Reality reminder

July 19 marked the annual Rockville Rotary Twilight 8K. I believe that I have run it 5 times and it has always been hot. Sometimes we get a thunderstorm. I think it was cancelled once because of heat. Well, they delayed the start by about 10 minutes to allow the temperature to come down a degree or two. I heard a couple of non-runners sitting on a curb question why it was being delayed as it was quite nice out. They obviously weren't runners. While it was fairly comfortable for lounging, it was pretty darn hot for a run...somewhere in the mid to high 80's. The humidity was down which made it seem cooler but we runners were still about to run in very hot conditions.

This is not an easy course as it has several significant hills to conquer. Given my relative poor level of conditioning, the heat, and the course I decided before the start of the race to not over due it. With this in mind, I started all the way at the back of the pack. It was a chip race so why get caught in the middle of the pack?

It was a really good crowd this year at the start and then there was the usual good turnout of residents as we turned into the neighborhoods. There weren't quite as many people out with hoses this year to splash people as they ran by but thats OK with me as I always worry about wet socks and blisters when I see those hoses.

I ran nearly all of the first mile with only one very brief walk break in an OK 11:00. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep that up though. The big hills were still ahead. I think I passed through the halfway point in about 29 minutes. I was slowing down and the heat was taking its toll. It didn't look like I could break an hour. That was immediately verified as I had to walk almost all of the next mile. I was whipped. The only thing that kept me going at this point was Barry Goldmeier, the local joggler. He was running this evening with very cool glow in the dark balls. I always hate being passed by Barry...nothing personal...I just think I should be able to beat someone thats running while juggling 4 balls! But I really thought I should beat him in a nighttime race. (It was after 9:30 by this point). He would pass me, I would struggle to keep up, he would drop one of his balls and have to stop to pick it up and I would race by ("race" is relative). We went back and forth like this until he passed me for good as we ran around Montgomery College.

It was as we ran around Montgomery College that I knew something bad had happened on the course. Two paramedics on bicycles that had been riding leisurely through the crowd and that had passed me about a mile before came by me in the opposite direction at this time and riding at a serious pace. A little further ahead we came across a fire truck that had obviously been providing water to runners but he was hurrying to pack up and get on the road, which he did about 2 minutes after I passed him. As I ran by the truck I heard a voice on a radio name an intersection just a hundred yards from where I had just run and where the course took us by with less than a mile to go.

From that point on, I heard a lot of sirens. I knew someone must have gone down and I silently wished the best for them. I wondered if I knew the person. Since I run in so many races I've gotten to know a lot of runners but the runners I know run a lot of races. This race brings out people that only run a few times a year.

Mile 4 was very slow as I contemplated life and also frankly really struggled with the heat. I drank 3 small glasses of water at the last water stop before Rockville Pike. I always like running on the Pike. It's a straight, slightly downhill road that is well paved and well lit. Drivers frequently lean out of their cars and offer encouragement (or sometimes the opposite of encouragement but thats for another blog). You cant see the finish line but you can see the buildings that are besides the finish line so you get a feeling of progress. I was able to run most of the Pike and I passed quite a few people during this little stretch run. I ran by the intersection mentioned on the ambulance drivers radio but the scene had been cleared.

As I entered Rockville Town Centre I gave one last push and ran through the finish line. The announcer commented on my Pikes Peek T-shirt, though he couldn't pull my name up fast enough to get it out before other runners started coming in behind me. I finished in a disappointing 66:31 but I didn't punish myself because of the heat. I kept telling myself during the race...don't die, don't end up in a hospital tonight, and don't throw up (I was suffering from reflux from about mile 2 on). I accomplished all 3 so I had view the race as a success of sorts.

While taking off my chip the announcer asked the crowd if anyone knew a runner by the name of X please come to the finsih line. I assumed that this was the runner that went down. I didn't recognize the name and I don't recall it now. The paper the next morning confirmed the worst...a male runner, aged 60 died during the race at the intersection I heard named on the radio. This made the 4th runner (that I know of) that died in a race that I ran in. (Virginia Beach Half Marathon in 2001, the Marine Corp Marathon, and The Army Ten Miler just last year). Femi at work now calls me the "Running Angel of Death".

All kidding aside, this does show the dangers of running. My Mother is constantly trying to convince me to stop running for fear of me becoming one of these runners. She called me when she read the article and was shocked that I also ran in the race. But what I always tell her is that while I acknowledge that I am more at risk when I run then if I were at home sleeping, it makes me less at risk for the remaining hours of the day. I think thats a very good trade off and a risk I can live with (no pun intended). So I will continue to run but I will also continue my mantra of "Live to race again tomorrow".

Here are some of the results from the race:
Mohamed Awol (winner 24:24...are you kiddingme!?)
Mike Wardian 25:30
Darkwing Duck (I'm serious, look it up) 26:56
Jim Moreland 34:12
Lou Shapiro 34:25
Bill Stahr 34:47
Kirk Gordon 35:47
Bob Platt 39:49
Jon Palks 42:26
Barry Goldmeier 64:44
Ric Franke 66:23 (that ticks me off, I never saw him. I would have pushed more if I had seen him. That's the downside to starting in the back. He started over a minute in front of me).
Me 66:31
I was the 1103rd male out of 1113 male finishers.
On the female side:
Julie Culley 26:57 (female winner)
Alisa Harvey 29:48 (I'm surprised she ran this given the heat)
Christina Caravoulias 58:52 (good for her!)
There were 870 female finishers and 22 unidentified finishers...so over 2000 finishers. I beat 53 of them. OK, not my best effort.