A Happy Homecoming and Pitch Black

A Happy Homecoming

On September 16th, I ran in the Delphos Canal Days 5K.  This race (#29) was definitely one to remember.  I grew up in Delphos and there were plenty of friends and family either running in the race or cheering the runners on.  The weather was around 70 degrees - a little warm but still very nice.  I ran my 3rd fastest time of the year (20:55) and I know the support I received from everyone helped motivate me.

There were several local media outlets who covered The 31 Initiative story over that weekend and I want to personally thank The Delphos Herald, The Lima News, and WLIO Lima for their respective coverages.  The most important part about this endeavor is getting the word out there about its goal, namely raising money for the Jay Holdgreve Endowment for Testicular Cancer Research, and the reporting was appreciated.

Pitch Black

Six days later, I ran in the March of Dimes Night Moves.  As the name suggests, this race was run at night.  This is a unique experience and I was happy to fit a night race into The 31 Initiative schedule.  The only negative part is you do have to proceed with caution and watch your footing.  A steady rain didn't help matters although it did cool me off.  I finished with a time of 23:08.  Since my recent times have been hovering in the low to high 21 minute range, this was disappointing.  Despite this, the night run experience made the race worthwhile.

The Final Race

This Saturday, The 31 Initiative ends.  I am running in the 5K for K9s which takes place at Alum Creek State Park just north of Columbus.  It is hard to believe the final race is finally here.

30 races down, 1 to go...

A Close Call and Hello Fall

2 more races are in the books since my last post:

"A Close Call" - on Labor Day, I ran the Leap for the Ligers 5K in Upper Arlington, OH.  As I do with all of my races, I check the race details the night before.  For this race, the website listed the race start time at 9:30am.  Since I had not picked up my race number and t-shirt, I left about 40 minutes prior to the start time.  Interestingly, when I arrived at 8:57am, I overheard someone on the loudspeaker say "the 5K will start in 3 minutes".  That doesn't sound right, I thought.  I picked up my pace and ran to the check in table.  I learned the website INCORRECTLY listed the start time - it was 9:00, NOT 9:30!  I quickly pinned on my race number and ran to the starting line. The horn sounded and I ran the race finishing in 21:21.  I was pretty pleased with this time considering my normal starting routine was thrown out the window.

"Hello Fall" - today, I ran the Dash for Dad 5K in Gahanna, OH.  Fortunately, I did not have any of the previous week drama.  The temperature was perfect (58 degrees) and it felt like a fall race (which I welcome wholeheartedly).  The course was also well laid out (albeit a little hilly).  I ran 21:17.

Next week is a homecoming for me.  I will run in the Delphos Canal Days 5K on Sunday, September 16.  Delphos, OH is the town I grew up in and where my parents, brother, and other relatives and friends still reside.  I can't wait to run in "America's Friendliest City".  Several friends and family members are running in the race as well (including Jay, my brother, and my wife) and I can't wait to root everyone on before and after the race.

28 races down, 3 to go in The 31 Initiative.