Saturday, December 19, 2009

it's been a great fall

So it has been a while since i have written. We still have not fully figured out Indra's infection at this point. Her running has been sporadic as her foot is still a subject of concern. She did however participate in both the Gorge Apres Gorge and the Hot Chocolate Run. She was awesome and a trooper.
With solstice swiftly approaching and the cold winter running months firmly in place already, it seems a great time to reflect on the running and races and importance of moving throughout the year. After the Hartford Marathon i ran the annual run for Tara in Easthampton. I love this race because it is a great way to raise money for eating disorders and the families struggling to find care for their loved ones, and Tara's family are just a lovely group of people. The race is a quick 5k through fields and woods and a tiny bit of road. There were so many interesting people there this year. I met a very kind woman from CT who struggled with food in her teen years and drove up to participate in the race. After the race there is an epic raffle and a local chorus sings and we all sing happy birthday to Tara in order to remember her. Even though running is the ultimate solo sport it's amazing how it draws us all together to support and admire and share how great it feels to be alive.
I ran the Monson half marathon this fall and it was excellent. All hills, but nothing like the hills around my house. I had spent the whole time believing i would get a serious butt whooping only to be pleasantly surprised. The weather was unusually warm, the people were wonderfully friendly and the course was pretty and fun. Lot's of food, live music and lounging was shared by all after the race. I left feeling elated, pleased and looking forward to next year.
The Thanksgiving week held the Talking Turkey race and the Gorge Apres Gorge. Leslie and i ran the Talking Turkey 6 miler firmly believing that it was a 10k. Needless to say we were surprised and sprinting at the end. It was insanely windy and very packed. The top male finisher ran an average of a 4:50 mile i believe. It was fun to run with so many committed runners from the region. It almost felt like we were running by the ocean as we ran over the spits on the reservoir, there were little white caps from all of the wind. It was great to sprint across the finish line with a great friend holding hands. The following day was the best run of the season the annual Gorge Apres Gorge. Leslie's baby. So many people came out and ran and walked and strolled. This got both Leslie and i thinking how wonderful it would be to have a hill town race series.
I will find photos of these events and update about the Hot Chocolate race next time

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