Sudan Foot Race Family Festival 5K

My race this week was the Sudan Foot Race Family Festival 5K on October 23, 2010 at Vista Ridge Amphitheater in Lewisville. I picked this race for its great cause (The race supports 1,100 kids and the school in Sudan. Visit www.e3partners.org for more information), and also because the 23rd of October is my oldest son, John's, birthday. John lives in Lewisville with his girlfriend and her 2 daughters and running a race in Lewisville meant that I could see him at the event. Just like last year, I got lost finding the location, but that's one of the reasons why I like to arrive early. I picked up my bib # and registration package, which included a free shirt. I looked around, took a few pictures, drank my pre race drinks, and started to stretch slowly as more people arrived. Registrations started at 7:15 then there was a group warm up at 8:15 which I decided to skip. The 5K race started at 8:30.

I lined up on the front row by a group of young racing teammates. This race had a turnaround, but unlike most races which use the turnaround as a half way point, in this race it came a lot sooner. The horn sounded and we all took off. It didn't take me long to realize that I didn't have much energy to run as I wanted. The night before the race, my younger son Edward and I had just watched the Texas Rangers beat the NY Yankees for their first American League pennant in 39 years (visit my blog www.runningforacause.tumblr.com to see some pictures and commentary about the big game). The night was so exciting, but I had to get up at 4:00AM for the race and only got 3 hours sleep. This past year has been a complete blessing to me. I was 19 years old in 1972 when the Rangers moved to Arlington and in a few weeks I will be 59. I read in the Dallas Morning News about a lady who is 107 who has been waiting for this same moment. What a blessing to all of us who have waited so long to see our team, the Texas Rangers, in the World Series . Now lets win it!! Speaking of the Rangers, I wear a blue band on my wrist to support the Texas Ranger Foundation which helps children and creates scholarships. Also, to me the blue band is for prostate cancer. If you go to the game you can buy one for only $1.00.

Well, back to the race. We started on the street in front of amphitheater and after what seemed like half a mile there was the turnaround. After that, we moved back toward the start line, but before we got there, the course moved us on to a trail which ran around the amphitheater. My son and his family arrived just as the race started and I waved to were I had parked so he could get my camera. As I was about half way he recorded a video of me running (which will be posted on the blog as soon as I can figure out how to do it) which he had done last year. He and his family cheered me on and the girls said "you're doing great grandpa." I gave the Ranger's antler sign (I have speed) and tried to smile, but I was tired.

I just kept going, following a lady, then we came to the water stop. I should have gotten a drink, but kept running instead. The drink stop was at the 2 mile marker and I could hear on the loud speaker "here comes the first finisher." I figured that I still had over 10 minutes of running left. I kept running with as much energy I could muster and never stopped to walk. I ran at a steady pace and finally made it back on the street to the finish line which was still a ways off. I started to pick it up and give it all I had to the finish line. I could hear my family cheering for me at the finish line, and I was totally spent of all my energy when I finally crossed it.

Well, there was about 20 races this weekend and just like last year I was the only one in my age division which means that I won first place. My final time was 29:04:12. Again I was a little disappointed in my finishing time, but I did my best just like my Rangers. After the race, my son had a chair ready for me to rest on and water to drink and pour over my head to cool me off. After that, I went to my car to drink my post race drinks and ice my feet. Then we all went to amphitheater to enjoy the festival. They had great sponsors like Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers who gave each of us a free coupon for a dinner at their restaurant (which we happily used after the race). Also I Am Second, whose spokesperson, Josh Hamilton of the Rangers, recently won the MVP award for the ALCS. Josh has a great message for everyone who has been in trouble and has come back from some serious personal problems to be a great role model for our young people. Great job Josh! This race was put on by my favorite running store, Run On! There were many more sponsors and volunteers there that made all who attend have a wonderful time.

Thinking back, I remember taking both of my sons to their first Texas Ranger games when they were babies, and now we are going to the watch the Rangers in the world series together. How great is that?! But I only have 2 tickets so I can only bring one son at a time just like when they were babies. I will not race next Saturday since I will be going to my first word series game ever to watch our Texas Rangers win their first world series in 39 years. I know they will do their best just like their number 1 fan does each time he runs a race. Go Rangers!! Again, don't forget to check out my blog www.runningforacause.tumblr.com to see some pictures from the ALCS game.

The final results can be seen here.

