Hearing how the other half runs
I missed my first Scripps Ranch 10k and didn't have the stamina or balance to go down and then back up a huge hill on crutches to see the finish. Instead, I listened from my backyard, which is directly up from the canyon park where the race finishes.
An enthusiastic crowd welcomed home the winners, Nazario Romero in the men's division with an insane 32 minutes and change. Second and third were within close distance. Ironman champion Heather Fuhr was just three minutes behind to take the women's side, followed closely by Olympian Michellie Jones, whose first name the emcee kept mispronouncing.
A 13-year-old kid was among the top finishers, coming in at 38:50. I guess he figured talent trumped age because next thing you know, the announcer's telling him specifically to stay out of the beer garden. By the way, one of my daughter's old boyfriends, Nick Lake, turned in a stunning performance of 36:34. Go Nick!
Among the special high-fives: my Couples Run partner Mark G., set a PR of 50:52 (officially). Yea, Mark! And the track club's master's runner, Amy Allen, finished third in her age group. I got to congratulate both at the house afterward. And my training partner Tara, who hasn't run a day since the marathon, finished in an hour. She stopped by for a visit too.
The announcer continually thanked everyone for participating. There are other holiday road races, including a 15k/5k in Coronado, to grab runners' money. Attendance was up from last year, as were the temps. It was just shy of 70 degrees at the start with 75% humidity. Later, some of the runners that stopped by the house said the conditions were similar to the start of the Rock 'n' Roll marathon, which weren't good.
Other announcements encouraged drinking liquids and remembering to grab this year's T-shirt, with a cool design. The EMTs, I guess, were busy. Some announcements were funny, but one really tugged. Apparently someone abandoned their child at the start of the 2-mile fun run and he was unsure what to do. An hour into the 10k race, someone got on the PA system."We've got a young man who's lost and not doing well." They gave the kids' bib number but not his name, making me think they were worried about privacy violations and, more importantly, kidnappings. Apparently the race officials cared more about the kid than his parents or guardian.
There's more to our 4th, but it will have to wait. Our PC bit the dust thanks to someone in the house opening an attachment in an instant message and downloading a particularly nasty Trojan that Norton couldn't neutralize or quarantine. Remember: Never, ever open attachments in instant messages. A certain teenager in our house that just lost thousands of iTunes songs and pictures will back me up on that...even if she didn't back up her music and photos as her father'd told her for months now. I lost a lot too, but I'll live. To hear our daughter, she won't.
An enthusiastic crowd welcomed home the winners, Nazario Romero in the men's division with an insane 32 minutes and change. Second and third were within close distance. Ironman champion Heather Fuhr was just three minutes behind to take the women's side, followed closely by Olympian Michellie Jones, whose first name the emcee kept mispronouncing.
A 13-year-old kid was among the top finishers, coming in at 38:50. I guess he figured talent trumped age because next thing you know, the announcer's telling him specifically to stay out of the beer garden. By the way, one of my daughter's old boyfriends, Nick Lake, turned in a stunning performance of 36:34. Go Nick!
Among the special high-fives: my Couples Run partner Mark G., set a PR of 50:52 (officially). Yea, Mark! And the track club's master's runner, Amy Allen, finished third in her age group. I got to congratulate both at the house afterward. And my training partner Tara, who hasn't run a day since the marathon, finished in an hour. She stopped by for a visit too.
The announcer continually thanked everyone for participating. There are other holiday road races, including a 15k/5k in Coronado, to grab runners' money. Attendance was up from last year, as were the temps. It was just shy of 70 degrees at the start with 75% humidity. Later, some of the runners that stopped by the house said the conditions were similar to the start of the Rock 'n' Roll marathon, which weren't good.
Other announcements encouraged drinking liquids and remembering to grab this year's T-shirt, with a cool design. The EMTs, I guess, were busy. Some announcements were funny, but one really tugged. Apparently someone abandoned their child at the start of the 2-mile fun run and he was unsure what to do. An hour into the 10k race, someone got on the PA system."We've got a young man who's lost and not doing well." They gave the kids' bib number but not his name, making me think they were worried about privacy violations and, more importantly, kidnappings. Apparently the race officials cared more about the kid than his parents or guardian.
There's more to our 4th, but it will have to wait. Our PC bit the dust thanks to someone in the house opening an attachment in an instant message and downloading a particularly nasty Trojan that Norton couldn't neutralize or quarantine. Remember: Never, ever open attachments in instant messages. A certain teenager in our house that just lost thousands of iTunes songs and pictures will back me up on that...even if she didn't back up her music and photos as her father'd told her for months now. I lost a lot too, but I'll live. To hear our daughter, she won't.
