It’s been awhile since a letter, number one
at work it has been busier than ever and finding reliable help has been impossible.
The 3rd revision started that yesterday was my 11th
Steamtown Marathon, however 10 10 16 is long past
Starting where the last
letter left off in late spring would take pages and hours to read so let’s
start with the Cliff notes.
July would start off by
missing the third Lancaster bike club Time trial because an employee didn’t
show up for work. The Ben event 5k in
Macungie is the closest race to be considered a home town event back at work by
noon. The next day I raced, ate Ice cream, had a flat tire on the way to the
finish line, that ended the Uncle Dave’s Ice Cream Race in Yardley.
As August started I had to work the day of the gravity car race
in Wilmington but one of my gravity cars came in first. The next week a 5k in Maple
Glen or as I refer to it as the puppy run. A Wednesday evening duel event in Hatfield was
a 5k followed by free admission to the water park. The next Saturday I would miss the biggest
sporting event in Ivyland’s history because an employee called off because he
expected to be hung over.
September starts the
distance season with 5k’s followed by ½ marathons the next day. I would do
three of those over 4 weeks. September race
at Lancaster Airport would be the last of 3 runway races of the season.
October 9th
would be the first Handcycle Marathon of the year in Steamtown. Two weekends later would be 2 Handcycle races
in Gettysburg. Employee issues would
prevent me from entering the Marine Corps Marathon.
My November calendar only
had one event the 2 race Philly race weekend.
Philly included one absolutely perfect sunny 65 day for the 8k followed
by a 42 degree wind storm for the Marathon.
And I am up to date.
When will I stop
describing the same races I have participated in for a decade? This has been the question that I have been
pondering. Each event is a learning
experience, a lesson learned or a lesson taught.
Big Race vs Small Race. Back to August and Shirley’s Run, the smallest
race I participate in during the year.
Ross, a road racing friend uses this event to further his late mother’s lifelong
dedication to supporting animal shelters and rescue animals. I do a lot of
small races that are run by small volunteer race committees. The question is, do you want to race in crowds
so thick it is hard to see the sun or do you want to do events where the race
director not only thanks you for attending, but also knows your name?
The Friday evening after
Labor Day started off with the toughest race of the season at Bird in Hand with
the Bird in Hand 5k the ½ marathon the next morning. Spending a weekend deep inside the old order
Amish community of Bird in Hand is beyond interesting. This race funds the local community and the
community rolls out the red carpet and welcomes the outsiders into the
community with 2 days of activities. The community support is always amazing
and this year with temps near 90 the community set sprinklers up on the roads
and added extra water stations. http://www.bihfire.com/events/run-ride-soar/half-marathon/
The next Sunday was the
Rock & Roll ½ marathon in Philly a first-time event for me. The Philly Rock and roll is a big race with
the big race complications. Picking up
my number and chip requires a day before race trip and a $17.76 parking fee in
a “hell hole” known as the Philly Convention center. Rock
and Roll Philly info didn’t mention an adaptive class so I contacted the race
director. After a few back and forth
e-mails and a promise not to damage any runner’s I was in. When I arrived, I
learned that a few other adaptive racers had registered, including a group of
push chairs (not to be confused with push-rim).
Intermission
Every race is a learning experience
and the solitude gives me a chance to clear my mind to ponder other things. One issue that confounds me is was why do I
try to race endurance events by sprinting out of the start. The only other racer in my category was a
Handcycle, and even on my best day against the worst Handcyclist I am not going
to win. On this day like every other
race I would give it the old college try anyhow (or in my case the old High
School try).
When the go command was
given, I was gone. A ½ mile later my escort was sure we were going to win the
race. A ½ mile later the handcycle and
some of the push chairs passed me and just after that out of breath I was
thinking of a shortcut back to the truck. This is just a normal start. Usually about a mile and a ½ out my breathing
and heart rate sync and I settle into endurance mode. My bicycle escort still thinking we were
going to win this thing questioned my habit of yelling good morning to the spectators
along the route. He felt I was wasting energy by talking. Once things settled down the two of us had an
ongoing conversation for the remainder of the race.
I think after decades of
ski racing exploding out of the start is just mental memory, or in another life
I was a Greyhound.
The day before the Philly
½ was a little 5k on the Lancaster Airport runway. This race benefits a group
that is restoring a Vietnam era Huey helicopter. The committee proudly displays the helicopter
and shows off the restoration work completed since last year.
Two weeks later was the
last ½ marathon of my season in Hatfield.
Even though I entered the race late I was surprised that I received bib
number 3. I prefer the 4 and 5 digit
numbers because I am told they are slimming.
At the start the race director would introduce the course record holders
and because of my first place out of 1 last year I hold the adaptive course
record “I am Somebody”.
