RACE DAY #1 (7.9.09)

Race time! 5am alarm, tried to hit snooze, but was too excited. Up and dress and head out to meet the crew and head over to race site. Robi and the Sterns had headed over earlier to finalize setup and get all the timing stuff squared away. Rick didn’t end up getting any sleep! The entire Catch Penny crew showed up for the race as well, and they were working on little sleep too. What troopers. By the time we arrived at 5:40 there were TONS of people in line. I walked around talking to people, thanking them for coming out and thanking them in general! I grabbed Josh by the arm and dragged him around taking pictures of me with runners in their Under Armour! There were a LOT! I even found 2 people with Under Armour shoes on. One in trainers and one in Illusions! The girl in Illusions sought me out! I was psyched. The race was a bit delayed, but it was remarkably not that late considering the number of people in line. We all got lined up and were off! Apparently this base has a 5K every 2-4 weeks. I met the girl who had won all of those 5Ks. She was with a man who I can only assume was her commanding officer and father-away-from-home! He was bragging proudly about how she’d won every women’s race they’d had since she got there, and she would be winning today! She was very sweet and very modest, said she hadn’t slept very well and wasn’t sure how she would do. (she won!) There was also word since the night before about some guy who could run a 15 min 5K. We were all very excited to see If there was such a phenom. (there was!) So off we ran. It was not very hot yet, and there was a nice breeze, making it almost cool. It was quite pleasant actually, and on we ran. I ran the first mile or so with Mark from Catch Penny. He was complaining about the effects of the cigarettes he smoked, but I could tell that he could have totally pushed on and run ahead. We stuck together for a while, then I got into a few conversations with some troops. We caught up with Krystina who we’d all become good friends with the night before. She was training for the half marathon in August, and was up to about 6 miles. We all agreed that we would do 2 laps together. As the race wore on, and the breeze quieted, and the sun rose, I started to think that wasn’t such a good idea, and maybe she’d have the same thought! I hoped! We ran with her for a while, then ran on. We came upon 4 guys laughing loudly at a corner in PT gear smoking cigarettes. I was amazed to see that they had race numbers on, and that they were stopping for a mid-race smoke. I hurled a joke at them, and ran on. They had 2 water stations set up. It was great! (and vital. Someone later told us they have about 0.5% humidity here. I believe it! It’s darned dry!! On we ran. I left Mark and ran backwards for a few meters, cheering for people, until the smokers caught up. They were young boisterous soldiers, yelling and laughing and making plans for a dramatic finish. (1 guy was going to carry the other in a show of solidarity!) Oh, I forgot to mention that Josh was taking pictures in the beginning, and was at the finish line shooting as well. He is now posting the pictures on line, and has software that will sort the pictures by race number so they’re searchable online and they can download them for free. SO COOL! That’s why the guys were planning their dramatic finish! So on we ran, and finally came upon the final stretch. I ran in with another female soldier I’d run with for a while, and let her finish on her own. I went and got water, hugged a few people who’d finished and generally mingled and chatted with people.
We were giving out race shirts from another marathon and the runners loved it! They didn’t care at all that they were from a different race (in Springfield, MO, which incidentally I had run!). They were also giving out medals from other races. I approached one group of 3 young runners and said “that’s a great looking fish medal you’ve got hanging around your neck.” He clutched it and replied “this fish medal is making me pretty happy right now ma’am.” That was cool It really struck home that we could have brought in a race and an Olympian to sign autographs and give training advice, but it really added an air of legitimacy to have the timing and race photos, medals and t-shirts. They can have a 5K race any old day, but to make it a real legit race, just like you’d have back home, really brought a new and very memorable experience to these troops. It’s different and extraordinarily valuable. They talked about how it’s like Groundhog day here. You do the same things with the same people day in and day out! Anything to break up the monotony helps. Now that a lot of the “action” in Iraq has cooled down, and the boredom is a serious issue that they’re dealing with and while a autograph signing by a group of cheerleaders, or a musical act or comedian is great, an interactive experience like this is really a huge thing, and Robi, Zach and Christian are really doing an amazing and innovative thing here. Zach and Christian are also planning to bring in a few X-games guys and a full skate board half pipe in for an exhibition. Sometimes they get guys who play an instrument to join them on stage when they’re playing, really making it personal for the guys at a concert. You know there’s going to be some soldier who’s a closet thrasher who will join the pro skaters and really make it fun. It’s very very important and awesome what they’re doing, and I really want to be involved.
So we gave out the awards, I brought some UA shirts signed by Devon Hester for a special UA Undeniable award, and I awarded those to our friend Kaz who’s training for the half, and a guy who I had convinced to register the night before, and who showed up! Good stuff. The crowd had thinned, all the awards were given out, and the festivities were all finished.
THE MOMENT OF TRUTH! Sandy came to me, we found Kaz and out we went for Loop #2! It was about 7:30 at this point, and warming considerably! We trudged through it. It was hot, but I couldn’t not go. It was 3 miles, to help a soldier training for her first half marathon in this shit. What kind of sissy would I be to not go. So I went, and didn’t complain. (but you can guarantee I took a big bottle of Gatorade! I am actually REALLY glad I went. Not only because I got in another 3 miles, and could say we ran the Iraqi 10K, but because Kaz is a super cool woman. She had a career in fabric technology and worked with the space program. She and Sandy got to chatting about the pieces of gear that Kaz had helped develop, and they were comparing notes. WHEN DOES THIS HAPPEN? You’re running along in Iraq with an Astronaut and a soldier who RANDOMLY worked on some of the gear that the astronaut used in space. I believe I’ve stepped into a time warp and holy crap is it cool! So we trudge along the last stretch of long boring road, and finally make the second to last turn. We make the final turn, and talk about how fast we’re going, and how great our final kick to the end is, as a trudge slowly to the speed bump that is now the only thing left of the finish line. What a great run! Grab some water and head back to The Lion’s Den for a shower.