for the joy it can bring to your life.

And I'll end with the pertinent part of today's email:

A Tale of Three Races

I do not even have to pretend to write about the training runs anymore, do I? (Let me know and I can attempt something, but it is such a diverse group with diverse training needs that official guidance seems pointless.)

On last weeks post from csnphilly.com - http://www.csnphilly.com/blog/700-level/message-runners-everywhere-shutttttt-uppppppp Sure, it was cheesy and it was not even historically accurate (thanks Mark for pointing that out!), but I did feel it was illuminating in that it COULD BE how non-runners truly feel about what we love to do - run! And to talk about it before and after and any other time that someone will listen. (The running in place at street crossings IS darn ridiculous looking so at least one point of the article was spot on!) Just keep in mind that not everyone wants to run, or talk about running, or even overhear people talk about running. Know your audience and, at times, you maybe should keep your obsession to yourself? It's a shame, but will be appreciated by some people. (It brought back a memory for me of the first year of TRY - when someone named Ally, who will not be named here to protect the innocent, had a sister that HATED hanging out with some of us because she felt like and and noted multiple times - "that all we ever talked about was that stupid running group".) Oops.

I went to one of Fleet Feet Sports race directors meetings this winter and was surprised to hear them emphasize reduction in the number of races and combination of races where we could. 2014 was the first year in memory where race participation had gone done. (I don't quite believe that "fact" but supposedly the race timing services had come up with it - that across all of their races, total races run had gone down compared to the year before.) The meeting I was at was for "experienced" race directors - and longer term events, but they warned us that continued growth is by no means a guarantee and that getting smarter, working harder, and getting the 20-something crowd were going to be keys for any race looking to the future.

I found it "interesting" that the Tipp Hill run - which seemingly could do no wrong with how quickly it had grown and become Syracuse's largest race (from what I know of) had it's lowest turnout (based on number of finishers) in the last three years - 2790 this year, after 3508 and 2994 the previous two years.

Now my tale of three races -- 

All ones I'm connected with that were 8 days apart this year. (With 2 at the exact same time.)

How exactly did I end up at an experienced race directors meeting? Through helping out with the Paint Westvale Purple 5K. For several years I've wanted to help out with a race and now that I have, it was illuminating on just how much work goes into a "simple" 5K race. I was the 6th most important person on a 6 person race committee and I think I did as little of work as anyone - definitely a lot less than the main 4 and it still really took up a lot of my time from time to time. I mostly did their website their informal graphic designs needs (simple logos). I also made it to some of their meetings and was involved on their hundreds and hundreds of email exchanges. In three years now they've gone from 200 participants, to 400, to almost 500 and from raising a few thousand dollars, to several thousand, to this year breaking the $10,000 threshold. They've grown because they care, they put in a TON of effort, they have a "hook" - the purple thing - that's fun. They provide a lot of value to their volunteers - purple PWP cowbells and shopping bags this year and they try to promote the race everywhere. From a billboard, to the paper, to going on 93Q. They certainly could be more efficient with the money - it's hard to say how much the "expensive" advertising actually helped and while it's nice to reward your volunteers, who is to say that it actually pays for itself?

Their growth is nearing its end - if for no other reason than they are close to maxing out their location and because it's so closely tied into the location, they cannot really move it like Paige's did without losing its identity. They do seem content with that though - to limit having to spend any more time on it, but to also keep the quality of it high - they would rather put on a great/fun race for 600 then attempt to do something for a thousand runners. This year was the first year it was timed, they cranked up the on course entertainment, and they added a bake-sale, more vendor tables, and had what could be considered a small expo component to their packet pick-up night and race morning. I'm not sure there is anywhere to go from here? I think the next step is just to be more efficient while keeping the quality the same.

My takeaway from my insiders view this year - it is great to be a part of a fun and successful race, but with sponsor and weather uncertainty and with the procrastinating nature of runner sign-ups, it's a bit nerve wracking and almost cannot be worth the amount of time put into it? If they told me I was being replaced by someone better on the committee for next year I would be sad but relieved at the same time.

