There is something special about fall racing! I don't know if it's because I first became a runner in the fall of 1962 or because I always enjoyed cross country more than track in high school and college or just because the weather always seems to invigorate. Whatever the reason, I love fall running.
It was a coincidence that I had two races the first weekend of fall this year. I had intended to run one on Saturday and then after running a half marathon the previous weekend I decided to take a break. Then I felt good training midweek and decided that I would run and I also decided to run a 5K on Sunday. Both races were in Modesto so there was no serious travel involved. I'm glad I decided to run because there really was fall in the air both days. On Saturday the temperature at race time was in the low 60's and on Sunday it never got over 55.
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Saturday Morning
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Saturday was a 2 mile fundraiser for Cancer Awareness and was held in conjunction with several road cycling events so there was a large crowd and a festival type of atmosphere. Lunch was included in the entry fee but I couldn't see hanging around for several hours for a "free" lunch. I wanted to go home and get showered and changed because I had to return to Modesto to pick up my race packet for Sunday's race.
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4th 60-69 age group; 2nd 65-69
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Saturday afternoon we got a big rain and rain was a possibility for Sunday. While it didn't rain it was a much cooler morning and it felt good running in long sleeves for the first time in a long time. The event started off very disorganized, no restrooms when I arrived at 6:00 (they did finally arrive) and then the race started thirty minutes late. Other than that though it was a well run event and an important one. The race was a "Fallen Officers Memorial" to honor law enforcement officers from the county who had lost their lives in the line of duty.
Fortunately I waited around for the awards presentation, something I don't often do, because after they announced the medal winners in the 60-69 age group and all of them had times slower than me I knew there was a problem. The problem became obvious when they announced "Dana Anstey" as the winner of the women's 60-69 age division. After waiting around a while longer I received my medal without the fanfare of other winners. Oh well, I didn't need a posed picture with a police lieutenant anyway. :) My picture with "Chipper" right after the race meant more to my grand kids.
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Chipper and Me!
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Here are some pictures from the ceremony honoring the fallen officers.
And then the clouds blew in for the race. It was a good start to the fall running/racing season.
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