Today I decided to try the Sudbury 4th of July Road Race, which has a long history. This race appears to be a quintessential community event (along with the annual parade later in the day). Walking up to the registration desk, I could tell how well the participants knew each other. Sudbury seems to be a town full of runners. Not really a surprise!
Another fun fact is that you have to be a town resident to win a race prize. Probably to keep the riffraff like me away. If you look very closely at the bottom of my bib you can see I've been branded a "Non-Resident"... and I always thought Sudbury was a Sanctuary City! ;-)
It was another glorious clear, sunny summer day to gather for a race, this time at Featherland Park in Sudbury. At this point in the summer, I'd actually prefer the race to kick off an hour earlier than its 9 AM start, to save me about five degrees in temperature. I quipped to one runner, slogging along with me in the back of the pack: "You can never start these summer races early enough." "You got that right!" he panted back.
The race loop was scenic, a down grade out and an up grade back, which induced me to go faster than I would have ordinarily tried in the beginning. I ended up with "positive splits," i.e. progressively slower miles. And to make matters more challenging, this was a 6K course, with the extra K thrown in to kick my butt.
However, there were the usual local residents who come out and cheer us on from their front yards. One older chap was serving up his own water and refreshments (not an official part of the race), and he smiled when I trotted past, "Good job!" "I'm so out of shape!" I smiled back. "First place for being last!" He chuckled.
Eventually, I made it to the finish line. As I said before, this looks like a town full of runners, and 95% of them finished well ahead of me. But, come to think of it, that's my usual result in any race.
Local agricultural update: I'm really pleased to report a significant downturn in winter moth activity on my blueberry bush this year. This is the best crop in about five years, with even more to be harvested! Today's haul:
Well, that does it for this edition. Wear red, white, and blue, and get your fireworks on today!
Well, Least Interesting Runner...there will come a day sooner than you expect when you too will be an older onlooker remembering when you took the "first place for being last" award in Sudbury! Oh, wait. As a non-resident, you're disqualified from that award.
ReplyDeleteAt least your blueberries are looking great. Enjoy. I miss our blueberry patch. Would have been jam-making time.