What a fun day!  Arrived early to set up our sponsor’s table with my wife, Mary, and my assistant, Audrey.

The organizers couldn’t have been nicer.  Met a few of the other sponsors.  A number of people stopped by our table to pick up information and ask questions. One of my favorites was an older gentleman who came in from Staten Island.  He spoke of a heel injury suffered in 1951. In school, their track shoes were converted baseball spikes.  But her still runs, slowly, but he runs.

As for me and the actual race–well, I finished.  This race was on a “retired” golf course and in the first 1.5 miles there were two uphill par-4 holes, the second of which I don’t know if I could have reached in 2 shots when the course was open.  Those took a lot out of my legs [note to self: a bit more specialized training on hills].  As a result, I walked more than I thought I would have to, but the good news was that I was actually keeping up a good pace–for me–in spite of it all.  My training took me at about an 11:30 pace and that’s what I accoplished, even with all the walking mixed in.  35:40 for the 5K, not bad for the first effort in 9-10 years.  I finished faster than at least 30 people and was 14th in my age group.  Should I mention there were about 200 runners overall?

That’s OK, it was all about putting one foot in front of the other and finishing.  It was all about the fresh air, exercise and the fun of the experience.  And the food.  Good food, drink, and snack provided by the other sponsors.  And the day was made even more complete later on when we made the trek to Piscataway, NJ to see Rutgers’ come-from-behind victory over Arkansas!

The little kids fun run at the end was adorable.  Plenty of people brought dogs to the park–not to run, but to help cheer on their owners.  Next year, I’ll for sure bring my dog Moose.  He’ll be happy to greet the masses as he’s sure everybody he meets has come out to see him.  He’ll even be an experienced runner.  Next month, after my next 5K in Bethelehem PA, we’ll run together in a 1 mile dog run.