It's not such a big thing with us in Tallahassee. But Tom Perkins, race director for the Miller Landing Madness 8K, 5K, and 3K races, had a little bit of that European love-for-mud in him the morning of his event, 28 August 2010.
"Did you see my mud patch?" asked Perkins.
"Your mud patch?" I responded in confusion. I'm often confused when talking to race directors.
"Yeah, my mud patch. I could only make one of them."
"Oh, you mean where the 5K course and the 8K course split."
"Yeah, that's it," beamed Perkins. "That's my mud patch!"
By the end of Saturday morning over 400 runners had seen his mud patch, the runners in the Miller Landing Madness 8K, 5K, and 3K, all of whom had to make at least one trip around or through the mud. The rest of the course through Elinor Klapp Phipps Park was excellent for running, firm and well-drained in spite of the rain the day before the races.
I have one last story from the race. As I was taking pictures of the 8K, one of the slower runners went by me with about a mile to go.
"What's your name?" she called out.
"Herb Wills," I replied.
"I'm Patti," she said. "And I'm going to finish."
She did. 1:09:54.
Links:
- Complete results of the 2010 Miller Landing Madness at gulfwinds.org
http://www.gulfwinds.org/raceresults/2010/Miller%20Landing%20Madness%202010.html - Photos of the 2010 Miller Landing Madness (Part 1)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2912735&id=5215641&l=27e41ee0a4 - Photos of the 2010 Miller Landing Madness (Part 2)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2912720&id=5215641&l=30b1b75ced - Fred Deckert's photos of the 2010 Miller Landing Madness
http://picasaweb.google.com/Freddecka/MiillerMadness_10# - Saiju Gangadharan's photos of the 2010 Miller Landing Madness
http://picasaweb.google.com/saijug/MillerLandingMadness2010# - Chris Lake wins Miller Landing Madness 2009
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2009/08/chris-lake-wins-miller-landing-madness.html - Find your next race here!
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
I *love* the Patti story!! I get all worked up about running etiquette sometimes, and eventually you see a whole lot of good as well as bad. It meant a lot to me when I was trying to give those speedy guys a wide berth and you said, "It's course too!" Yep, mine and Patti's. And the good news about being at the extreme back of the pack is I had a beautiful course all to myself for a long time. It was a great day!
ReplyDeleteWell if one comment was nifty then two must be super-nifty. What I meant to quote you as saying was: "It's your course too!". Proofers need proofers!
ReplyDeleteHerb, thank you for the great reports and photos. Tom had another little patch just past the 1 mile mark on the turn. Just enough slick to make you mindful on the second lap. We have all been, and if the Lord is willing, will be again, in Pattie's shoes....
ReplyDelete