Turnout lets Freedom's Run reign

Stewart ran in his first 2k this weekend.  Bill ran with him (to keep him from getting lost on the trail.  He earned a ribbon and was so proud of himself!  This is his second race, the Race for Recess in May was his first.  He is a little disappointed that the race t-shirts that he earned do not come in his size.

He finished in 16:49.

Bill ran the 5k portion of the Cougar Challenge.  Last year he ran and got first place in his age group.  This year he also got first place in his age group.  He finished in 19:12.

NICE FORM!

Charging for the finish line.

Bill being chased by some guys with very serious expressions.

                                                                                                                                                                   They are still chasing him in the final stretch. 

The photographer that we met at the race took some beautiful pictures of the boys.  I think I can post them here as long as I give her full credit for having taken the photos (?).  www.photoscheff.com

I don't know what lens she used but my skin looks awesome.  Parker's skin looks so creamy.

I would also like to point out that is a picture of Bill crossing the finish line, first place, a good minute before the next finisher.  He doesn't even look winded or sweaty.

This is my fav pic.  It shows the true dynamic of their personalities - Stewart is very happy and Parker is very serious.  You can kinda see how light Parker's hair is. 

 

Bill ran in another local race this morning. 

Let me rephrase that - Bill and STEWART ran in an local race this morning.  :)

Race for Recess is the first annual 5k for Page Jackson/Wright Denny Elementary schools in Charles Town.  It had a pretty small turn out and it was very family friendly.  Bill finished first, again.  He says, "did you know I am undefeated in Charles Town for 2009."  Silly boy.

I love the proud smile on Stewart's face.  I was so glad they had medals to give out to the kids.  He has been wanting to do a kids race for a long time.

 

Oh wait!  I forgot the best part.  The first female finisher came up to me - introduced herself as Cynthia and told me she had seen me around the gym and she thought I was pretty.  That was a nice pickup, cause turning 30 has me feeling really old and dumpy.

Way to go Bill – hurt ass and all! 

Place        Time            Name                                Age
1                19:11.1        Bill  Bondurant                 37 

http://www.locoracing.org/results_Golds%20Gym%20Pink%20Ribbon.html

 

Parker's First Bus Ride

 

 

Bill standing around, waiting for his race to start, talking to his DC RoadRunner friends (DCRoadrunners.org)

 

Mr. Kevin and Mr. Stewart having a hotdog snack. 

 

I think this is the 3rd lap around (3 of 6)

 

Crusing into the finish!

More small talk with his runner friends - can you see how long this line is?  it wrapped around this driveway - it is the line for the bus back to the parking lot!

FIRST - I see i made a typo but I left it. I left it because it's a sign of all the races that I have been to, supporting Bill, not running! - a "championchip" is the brand name of a little plastic thing that you tie onto your shoe laces that tracks your progress during the race. As you run across mats, it takes down your time. So if your a fanatic, you know your splits. If you are a spectator, you know when your runner passed the different miles marked with mats. Anyway - it should have said CHAMPIONSHIPS - but my mind was thinking racing and I typed out championchips.

So we go to this big race - it's out on some agricultural farm park in Gaithersburg, Maryland. I guess if you are a runner, it was a big deal. It seemed exciting enough - but it reminded me of being at tennis tournaments with my mom. It was a cross country race and they had different categories - junior boys and girls, high school boys and girls, college men and women, and then they had an open - i think that's how it went. (our dr, Dr. Cucuzella ran in the over 40 mens race, and he did very well.)

I just know Bill ran in the men's open. But you know who else ran in the men's under 40 open - the olypmic silver medalist, Meb Keflezighi. So BIl ran this race, with no intention of winning, or even placing. He only goal was to not be the last man to drag his carcus across the finish line. I think he did really well. The ground was muddy and wet and slippery and sloppy and even though he was wearing spikes, i think he said he slid around a few times. But he didn't fall down!

So Stewart, Parker, and I lined up along the "barriers". we heard the gunshot and we stood there waiting for the runners to come flying by. Meb Keflezighi was obviously in the front followed by a large pack of men that were either simply excited to be running with an olympic champion or had dreams of passing one. I'm used to seeing Bill in the front of the pack. When the race started, he was towards the back of the middle and with each lap he slipped a bit. He looked strong every time he came by but he was running with a completely different caliber of runners - most of them were a decade+ younger. He came across the finish line faster than he expected, despite being lapped by Meb and the other runners that placed in the top 5. He finished the 12k in 48:11, placing 155th out of 168. Not bad for a father, a student, and a man that works 40 hours a week at a job that requires a one-way commute of 75+ minutes.

It was a fun time, the weather was beautiful, the kids behaved amazingly, and Bill had a good time. I think this was a once in a lifetime experience because the USTF Championships are located in different places every year - plus who can say they were lapped by an Olympic Champion. I mean, if you're gonna get lapped it might as well be by someone like that! I took some pictures but I don't have my cord with me right now, so I'll post them later tonight or tomorrow.

http://www.usatf.org/events/2009/USAXCChampionships/schedule.asp <- that is all of the restuls from the official website, etc. If you're interested.

  Bill trying not to fall