Running Club Banquet
Last night was the annual banquet of my running club...well, the one I compete for. It was a very nice event, though the awards tend to ramble a bit. One of the things I enjoyed most was the "cocktail hour". I quote that because, as runners, the amount of drinking that was going on was pretty limited.
My favorite incident of the night was relating the story of my 5-lap 1600 to the parents of two high level collegiate runners, one of whom was getting our "College Athlete of the Year" award. Counting to four isn't a hard thing to do, but in the excitement of a meet, with over 25 years since your last relay leg of over 2 laps, the concept of counting laps just didn't come. This happened during a DMR (distance medley relay) which consists of four legs, I think it's a 1200, followed by a 400, an 800, and a 1600 finishes it. The total race is 4000 meters (about 2½ miles).
Anyway, I related how my rustiness resulted in my uncertainty about lap count. I got passed about 100 meters from the finish by the one team we were beating. When I passed the line, I was not pulled. Apparently, I was not the only one not counting. (In relating this tale, I've since been told that officials should be running a count and should have been informing me of my laps and pulled me when I'd completed my four.) Since I wasn't pulled and was unsure if I'd run 3 or 4, I continued for another lap. It was a goofy mistake, but relating it to these parents (whose daughter was competing a DMR last night) got them laughing.
My son was there with me. Yesterday was Crazy Hair Day at his school. His blue tinted hair in a ridge at the top of his head (sort of a Mohawk) drew a lot of attention. I'd told him that if any asked why his hair was like that, he should say, "I'm in a rebellious stage. Ya wanna make something of it?" That line also drew a few laughs.
My favorite incident of the night was relating the story of my 5-lap 1600 to the parents of two high level collegiate runners, one of whom was getting our "College Athlete of the Year" award. Counting to four isn't a hard thing to do, but in the excitement of a meet, with over 25 years since your last relay leg of over 2 laps, the concept of counting laps just didn't come. This happened during a DMR (distance medley relay) which consists of four legs, I think it's a 1200, followed by a 400, an 800, and a 1600 finishes it. The total race is 4000 meters (about 2½ miles).
Anyway, I related how my rustiness resulted in my uncertainty about lap count. I got passed about 100 meters from the finish by the one team we were beating. When I passed the line, I was not pulled. Apparently, I was not the only one not counting. (In relating this tale, I've since been told that officials should be running a count and should have been informing me of my laps and pulled me when I'd completed my four.) Since I wasn't pulled and was unsure if I'd run 3 or 4, I continued for another lap. It was a goofy mistake, but relating it to these parents (whose daughter was competing a DMR last night) got them laughing.
My son was there with me. Yesterday was Crazy Hair Day at his school. His blue tinted hair in a ridge at the top of his head (sort of a Mohawk) drew a lot of attention. I'd told him that if any asked why his hair was like that, he should say, "I'm in a rebellious stage. Ya wanna make something of it?" That line also drew a few laughs.
posted by Scooter at 10:20 AM
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