10.1-Mile Victory Lap

This weekend, I spent 5.1 miles with one of the best local charities around--FitGirls, and another 5 supporting a friend.

I've run one race, last October, with FitGirls. The program is geared toward young girls (10-13 year-olds, by my estimation), with an eye toward teaching them necessary goal-building, and life, skills. The program does this by combining reading about strong female heroines with training for, and running, a road race. The girls can thus discover their inner heroine.

Saturday I logged a 5K with Nicole, a 10-year-old from Chelsea, MA, running her first ever road race. She soldiered through the first part of the race pretty well, before turning to walking. A couple of water stops, and one giant Gatorade later, though, her spirits returned and she finished the race, amidst the clapping and cheering of her fellow FitGirls.

Sunday was the Battle of Bunker Hill Run--2 miles through historic Charlestown. Katora, running her first ever race, and I bounded off from the Charlestown Navy Yard. Our first blocks began with me having to stretch my legs to keep up with her beginning sprint through heavy rain. Katora ran very well, with only periodic stops to walk and rest--before she would take off again. Over the course of the 2 miles, we discussed our mutual like of running in the rain, and the importance of having police officers along the course to protect the runners (there were many today, which is always great). I saw in Katora a future sprinter--one of those girls who will someday put her "need for speed" to the test around a track, and one who will come out of it smiling from the effort and reward of running against herself.

With both these races under my belt, there was one left to do--the second race in Charlestown was an 8K. Jared's good friend Mike (aka, the Mixtape) was planning to run this race--and in fact had run it the two previous years. His telling of last year's race seemed to improve on every telling--and by this point, we'd heard about his stopping for a beer at a friend's place along the route, and the point at which a grandmother passed him. His finishing time last year? Around an hour and a half. He was the dead-last finisher--and the race crew had already put everything away, including the water.

This year, Jared and I were committed to getting him through the race, happy and content with his pace, and definitely in time for some post-race refreshment. (I admit that I "bandit" ran this second race of the day...) We settled into a comfortable pace, with Mike setting the bar for speed and for any necessary drink or stretch breaks. And while we did see a bunch of Mike's friends, he took the Solo cup of beer for the road this year, and there were no grandmas in sight. The three of us turned the corner, with Mike holding strong, and slogging the last few blocks. I hopped out just before the finish (it seems shady to cross the finish line when running bandito-style), and was able to watch them finish in Mike's Bunker Hill PR--57 minutes. He was shocked and giddy with his time, and thanked us profusely, before heading back to let his wife know of his 30-minute improvement.

All in all, it was a great weekend of racing. I didn't go out to set any records for myself. What I did do, though, was help three people cross the finish line on the power of their own legs.

I'll call that my own 10.1-mile victory lap.