“Go north to Alaska, go north the rush is on!” As they say, everything is bigger in Alaska, including the races. Couldn’t find a 5k race on June 26th so ended up running a 6k and had a blast!
The race was sponsored by the Anchorage Bucs (http://www.anchoragebucs.com/) a minor league baseball team. And for an early rainy day, I give those young guys credit for being out there and supporting the runners. As you can see from the pictures, Team Camille got a great photo with a lot of the players before the race. They also hung out along the route and very good naturedly gave me high fives as I ran past. I know they thought this old lady was a bit crazy, but it made for a real fun time.
More fun was added by my cousins Karen D. and Mary Cheryl O. plus by first cousin once removed, Kayla K. (Karen’s daughter). They flew out with me as after the race we all drove down to Homer, Alaska to see Mary Cheryl’s daughter Franny O. As a testament to their enthusiasm, they suggested we actually wear the race shirts on Friday on the flight from Minneapolis to Anchorage. Of course that brought on the stares and questions.
The day was perfect for running, a bit cool and overcast. The course went from the ball park to the little league fields in a basic out and back. I thought it was going to be a trail run, but the “trail” ended up being a paved urban trailway that wound through the woods beside a stream. I thought it was a flat race but when I was just about at the turnaround it dawned on me that I was running against the stream, hence uphill. This made for a nice second half of the run – all downhill.
Not having trained for this run, I went out slow and continued to go slow. Didn’t even try to find some inner strength deep down inside to motivate me. I just kept running. I believe one of the first women to finish was a young girl, maybe in her early teens, with legs that started at her neck! She of course made me think of Dede. I can just imagine Dede ran her share of local road races in Anchorage and led the pack most of the time. Your spirit was with me Dede!
The race ended at home plate. As you can imagine they were encouraging everyone to slide into home. I went for it!! Found out later only about five other “kids” slide home. The local photographer got a great shot of me with my legs splayed open in a most ungraceful manner! But I think the boys of summer appreciated my effort!
I still have no word on my time as the clock wasn’t working when I crossed the finish line, and I forgot to bring my watch. The clock displayed 43+ minutes which is a horrible time if accurate, but who cares.
Thanks to the photography and video skills of my cousins, enjoy the pictures!
"Rounding third and heading for home..."
The race was sponsored by the Anchorage Bucs (http://www.anchoragebucs.com/) a minor league baseball team. And for an early rainy day, I give those young guys credit for being out there and supporting the runners. As you can see from the pictures, Team Camille got a great photo with a lot of the players before the race. They also hung out along the route and very good naturedly gave me high fives as I ran past. I know they thought this old lady was a bit crazy, but it made for a real fun time.
More fun was added by my cousins Karen D. and Mary Cheryl O. plus by first cousin once removed, Kayla K. (Karen’s daughter). They flew out with me as after the race we all drove down to Homer, Alaska to see Mary Cheryl’s daughter Franny O. As a testament to their enthusiasm, they suggested we actually wear the race shirts on Friday on the flight from Minneapolis to Anchorage. Of course that brought on the stares and questions.
The day was perfect for running, a bit cool and overcast. The course went from the ball park to the little league fields in a basic out and back. I thought it was going to be a trail run, but the “trail” ended up being a paved urban trailway that wound through the woods beside a stream. I thought it was a flat race but when I was just about at the turnaround it dawned on me that I was running against the stream, hence uphill. This made for a nice second half of the run – all downhill.
Not having trained for this run, I went out slow and continued to go slow. Didn’t even try to find some inner strength deep down inside to motivate me. I just kept running. I believe one of the first women to finish was a young girl, maybe in her early teens, with legs that started at her neck! She of course made me think of Dede. I can just imagine Dede ran her share of local road races in Anchorage and led the pack most of the time. Your spirit was with me Dede!
The race ended at home plate. As you can imagine they were encouraging everyone to slide into home. I went for it!! Found out later only about five other “kids” slide home. The local photographer got a great shot of me with my legs splayed open in a most ungraceful manner! But I think the boys of summer appreciated my effort!
I still have no word on my time as the clock wasn’t working when I crossed the finish line, and I forgot to bring my watch. The clock displayed 43+ minutes which is a horrible time if accurate, but who cares.
Thanks to the photography and video skills of my cousins, enjoy the pictures!
"Rounding third and heading for home..."
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