Tale of Two Races
This past Saturday, I was at two races. The first race, I was a timer. It was a race in Morrow Ohio called "A Mile in Their Boots" which raises proceeds for Operation Thank You. It was a 5k Run/Walk at Veteran's Park in Morrow Ohio that was part of the Morrow Family fest that began after the race. About 50 people showed up for the 5k Run/Walk. It had a cross country feel to it as runners started and finished in a grassy area before heading onto the Little Miami Bike Trail. Runners' Club Member Paul Harkins won the race in a time of 21:04.
Later that night, I ran the Reggae Run. The Reggae Run is held in Ault Park and is the largest 5k in Cincinnati. This year they had about 5000 entrants. It is put on by the Olberding family and is done in honor of Maria Olberding, who was fatally attacked while training for the Boston Marathon. Race proceeds benefit the Make A Wish Foundation. 2009 was the 16th Reggae Run. I have run all of them but the 1rst one(I had not yet begun to run) and the 13th(case of Triskaidekahobia)It is one of my favorite courses and the race has the best post-race in Cincinnati with live Reggae Music. Since it is the largest 5k, you may have to park aways from the start and walk awhile. This year, they had buses from Lunken Playfield which I should have taken advantage of instead of my usual mile walk to the start. Oh well, I got to the start about 5 minutes before the gun, but I needed to use a portolet for which there was a wait so I had a late start of about 3 minutes. The most challenging part of the race is navigating the crowd of people on the course. Again the post race was terrific as this year I was able to get pizza, subs, grilled cheese etc and so on.