Sharing a beer in the beer garden after Modesto was fun with Terry, another Vietnam Navy Vet who I first met at a race several years ago. I was disappointed to not see another running friend, Don Harris. At the Spirit of Giving 5K in December he said that might be his last race because of his health. Hopefully he’ll get healthy enough again to get back out there with us.
The third race of March was the Salvation Army Kettle Dash in Turlock. It was chilly and humid but considering it was supposed to be raining I wasn’t complaining. While I’m still not crazy with my times I’m glad to still be out there racing. So far this month I’ve finished 1st, 4th and 3rd. And that’s not because that’s the total number of people in my age group. 😄.
While the first three races of this Gump March are races I’ve run in the past the next three are all new for me.
Race #4 was in Madera, California at the Madera Speedway. It started with a lap and a half on the track and finished with a lap on the track which was kind of cool. I’ve now finished races on high school and college tracks, a horse race track in the East Bay and a short track speedway. This past ten years of running has taken me to some interesting places and I’m not done yet. I would have been 3rd if they had 5 year age groups and was 8th in 60 - infinity!
My final two races for the month of March were going to take place during a trip to St. Louis for Easter and more racing with Stacie’s family. On the drive out I stayed the first night in Flagstaff and the next day made a point to stop in Winslow, Arizona and then stayed with Ken and Kristy in Tijeras. Staying there realty helped keep the driving days short. We went out for Chinese for Ken’s birthday in Edgewood.
The next day was another short drive to Shamrock, Texas so I didn’t have to leave as early as I usually do when driving.
Friday was going to be a long day because I was driving to Fayetteville, Arkansas to do a race in my 29th state at 6:00 that night and then still had about 2 1/2 hours of driving to Branson, Missouri where I was staying before my final race for the month the next morning in Ozark, Missouri. Both races were hilly and the Fayetteville Cow Paddy 5K was wet and muddy and the Ozark race was cold. Fortunately both races were squeezed in between rain storms.
The final race medal sums up my March racing!
