What started as just a summer job in 2003 quickly turned
into my life. Now 15 years later, the
Falmouth Road Race is all about reunions with friends that have become family
and new race weekend traditions.
Until about 4pm the day before the race, I didn’t think I
was going to run this year due to injury and lack of training. A few texts with friends and I made up my
mind. Long story short… I didn’t want to
miss out!
I got up race morning bright and early and headed to
Lizzie’s house. We took the buses to the
start with her friend Kelly and found our spot by the water. There I met up with all my run club friends
(Happy 10th Anniversary Jason & Danielle!) and ran into my big sis Kima.
My original plan was to stay with Lizzie—take it easy and
have fun—but I made a rookie mistake and had to use the bathroom too close to
the start of the race. My low bib number
got me in the elite area (aka a ton of porta potties with no lines) so I made
my way to the front. By the time I got
there, I knew I would never make it back to my friends.
I watched the elite women start, said hi to Chris George, found Eric Wheeler and waited
close to the start line in a place that I definitely didn’t belong.
When the gun went off, I started running. Other than the “test” mile I had run the day
before, I hadn’t run in over 3 weeks. I
quickly learned where my fitness was at.
I went through the first two miles in 7:17 and 7:23 then started
walk/running the rest of the way to the finish.
When I felt like walking, I walked.
When I felt like running, I ran.
Foot felt great. Lungs felt
awful. It was also pretty hot—I saw a
few runners go down—and my nutrition/hydration hadn’t been great the previous
days so I didn’t want to take any chances.
I am always amazed at how awesome the running community
is. I was blown away in Houston by the
support other runners showed when I walked the final 7.2 miles of the race and
Falmouth was no different. People I
know. People I didn’t know. So much cheering and encouragement to “keep
going!”
A big surprise on the course was seeing my parents on
Robbins Road! They spotted me before I
saw them and I was pretty embarrassed that I was walking at the time!
I crossed the finish line in 57:35 and waited along the side
of the road until I saw on the app that Lizzie crossed the finish line. We got our Yasso bars and met up with Kelly
on the ball field. They both had great
races. Kellen ran his first Falmouth Road Race in 58:18 (😜) and
had an awesome experience. Don’t I
always saw that running is contagious?
He was a little late to the start so I didn’t get to meet up with him
before the race but we found each other on the ball field. He’s already talking about next year. I love it!
To wrap up an awesome race day, I attended the post-race VIP
party. It’s always a fun time with my
road race #oldiesbutgoodies family… and Abdi.
Congratulations to all finishers! See you all next year!
it feels so great to read about traditions like these. at least there is something to keep the group together. i hope it stays like it. keep posting more i love reading your blog
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