My final line in male 55-59:

Place Bib# Age Men Overall Overall ChipTIme Gun Time

1/1 922 58 58/86 76/183 29:04:12 29:04:67

Komen Race for the Cure 2010

This week, I chose to run in the Komen Race for the Cure in Dallas on Saturday October 16, 2010. I wanted to support the Cancer Support Community of North Texas (formerly Gilda's Club http://www.cancersupporttexas.org/) and ran as a member of their team, which was lead by Melissa Garner. My younger son Edward also walked in the 5k with his girlfriend. I ran to honor all of the survivors at the Cancer Support Community as well as the survivors at my exercise center Fitsteps for Life. org (http://www.cancerfoundationforlife.org/). I work out at their Dallas location which is in the Cancer Institute of Dallas in Duncanville. One of the doctors there, Dr. Charles Lee, also ran the race, and finished in twenty something minutes. I can only dream of running that fast. Dr. Lee sets a great example for all of us. I also saw a former nurse named Cyndi, that ran a great race, as well as a survivor that I train with at the Fit Steps for Life, and her grand daughter. My son and I drove to the Cancer Support Community so that we could ride the bus to Northpark Center for the race. We walked over to the Cancer Treatment Centers of America tent (https://www.cancercenter.com/), who had a drawing for a $100 gift certificate. The team of volunteers, lead by Lou Ann York did a great job at the tent. They must have given out thousands of free canvas shopping bags, each with the word HOPE printed in pink. The Cancer Treatment Centers of America are one of the top sponsors of Cancer Support Community of North Texas. They send a group every other month to the center to discuss nutrition as it relates to cancer patients and other great topics. I wanted to compete, so I needed to get to registration and pay an extra $5 so I could get chip timed, and get closer to the start of the race. My son told me that it took him and his girlfriend about 25 minutes just to get to the start line for the race; there were so many people at the event. I started out close to the announcers, well behind the group of elite runners who were separated from the other chip timed runners. At the start line, I met a guy named Sean, who I had seen at quite a few races before. Sean is a 20 something year old that can run a 5K in about 20 minutes. I told him to move up closer to those elite runners since his times are so good, and that's exactly what he did. At the start of the race is a small straight away with timed runners on the right lane and untimed on the left. Then there's a quick right turn to the corner where everyone jams up and mixes together. At this point the runners who have the speed can get out in front and get ahead of the crowd. I could only walk at first then a little trot then after I turned the corner I picked it up a little more. I told myself this was going to be a fun run so I just needed to take it easy and enjoy everything about the race, especially all the beautiful women. I was daydreaming about talking to some of them after the race, but forced myself back to reality. There were many neighbors who came out to welcome us. My favorite was the "dog watering" stand where a couple of neighborhood kids were giving water to the dogs that were at the race. There were also some cheering high school cheerleaders at different turns in the course. There was a large group of them at the water stop, where I ran through flashing my "deer sign" like my Texas Ranger baseball players do when they have a good play that results because of their speed. When I reached the 2 mile marker there was a large time clock for everyone to see how they were doing. I made it at 18:55 which is a bit slower than I wanted, so the competitive spirit in me said "lets go". I took off at as fast a pace as I could and tried to keep it there till the finish line. There was a long downhill area, so I made up some time there. I passed many runners as I got closer to the end, then ran the last few turn to the home stretch to the finish line where there was a huge group of people and volunteers cheering. Its a wonderful feeling to have that kind of support when finishing a race. I high fived everyone after I finished... especially the beautiful women. I could not go to my car to ice my feet and drink my after race drinks like I usually do, so I drank water instead. I went back to Cancer Treatment Centers of America tent where the nice lady gave me a bag, which I started filling up with goodies from the other sponsors. I went back to the finish line to see if I could see my son and his girlfriend as they finished, but couldn't find them, so I went back to the CTCA tent. At this point, they had run out of bags, but I was supposed to meet my son there after the race. I was a little worn out and when they didn't show up, I decided to go back to the bus, thinking they might be there. No luck. I started walking back to event, and met them on the way. We walked to the Half Price Books parking lot where my son's girlfriend works, and whom she ran for. We drove back home, and I took a quick shower and went with my son to watch the Texas Rangers win their first home playoff game against the NY Yankees (wearing the white Jerseys, not the unlucky Red ones of course). We were both very tired, but had a wonderful time at both events. I'm looking forward to getting to my first Texas Rangers World Series game. We're almost there. I took a few pictures at the Rangers game, but I could not bring my camera on the bus to the run. One picture is of the Stand up to Cancer sign which is sponsored by Major League Baseball. Well this is my mission now, to get the word out when I run. Maybe someday I will be blessed with a grandson like my two sons, and they will be able to say grandpa thank you for standing up for me and doing something to make a difference. Also attached is a picture of my trainer Michelle giving me an award for winning a competition at the fitness center. My final line in men 55 to 59 division: Bib Class Position Men Overall Overall Total Chip Time Gun Time Pace 1381 4/14 217/349 376/939 28:32 28:37 9:09/m I run to raise awareness for prostate cancer and to benefit my community. www.runningforacause.tumblr.com