Columbus weekend is the
Steamtown Marathon. This was my first
handcycle race in 2006 and my fastest ever marathon finish a 1:35. Most of the
runners take school buses to the start the elite runners escort cyclist and the
adaptive racers use the mostly empty Paratransit vans. This year a few of the peasants (school bus
riders) found their way onto MY van.
While these peasants should have been forcibly removed, it always makes
for interesting conversation for the 45-min ride. One 40 something women decided on this race
because since her car would be 26 miles away this would give her the incentive
to finish. For one this was a NY
marathon training run, and for a Canadian elite ½ Marathoner she decided to do
her first Marathon in Scranton USA. A few people on the bus used my Youtube videos
to familiarize themselves with the course.
If you want to meet a group of positive people
driven to a goal you will find lots of them at every road race.
In my 10 Steamtown races
never has a adaptive competitor returned for a second year. This year would be different as Bruce Newman
a longtime racing friend would return for a second year. Last year my course record was spared when
Bruce broke a chain just one hill short of the finish line. This year Bruce would pass me after my sprint
out of the start and set a new course record.
My regular Bicycle escort
The next stop would be
Gettysburg for 2 races with the Handcycle.
One of the charities supported by the Gettysburg ½ marathon is the
Paralyzed Veterans Racing Team. This is
one of the few times that I get to race with friends from the old US
handcycling series. The PVA team is well
trained and very competitive (and this year I knew I wasn’t). Another obstacle in the first days criterium
was a strong wind. The real
disappointing part of this race is the Gettysburg Race director puts on a first-class
event with a substantial purse and the race is not supported by any of the
local Handcycle groups. I guess they
don’t like to play with the big boys and girls of PVA racing.
Positive changes were made
to the Gettysburg ½ marathon course. The
course spent more time in Gettysburg Park and addition of more escorts.
Criterium Start
November 18 19 20th
is Philly weekend this is late in the season and usually cold. The new truck had been sitting in the garage
for 2 weeks just waiting for the Philly races.
Day one the truck left for a trip to the Philly
Convention Center to pick up registration with 30 miles on the odometer. Yes it
took 5 or 6 laps in the parking garage to find a parking spot.
Day 2 back to Philly for
the 8k If I would have paid a little more attention to the event schedule
changes I could have squeezed in the ½ marathon before the 8k. Day 2 was a warm sunny day. I finished on the podium but out of the
money.
For day 3 I set a limit;
If it was raining at 3:30 am, I was going back to bed. Since it was snow on the ground instead of
rain I headed back to Philly for the full marathon. What a difference a day makes as temps in the
low 40’s and winds gusting past 40 mph. The wind took its toll early and it would be a
long day on course.
I have always praised the
Philly race course’s while lambasted the Race director’s poor treatment of the
adaptive class. This year a new mayor
and a new race management. This year the
adaptive class was given convenient parking, more escorts, and some respect. Missing along with
the pain in the ass race director was the cities and races number one supporter
the former Mayor Nutter. The former mayor would always arrive early and spent
the entire day giving hi fives to runners at the finish line. Also, missing according to a local TV station
was much of the profits from the past races including $40,000.00 of race profits
the former mayor used to go to Italy and meet the Pope.
Smiling Mayor (From 2015) knowing he had enough money to go to Italy. In all truth we spent quite a bit of time together on the starting line and Mayor Nutter was always friendly and very personable.
Smiling Mayor (From 2015) knowing he had enough money to go to Italy. In all truth we spent quite a bit of time together on the starting line and Mayor Nutter was always friendly and very personable.
Arriving home after a
brutal and unmanageable 3 hour Philly marathon the truck passed 570 miles.
There is always one last
Marathon to end the year and that is Palm Beach. The warm predawn start and the sun coming up
over the inter-coastal is a great way to end a racing season. This year I would be
forced to skip Palm Beach because of employee issues. I did plan to get up early this morning to
watch my friends from Achilles South Florida leave the start. When I looked up the TV station that streams
the race I learned Palm Beach was cancelled back in August.
Where do I go from here?
The last few years getting away from the business has been getting hard to find. I am a few weeks short of my
62nd birthday and the 60 to 70 hour weeks are physically and
mentally taking a toll. My working life
started as a 7-year-old assembling new lawnmowers in my father’s store (yes
that was 55 years ago,). This year has
taught me that it is time to take my business that has been growing out of control and
throttle it back into a part time venture.
Wish me luck.
Wish me luck.
This last video is not from any
of this year’s racing. Of the 50+
marathon and ½ marathon medals hanging on my office door is a baby blue medal
from Palm Beach Dec. 2014. There is always apprehension and excitement stepping
beyond the boundary. It took months to decide if I thought I had the
endurance to take the push rim 26 miles. I picked Palm Beach because it is flat and warm. With hip surgery planned for 2015 I felt I had one shot. I don't know if I will ever do it again, However reaching the finish line that day is still fresh in my mind. As the philosopher “The Great Yetter” once
said you don’t know your limits until you exceed them.
When was the last time you did something new?
Rob
Rob
