my son [10] and i did a 5k run in little rock on friday [4th]. i'm a decent runner for my 39 years. i can do a 5k in 17:00; maybe even 16:35 or so on a really good day. my son is just starting out, and did the course in 32, which was a full 4 minutes faster than his race the week before.

but this race offered cash prizes and was well populated. kenyans, ethiopians, brazillians, morroccans, germans, englishmen and irishmen, etc, you name it. it was a tough course, with downhill just steep enough to throw off the stride and pace, followed by long slow uphill.

the winner was sean kaley, a former all-american from the U of A in fayetteville ark [razorbacks]. bastard ran a 13:35, on a hilly course with sweltering heat and humidity.

its fun to do these races but these bunny rabbits will humble those of weak constitution. i ran a 20:16, which isn't smoking, but represents about a 80% effort for me. i stayed back a bit to get my son off on the right direction, then he was on his own. he mixed in the 1000 participants and passed numerous stragglers in the last half mile.

the bunny rabbits were finishing when i was at the 2 mile mark. we race every weekend [running] but this was by far the most competetive of the year for a 5k.

cheers.
sv-