Komen Race for the Cure 2010

This week, I chose to run in the Komen Race for the Cure in Dallas on Saturday October 16, 2010. I wanted to support the Cancer Support Community of North Texas (formerly Gilda's Club http://www.cancersupporttexas.org/) and ran as a member of their team, which was lead by Melissa Garner. My younger son Edward also walked in the 5k with his girlfriend. I ran to honor all of the survivors at the Cancer Support Community as well as the survivors at my exercise center Fitsteps for Life. org (http://www.cancerfoundationforlife.org/). I work out at their Dallas location which is in the Cancer Institute of Dallas in Duncanville. One of the doctors there, Dr. Charles Lee, also ran the race, and finished in twenty something minutes. I can only dream of running that fast. Dr. Lee sets a great example for all of us. I also saw a former nurse named Cyndi, that ran a great race, as well as a survivor that I train with at the Fit Steps for Life, and her grand daughter.   My son and I drove to the Cancer Support Community so that we could ride the bus to Northpark Center for the race. We walked over to the Cancer Treatment Centers of America tent (https://www.cancercenter.com/), who had a drawing for a $100 gift certificate. The team of volunteers, lead by Lou Ann York did a great job at the tent. They must have given out thousands of free canvas shopping bags, each with the word HOPE printed in pink. The Cancer Treatment Centers of America are one of the top sponsors of Cancer Support Community of North Texas. They send a group every other month to the center to discuss nutrition as it relates to cancer patients and other great topics.   I wanted to compete, so I needed to get to registration and pay an extra $5 so I could get chip timed, and get closer to the start of the race. My son told me that it took him and his girlfriend about 25 minutes just to get to the start line for the race; there were so many people at the event. I started out close to the announcers, well behind the group of elite runners who were separated from the other chip timed runners. At the start line, I met a guy named Sean, who I had seen at quite a few races before. Sean is a 20 something year old that can run a 5K in about 20 minutes. I told him to move up closer to those elite runners since his times are so good, and that's exactly what he did.   At the start of the race is a small straight away with timed runners on the right lane and untimed on the left. Then there's a quick right turn to the corner where everyone jams up and mixes together. At this point the runners who have the speed can get out in front and get ahead of the crowd. I could only walk at first then a little trot then after I turned the corner I picked it up a little more. I told myself this was going to be a fun run so I just needed to take it easy and enjoy everything about the race, especially all the beautiful women. I was daydreaming about talking to some of them after the race, but forced myself back to reality.   There were many neighbors who came out to welcome us. My favorite was the "dog watering" stand where a couple of neighborhood kids were giving water to the dogs that were at the race. There were also some cheering high school cheerleaders at different turns in the course. There was a large group of them at the water stop, where I ran through flashing my "deer sign" like my Texas Ranger baseball players do when they have a good play that results because of their speed.   When I reached the 2 mile marker there was a large time clock for everyone to see how they were doing. I made it at 18:55 which is a bit slower than I wanted, so the competitive spirit in me said "lets go". I took off at as fast a pace as I could and tried to keep it there till the finish line. There was a long downhill area, so I made up some time there. I passed many runners as I got closer to the end, then ran the last few turn to the home stretch to the finish line where there was a huge group of people and volunteers cheering. Its a wonderful feeling to have that kind of support when finishing a race. I high fived everyone after I finished... especially the beautiful women.   I could not go to my car to ice my feet and drink my after race drinks like I usually do, so I drank water instead. I went back to Cancer Treatment Centers of America tent where the nice lady gave me a bag, which I started filling up with goodies from the other sponsors. I went back to the finish line to see if I could see my son and his girlfriend as they finished, but couldn't find them, so I went back to the CTCA tent. At this point, they had run out of bags, but I was supposed to meet my son there after the race. I was a little worn out and when they didn't show up, I decided to go back to the bus, thinking they might be there. No luck. I started walking back to event, and met them on the way. We walked to the Half Price Books parking lot where my son's girlfriend works, and whom she ran for. We drove back home, and I took a quick shower and went with my son to watch the Texas Rangers win their first home playoff game against the NY Yankees (wearing the white Jerseys, not the unlucky Red ones of course). We were both very tired, but had a wonderful time at both events. I'm looking forward to getting to my first Texas Rangers World Series game. We're almost there.   I took a few pictures at the Rangers game, but I could not bring my camera on the bus to the run. One picture is of the Stand up to Cancer sign which is sponsored by Major League Baseball. Well this is my mission now, to get the word out when I run. Maybe someday I will be blessed with a grandson like my two sons, and they will be able to say grandpa thank you for standing up for me and doing something to make a difference.   My final line in men 55 to 59 division:    Bib   Class Position    Men Overall   Overall Total   Chip Time   Gun Time    Pace 1381          4/14             217/349         376/939         28:32         28:37       9:09/m   I run to raise awareness for prostate cancer and to benefit my community. www.runningforacause.tumblr.com

