Walking the Salt Lake Marathon's 5K
Meghan (age 10) and I walked the Salt Lake City Marathon's 5K this morning. We finished in fifty minutes, crossing the finish line holding hands. Our average pace (per mile) was sixteen minutes and some odd seconds. Meghan came in 38th in her age group. I came in 108th in mine. There were several kids age four to six who finished faster than we did. But they probably ran rather than walked. At least I hope so!
We got up way too early, took a shuttle a lot sooner than we needed to, and stood around in the cold waiting for the sun to rise and the "race" to start. But at least this gave us the opportunity to see "Spiderman" warming up. (Mary gave her camera to Meghan and told her to go ask Spiderman for his photo. He was gracious enough to pose for her.)
I learned a few things:
- I don't wear my tennis shoes often enough (I got a blister).
- To be a true runner you need an iPod (I do not own an iPod and thus do not even have the potential—presently—of becoming a true runner).
- Perhaps I was adopted—or Anna was?—because unlike her there is no Kenyan within me (I was not at all inspired to ever want to run a marathon.)
- The 25-mile bike race looks like it would be fun. (The wheel was such a great invention for moving people and things over long distances.)
As for Spiderman, he ran (or swung from webs?) the course in twenty-seven and a half minutes. His name wasn't really Peter Parker (it's Eric) and he's from Midvale, Utah. :-) Meghan's Uncle Robert beat this super hero by several minutes.
—Michael A. Cleverly
Saturday, April 21, 2007 at 23:15