No one believed that we were really going to run 31 laps around Boone's beloved Jimmy Smith Park.
I received countless messages soaked in doubt. BUT in the end there were a few hardy souls willing to put trust in their fellow man and arrive this morning to partake in some fun-filled laps with a few other crazies for the Jimmy Smith Park 5k.
The Believers
OK- how many @#%^ing laps is this?!
As the laps mounted and the runners counted (to five) they'd drop a chip into the timing system to keep track of progress. Most everyone was able to keep up, but hey... this was too much fun to get bogged down with the minutia and others gladly tacked on a few bonus laps along the way!
Navigation of Jimmy Smith Park
Fortunately nobody got lost on the course. With its .07 miles per lap the JSP5k course covers little ground, slowly. With two "long" straightaways and two sharp left turns at either end of the loop we heard many remarks referring to the nearby Bristol Speedway. But, with 4 aid stations placed on each loop there was plenty of opportunity for a pit stop to get refreshed.
The Believers
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| Amazing Volunteers! |
All told we had about 15 runners, a few spectators and a staff of 4 helping out totaling 22 joyous souls sharing in a truly unique running and community experience. Special shout out to James True who was unable to run this time but still came out this morning anyway to see how he could help! Runners are amazing and James set the bar high today!
On Your Mark
After congratulating the folks for taking the risk against the naysayers in their life we sounded the siren and the race was on! There was no going back. These folks were about to get the run around.
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| Annette, Wayne and Susy! |
Wayne Middlesteadt quickly pushed to the front and laid down a blistering* time of 12:41! Actually set a brand new American Record for the 5k distance... well by name anyway.
No call from USATF on when the official record ceremony is to be held yet... but I know where we can host!
OK- how many @#%^ing laps is this?!
As the laps mounted and the runners counted (to five) they'd drop a chip into the timing system to keep track of progress. Most everyone was able to keep up, but hey... this was too much fun to get bogged down with the minutia and others gladly tacked on a few bonus laps along the way!
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| Chip Timing system |
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| *31 laps for the "5"k... (okay maybe 3k?) |
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| Lot and lots of left turns... 62 of them. |
And raising money!?!
Our FREE race with FREE shirts and FREE door prizes was accepting donations to benefit the Jimmy Smith/Bill Paul Endowment for Mathematics Education or JSBPEFME for short. At the end of an hour we had made more than $150 to support this endowment!
We could not be more happy about the day, the energy and the community feeling of the first ever Jimmy Smith Park 5k! See you next year?!?!???
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| A strong pack of JSP5k'rs |
I wanted to join you hearty souls, but alas, a schedule conflict thwarted my ambitions to be in the inaugural run of a premier High Country Event. Makes me think of Monte Python on gel packs.
ReplyDeleteYou guys rocked it out for the inaugural run! I'm sure some runners are still out on the course. We really hope they make it back safely soon:)
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