I ran the Drake relays 1/2 marathon last weekend. The 8K race started at the same time as us and then turned back at the 2.5mi point. At about the 2mi point I see this tiny girl running back. I thought “Geez she’s tiny, she must be like 12.”
I looked up her results after the race. Rebekah Topham, 9 years old from Griswold, Iowa. 33:41 for 8K. That is 6:41/mi. 13th women overall, 6th non-collegiate women. I’m glad I ran the 1/2, I’m not sure I would have beat that time.
Rod Dehaven ran 24:15 for the 8k, that’s 4:53/mi. Not too bad for a 39yo.
Reminds me of the Cowtown Marathon 10K I ran in 2004. I’m a horrible runner, and I had been working very hard for a couple of years, and was shooting for a 45 minute 10K (quit laughing). As I was coming down the last 1K or so, I see this kid (maybe 10 yo??) in front of me, and I’m thinking “I gotta beat this kid.” As I start to bear down on him, I hear somebody in the crowd yell “Come on kid! Don’t let the old guy catch you!” He looks back, sees me, and takes off. The little @#$@er! Never did catch him, and I missed my 45 min. 10K by a minute.
I am a horrible runner but it is still disheartning to be beat by some 70 year old, dragging a partially crippled up leg behind him. Especially when, as he is passing me, he says, “Come on, let’s go, big push to the finish!” Yep, it sucked. My wife once got mad because in a 5 K she got beat by a guy running with his dog, a Jack Russell terrier.
That’s nothing. I get beat by my dog swimming to the ball in the lake. She hates getting beat, so she swims like hell to beat me.
Shortly after I started running, a wise old veteran told me this:
“As a runner, you’ll to accept some things. In just about every race you’ll get beat by someone older than you, someone fatter than you, and a women. The key is never to get beat by an old fat women and you’ll be doing ok.”
So far, I’ve avoided losing to old fat women, but just barely.
Chris
Oh… I have a million “Steve’s a crappy runner” stories. Other favorites:
At the St. Patrick’s Day 5K run in Dallas in 2004, I was kicking down the home stretch (I use the term “kicking” very loosely) and some guy in a giant Oscar Meyer weiner costume passes me to beat me to the finish. Now THAT was embarrassing.
On a more inspiring, but still slightly embarassing note, it was a little disheartening at St. Anthoy’s in 2004, when the one-legged lady passed me at mile 2 of the 10K.
At an International distance tri in Dallas (also in 2004… noticing a trend here?) I did manage to hold off the guy in the wheel chair…
I think you just scared me out of any running races I was thinking about.
I’m not sure my fragile ego could handle losing to an old, fat woman. I think I might cry.
I am so glad I decided not to run Drake this year. One of my co-workers did the half and said it was miserable. One thing you can always count on…crappy weather for the Relays.
Who won the half? Did Marty run? I don’t remember what he said when I was last in buying shoes. How was your race?
Shortly after I started running, a wise old veteran told me this:
“As a runner, you’ll to accept some things. In just about every race you’ll get beat by someone older than you, someone fatter than you, and a women. The key is never to get beat by an old fat women and you’ll be doing ok.”
So far, I’ve avoided losing to old fat women, but just barely.
Chris
Olympic distance tri – I am stalking a young guy I coach - Right as I pass him my daughters yell – “Go Daddy Go”
5 seconds later I hear “Go Grandpa Go” – “Go Grandpa Go” and this old guy goes blasting by me.
Yesterday I did St. Anthony’s. Shortly after the turn around in the run a 60 yr old guy came up on me. I asked him his pace and after he told me I thought I could do that so started running with him. During the second half of the run he told me he was having a tough day, so was going slow 
About 5 minutes later a 70 yr old blows by us. I hate that they put ages on the calf. It just rubs in the fact that old men are torching me on the run.
You know the weather actually wasn’t that bad. I wore a long sleeve cycling jersey and a visor. I was hot for most of it. The rain was a little annoying but not bad. I negative split the race, ran a PR by 7mins, 14mins faster than last year at Drake. I was happy I ran. Dalton got 4th in the 8k.
Results:
http://www.fitnesssports.com/Apr.races/Drakefolder/drake2006/8km.html
I can now join the club. She was at the Klompen Classic 5K in Pella last night. She went 6:30 miles for 43rd overall, 4th woman to finish. Admittingly this is not a deep field, but she did beat me. Not hard to do.
Too bad she wasn’t the fastest in her family last night. Her 11 year old brother ran 6:03s and was 21st overall.
“At the St. Patrick’s Day 5K run in Dallas in 2004, I was kicking down the home stretch (I use the term “kicking” very loosely) and some guy in a giant Oscar Meyer weiner costume passes me to beat me to the finish. Now THAT was embarrassing.”
My first marathon: Los Angeles 2001, I’m coming up the finish line, I pull myself up to look good for the cameras and right at the wire, I get nipped by a guy in a huge Jamba Juice banana costume! The finishing video was pretty sad.
From one lawyer to another . . .