Dallas Running Club The Loop 15K / 5K

My last race was the Dallas Running Club The Loop 15K / 5K on Saturday October 2, 2010 at Winfrey Point at White Rock Lake. Both the 15K and the 5K started at 8:00 down the hill on the lake side. The kids 1K race started afterwards so most parents had finished their race were able to watch and run with their children. I took photos of the kids race and the award winners, which can be viewed at the DRC web site for free. On the same site you can see photos from the other photo guy, George, who took a couple of thousand pictures of the runners. Thank you George for the beautiful pictures.

There were 812 DRC members that pre registered for the race. As usual, Jason McGhee was the event leader. In total, there were 534 15K finishers and 190 5K finishers. At the race, I met Sam, a DRC member who hadn't been able to run in 6 months or more, who was running the 5K. Sam is the one that introduced me to the DRC over a year ago, and it made me very happy to have him healthy enough to run again. I arrived early found a close up parking spot, and then took some pictures of the DRC volunteers and runners as they arrived and gathered before the race. I also took a few pictures of the Run-On! booth which is always at DRC races. Run-On! was voted one of the best running stores in Texas. They are very active in the running community, helping to set-up races and selling running shoes and clothing in their stores. On their website, they have a great calendar that has all the upcoming races for the upcoming months so that you can plan out which races and benefits you would like to run in. It's my personal favorite site.

I went to my car to drink my pre race drinks, put my camera away and wend down the hill to warm up and stretch before the race. Greg Hall, who has been DRC president since January 1, 2009, started both races together. This venue is the same one where we cross the bridge that makes your legs give way, but we unlike previous races, we started the opposite direction. There was a turnaround for the 5K, but I believe the 15K ran a complete circle around the Lake. Most of the runners chose the 15K to prepare themselves for the DRC Half Marathon November 7.

I took off at a quick and steady pace. This was a cool morning, which was perfect for running. I thought I was running under 9:00 minutes per mile for the first mile, but I'm not sure since I don't have one of those timing devices yet. This time when I got to the water stop, I just kept running by. Since the temperature was so cool, I figured I could make it to the finish line, then replenish liquids after the race. As with all races with a turnaround, it wasn't long before I saw the fastest runners coming back on the opposite way. We cheered them on like gladiators as they passed us by. I only wish I could run a little faster. With the turnaround ahead, I had to slow down to go around the corner then headed back in the direction where we started toward the finish. I decided to pick up my pace more since it was cooler and I felt I had more energy left to give.

I started to pass up a few runners which kept my spirits and pace up. Toward the end of the race, I was in a running group with a 30 year old woman, a 70 year old man, and a 12 year old boy. Well, the first 2 beat my time and I was able to finish before the 12 year old. As I have said before, I run to stay healthy and give awareness to others so that my running will hopefully inspire people to try walking and running as a way to stay healthy. More important than my time or how I finish in the overall ranking is my personal satisfaction that I did my best and maybe helped someone to try running or walking. If you start now, it won't be long before you feel more energy in your body and mind.

I planned on running October 9, 2010 in the 24th annual Grand Prairie Metro Rotary Club Lake Joe Pool 10K, 5K run & 5K Walk, Fun Run & Pumpkin Fest. DFW sports broadcaster and fellow prostate cancer survivor, Scott Murray, will be master of ceremonies for the event which benefits the Alzheimer's Association. I wanted to run this race since my mother has Alzheimer's, but I read that they will be waiting until after 10:30 to open the gates so you can leave the park after the race. Me and my son Edward are going to the Texas Ranger's playoff game against Tampa Bay and I like to get there early for parking and pass the security check at the ballpark before the game. So no race this weekend this time.

You can see some pictures of the race

here - here - here - here - here - here - here - here - here

You can view the complete results here.

My final line for 5k male 55-59:

Place Bib# Age Div Men Overall Place Pace Time
6/8 6153 58 46/85 55/190 8.59/m 27:55:28