The Making Tracks For Celiacs event was sadly on the exact same day (and time) as PWP this year. So I had to pull my support of MTFC and fulfill my vows to PWP. My first wife and her family did go to it so I did hear plenty about it. It is important to note that the run is actually an afterthought at that event and it often shows. Plus, with me pulling out and no LM support to speak of this year I heard it took a noticeable step back with quality of runners an on course support. This year they had 55 finishers which was actually up from last years 42 (might be a mistake there though as that does not include walking times?), but way down from 2 years ago when over 100 people finished. They hurt themselves by always moving the day of the event, by always changing the course, by even changing the timing company this year... but all of that is probably irrelevant to the organizers? They focus on the very well done basket raffles, the best in its class goodie bags (all sorts of gluten free stuff) and fun, gluten free vendors. So, the event overall is stagnating, the race portion is an afterthought, but it is still an educational and fundraising success, so it may be all good? The uniqueness of it's location - Jamesville Beach also limits its growth potential. It's awesome on a nice weather day, but on a year like this year, catching a cold and windy day really took the fun out of it.

The last of the three is the venerable Mountain Goat Run. It's the race that made me the runner I am (perhaps the runner I am not?) these days as I feel my running matured from a hack into a decent (if always below average) distance runner on all those training runs I did over the years. I am saddened that I abandoned the race the last few years, but that's at least partially due to the major changes to the training run program. A victim of its own success - something had to give - but the result is the best part of the event has been neutered. I still love the views (despite them taking two of the most scenic spots out of it when making the "new" course 10 or so years ago. The variety of the course is top notch and I like being able to run through so much of the city that we call home. So, that's why I drag myself out there to cheer every year that I do not run it. I feel I owe it to the event that gave so much to my running.

I looked up the number of finishers and kept going back to see when the last year was that had as few as this year. Turns out I had to go all the way back to 2010! Coincidence? The bad weather late winter and spring? Or an event that has outgrown itself? Hard to say...but definitely a bit damning that it had already flat-lined for the past three years.

2015 - 2109
2014 - 2464
2013 - 2517
2012 - 2525
2011 - 2243
2010 - 2062

Note: I'm ignoring the shorter race - so that may be growing?

All my blabbing has come to an end and your reward for reading this far (or knowing to skip ahead) is "a tradition like so many others"...our Mountain Goat race photo shaming section! Actually, I attempt to maximize a decent looking picture when I can. Trust me, I avoided some duds this year...so hopefully nobody minds how they look in these glamour shots. Remember - it's hard to look good while running - but apparently it's easy for some people to always find and wave to the cameras!

We had a ton of TRYers (core and fringe and once-upon-a-timers) complete the race this year! Nice job making my job of compiling the photos a tough one. And a special congratulations to our first time finishers. :-) Hopefully I'm not leaving anyone out? (Undoubtedly I am - so just holler if you know someone I missed.)

Katie - 23rd overall female!



Our MG poster girl. Two lessons here - 1) If you keep your maiden name as a middle name, I will find you. 2) These modern jog bras with their "cloaking technology" really suck. Something beautiful is no more. :-(




Kelly - looking lean and team beefy.



Laura - not quite sure what that was. A wave? A stumble? Looked fun, so I blew it up.




Aaron - with an uncanny ability to find every camera.



Janna - wearing yellow not unlike a banana?



Kristen - warming up for her hyman (actually a two person team marathon) in Vermont.



Eric - salsa-ing his way to a nice finish.



Cynthia - looking waaaay too happy. Steve must be doing at least one thing right!



Duerr - showing off that kick and those kicks.




Stevil - despite looking less happy, still the better half. Right?




Tiffany - because sometimes it's best to wing a 10 mile, hilly, race.




Lisa - showing off her 'thousand yard stare' and an ability to kick in her husband at the end.




Matt - maybe he let her beat him?



Christine - it's been a while, but she showed up for TRY once upon a time. Still running and enjoying it.



Lindsay - First time, but not the last, right Linds? Get that husband of yours out there one of these years.



Lastly, as a double reward for anyone who gets to here - the all timer Mountain Goat photo(s) that can never be beat: Go Nuts!