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| Santa? |
“Hey Dan I am thinking about doing the Willow half.” His eyes lit up. It was a school day and Dan was helping me with my P.E. classes. “The deadline to sign-up is two days before the race. I think I’m going to wait to see how much snow we get.” At the time there was exactly zero snow on the ground and the fall weather had been mild and icy. “If this weather pattern holds it could make for a good run.” I had run this race five years prior and the trail had been extremely soft due to recent snowfall and it was arduous and slow.
“Ooh, I’ve always wanted to do that. Sounds tough. Okay, maybe I’ll do it too!” Dan was an easy sell. He likes to pretend that I talked him into it but it was more like he was already primed to say yes, all he needed was someone to whisper the words Willow Half. Dan is an energetic and positive person that has been a wonderful help in some of my P.E. classes. He is a special education assistant and I appreciate his efforts working with some difficult personalities on a daily basis.
Earlier this year I was talking about Dan with his 6th grade son Kalson. At the conclusion of our conversation Kalson said “Yeah, my dad is amazing.” Kalson is right; Dan is amazing.
In the weeks prior to the race I found myself thinking more and more about it until finally I realized that I was going to do it no matter what the conditions. What the hell else was I going to do if not run, sit at home and sulk?
Two weeks before the race I ran into Dan in the hall. “I signed-up Dan.” It had snowed a few times by now and there was about a foot and a half on the ground.
“I thought you were going to wait.” He said with a smile on his face.
“I know I know, I couldn’t help myself.” We laughed out loud. Runners are a weird bunch. Dan signed up the next day too and even convinced Jen (another teacher) to join us. All evidence pointed towards another soft trail this year…oh well.
“Hi Jen.” I said. It was race day and I had arrived at the Willow Community Center and it was buzzing with all manner of running nerds performing all of their nerdy pre-race rituals. Some were stretching, others were in deep thought about how to dress, others were lined up in the bathrooms trying to unload before race-time, and others still were chatting with friends. Dan was running late so Jen and I hung out and got ourselves ready.
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| Look how happy we look before running 13.1 miles in soft snow. |
The Willow Running Co. founders Dave Johnston and Andrea Hambach have been putting on this race for quite a few years. They do a great job and this year they donated some of the proceeds to the SuValley Wrestling team. “Race time in two minutes.” Andrea announced as everyone funneled out the door to the starting line. Just then Dan came jogging into the community center and was able to start on time….barely.
As expected the trail was soft. My friend Steve Charles who helps with the Willow Trails Committee had just run the course early that morning on his Skandic and the fresh powder was packed down but I know from experience that it takes a lot more traffic and time for trails to get packed to make a difference for running.
As it turned out most of my steps would sink-in ankle deep. It was hard to find a rhythm with the unstable footing but after a while I reached a state of acceptance and allowed myself to succumb to the inevitability of the slow pace. It was a beautiful clear day with the temperature hovering around 10 degrees Fahrenheit. I layered perfectly and didn’t sweat the whole race. I marveled at the splendor of the winter wonderland I was running through.
The course itself linked several local lakes including Willow, Long, Crystal, and Vera Lakes before heading towards the Willow swamps where Dave and his son David jr. were maintaining a bonfire. This year they had all kinds of snacks for us including donuts, gatorade, and smarties (yes the cute little rolls of pastel colored discs). I politely decline all offerings though because I was trying out a new kind of energy chew. I had some dark cherry chews that had caffeine. They were God-awful sweet and hard to get down but they seemed to boost my energy along. I force-fed myself every 30 minutes and I think it made a real difference in my performance. I was able to pass three people in the last two miles and finished 15th out of 64 overall.
Dan and Jen and I congratulated each other at the finish line. We all recognized that it had been pretty hard but that it was all worth it. The feeling of accomplishment of finishing the race and the endorphin release from the exercise are real and keeps running nerds like us coming back for more.
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| The "Dream Team." |
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| Check out the sweet wooden finishers medal that doubles as a Christmas tree ornament! Nice touch Andrea and Dave! |
