Downtown Dash

Last Saturday was the Downtown Dash sponsored by our church. There was a 1 mile run/walk for adults and kids and a 5K run/walk for adults. Medals were given out for the top 3 finishers in each age group with a trophy for the overall male and female winner. Cara and I participated in the event. The weather on Saturday was not favorable. We had weather overnight of thunder, lightning and rain. This weather continued Saturday morning and the temperature was about 50 degrees with a cold north wind. It rained before the race and it started raining shortly after the last person crossed the finish line.

Cara and I after returning home from the race.

Cara running in the 1 mile race. She commented when the race was over that her shoe came untied and was about to fall off for most of the race. I am in the blue coat on the sidewalk cheering her on.

There were over 50 adult runners for the 5K race. I am somewhere in the back of the pack. I was there to just complete the race. It wasn't about placing. It was just about finishing. We are getting our final instructions before starting.

There were two individuals in the 5K race that truly left Cara and I in awe and amazement at their courage and determination. One individual was a man that completed the race. He was 80 years old and has competed in over 700 races. He was so happy at the end of the race. He ran across the finish line where his wife was waiting for him in their pick-up to stay warm. He placed first in his age group.

The other person to inspire us was a young woman. This lady had only one leg. She was involved in a car accident when she was 16 years old. A drunk driver crossed the center line hitting her car. At the time, she was a runner in high school. She had just received her running prosthetic leg three months ago. The last few blocks of the race she was crying and in pain, but her family cheered on to cross the finish line. After crossing she almost collapsed, but her family held her up.

Here I am close to the finish line. Oh, I should also say that Saturday was my birthday. Along the route, friends at checkpoints were singing happy birthday to me and people were singing when I crossed the finish line. I have no idea what my time was and I don't care. I just wanted to finish and know that I had completed the run.

Take care,

Michelle