Byron Good Neighbor Days 5k

I have never done this 5k, but this was Jace's fourth time.  This year I decided that I would jump into it.  Its a pretty decent race if you want a fast 5k on a certified course with great give aways, nice people, and usually WARM WEATHER.  This year it was exceptionally warm.  Note, it was Saturday morning--not yesterday which was a bit worse with regards to humidity.  I'll get right into it...

We weren't sure at the start of the race what Jace's Age Group (AG) was... He's 10 so is it 10 and under, 10-14, 10-12, etc.  Turns out it was 9-11.  We didn't really care as he would just run how he felt like running and have fun.  He was getting a bad side-ache when we were warming up--probably because he ate breakfast at around 7am, we left at 7:15 and were warming up by 7:30 (race starts at 8).  Even at the last moment before the gun, ah, CANNON, went off, he still didn't feel right.  After I finished, I jogged back to get a couple pix of him and see how he was doing.  I didn't even get a 1/2 mile back and he was already coming. He was trailing a kid by about 20 yards that looked to be in his AG.  The course finishes at the Byron Middle School--you enter the football field/track area and do almost a full lap around the 1/4 mile track.  Right as he was entering the track, I was running next to him to see how he was holding up.  I asked about his side-ache and he yells, "Still hurts!"  I said "Ok, well not even a quarter mile and you're done...... go get 'em."   He was gaining slightly on the boy in front of him and on the last stretch, as it parallels she football field, Jace kicked it, passed the other kid and finished 5 seconds up on him.  Turned out that kid was in his AG.  Jace's time was 23:08.  He kicked it in around the corner in the background and passed the two people you see behind him.  Tie-died shirt boy was in his AG who had an impressive 23:13.

As for my race, it went pretty well. First off, the course is mainly one big rectangle with a little zig-zag thru a neighborhood near the end, then a couple turns into the school lot and down to the track.  Two long stretches of over a mile each to really settle into a suffering pace.   The winner, Ali Kalilli (spelling?) ran it in 17:13.  I was right on his heels holding second thru the first mile then he opened a gap. He hit mile 1 at about 5:27, I was at 5:31. Right after that his gap started to grow.  He maintained about that same pace (average for 17:13 is 5:33). As for me, I started to fade. The next two miles I was at around 5:46 and 5:53.  One guy, who I could tell was in my AG (40-49) passed me at about 1.5 miles in.  His gap grew, then stayed the same. I thought I may catch him later, in the last 1/4 or so, but I had nothing. In fact, another guy was gaining on my and I was doing all I could to keep him off.  I hit the track a few seconds before Ali was finishing.  I crossed the line at 17:47.  I was surprised as my PR is 17:37 and didn't think I would even make it under 18 considering how thick and humid the air was.

About the Cannon that they used to start the race.. It was a little sad, but if you recall, you may know about a runner from Byron that died a couple months ago after finishing a marathon (Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon).   His name is Paul Melby. There were a ton of people at the race/Team R.E.D. members wearing shirts with Paul's picture on it as this was a special race for them.   Before the 5k started, Tom O'Leary began with a few words about Paul, how his goal this year was to qualify for the BOSTON Marathon--which he did at Lake Wobegon.  Tom had us pause for a moment of silence in Paul's  honor, then introduced Paul's family, wife and 3 small children, and said that they would be starting the race off with the Cannon.  They looked in good spirits, but I felt horribly sad for them and almost teared up myself.  However, it made me feel grateful at the same time that Jace and I can race, run, play together, etc, and I have a lot to be thankful for.  Still, that didn't stop me from thinking about how his family must feel with him gone.  They didn't waste any time though--we heard them light wick and after a few seconds- BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE!  It was just a small cannon with an barrel opening no bigger than what would shoot out a ball the size of a racket, maybe a tennis ball. My right ear was ringing for the first block of the race.  Strange feeling, but nice for them to start the race with a bang...

RESULTS will be posted HERE at some point.