53. Jim Kane Sugar Bowl Five Miler, 2010

Today was my 53rd race. I’ve been around the block a few times, and I pretty much have the routine figured out. That being said, imagine my surprise when something wonderful and awesome happened right in front of me.

It was dedicated to a firefighter, I believe. To be honest, I was kind of occupied with my GPS watch when they were explaining it. This was the first race that I actually tracked with a fancy gadget. Having it doesn’t make me a nerd, however. This is a sport device, which makes me a jock. The two forces tend to cancel each other out, leaving me with a non-nerd, non-jock status of “some dude with a big, clunky watch.” (You can see my Garmin GPS upload below.)

Getting Started

The beginning was pretty standard. I took the train to JFK/UMASS and walked to the site, just as I did with some other races in the area. This one was at a high school, so Registration was in the Gym. My friend Sara had registered but couldn’t make it, primarily because she’s a wimp who can’t stomach a five mile race. Nevermind that she’s training for a marathon right now and she’s signed up for an Ultra-Marathon as well. She’s a wus, I say!

So anyway…

I picked up her packet so she’d at least have the shirt she paid for, and walked over to the oh-so-nifty Bag Drop pavilion. I love it when they have those. With that done, I went over to the Starting Line and took some photos until they sang the national anthem. Not long after that we were set loose upon the southern side of Boston!

The Race Itself

I held a decent pace throughout the event, and saved a little for the home stretch. One thing I noticed right off was the number of people wearing club uniforms. There was “Back on my Feet”, “Wile Elite Coyotes”, and so on. It made me felt kind of lonely, actually. One of these days I’m going to have to break down and join something.

The Big, Amazing Finish

There were a couple of people in front of me as I closed in upon the Finish Line, so I poured on the speed. But something happened as I was zooming around the other runners and also looking incredibly sexy… some dude showed up out of nowhere and zoomed around me! Holy crap! His relative speed advantage was equal to mine as well! Whatever speed I had above the people I was passing, he had the same amount above me. This resulted in a really cool slingshot effect which probably looked amazing from the sidelines.

I tapped him on the shoulder so I could tell him how awesome that was, and to find out his name.

Believe it or not, my camera died after taking this photo. I don’t know if it was the sweat or the water I splashed on my head, but that sucker was down for the count. I really need to invest in one of those water-proof, shock-proof and Brian-resistant cameras…

Final Thoughts

Excellent race in all respects. I had a great time, and I met a few really cool people. I’m looking forward to next year.

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