This week I ran in the very special Fathers Day race, Dadfest 5K, at Galatyn Park in Richardson, TX on Saturday June 18, 2011. I chose to enter the race in the Prostate Cancer Survivor division instead of the age division so that I could honor all my fellow survivors. My oldest son, John, walked in the race, and my younger son, Edward, took pictures of us. This race benefited the Urology Research and Education Foundation. You can read more about them on their website www.diduid.com. The race was hosted by Mellew Productions, inc. There were many sponsors at the event, including Ford, Texas Health Resources, Urology Clinics of North Texas, Run-On!, Tom Thumb, Radio Disney, CBS 11 HD, TXA 21, and Gilddan, who handed out free socks and underwear for men. A couple of the world champion Dallas Mavericks dancers were also at the event, and I took a few pictures with them. Quest Diagnostics was there to conduct the free PSA screenings in the Texas Health Resource screening van. Jerry Glover Photography was there to provide official race photos. check out www.jerrygloverphotography.com, and put you bib # in to see your running pictures. Thanks to Jerry and his team for taking some amazing pictures. One of the best online resources for prostate cancer, The North Texas Prostate Coalition (www.ntxpcacoalition.org) was also at the race, handing out fliers with information about prostate cancer. Like last year, there were many fun activities before and after the race. There was a bean bag throw, a football toss, and even a rock climbing event. The most popular activity for the kids seemed to be running through the water fountain as it sprouted up water on this hot day. The course was very different from last year, as well as the many other races that I have run at this location. This new course included more hills which meant a slower time for me. My son, Edward, and his wife arrived early. I found the starting line but was unable to find the finish line. I took my 1 mile warm up jog, then went over to the sponsor area. I signed up for a chance to win a Ford vehicle which will be given away in October. Besides the 5K race there was also a kids 50 yard dash. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the volunteers from our prostate cancer support group at Presbyterian Hospital for making this day so special. There were over 200 father and child team entries in the 5K, and the total gun time finishers numbered 696. Among those runners were about 50 people running in lime green shirts in memory of Agustin Nerio, who died of prostate cancer in 2006. My son John and I lined up on the first row and waited for our Master of Ceremonies, Cliff Couch, to sound the horn. I started out as fast as I could on this hot humid day. The temperature was above 85 degrees to start. We ran uphill to the next block then we turned left still moving up hill. Then we had about 1 mile of flat and downhill running, which meant that after the turnaround we'd need to run up hill. My 1 mile time was 7:44. The turnaround was about 1.2 miles into the race. It's hard to breathe when its so hot, and many runners started walking. My Run-On! training kept me running at my best, and I arrived at 2nd mile in 15:58 (a 8:13 / mile pace). I had to hold back on the last mile because the heat and hills began to take effect on me. Finally, I made it to the 3 mile in 24:48 (an 8:19 / mile pace), and finished with a gun time of 25:43. 63 year old, Dan Flowers, has won the prostate cancer survivor division several years in a row, and continued his dominance, beating my time by 2 minutes. Great job Dan. I finished 2nd place out of the 11 other prostate cancer survivors. Some of the survivors, like my hero Marty Sisk, who is 75 years young, decided to run in the age division instead of the survivors division. Like me, Marty received a 2nd place award. Great job Marty! I hope to see you, as well as the other supporters of Dadfest, and the supporters of Agustin Nerio at the Dash for Dad race September 10 2011 at the MAC in Arlington. You can read more information about this event at www.greatprostatecancerchallenge.com. I'd like to thank all the Dallas Running Club and Run On! members who ran in this race to honor all of the fathers on this day. Everyone has or knows a dad, grandfather, uncle, brother, or friend that could possibly be affected by prostate cancer. I wear my sign on my shirt to try to get the message out there to promote early screenings and / or annual check ups. Those screenings and check ups are very important to beating prostate cancer and living a happier longer life. Please check out my running blog www.runningforacause.tumblr.com and sing up to follow or bookmark my running journey. One day we may find a cure for Prostate cancer for my 2 sons and yours. It starts now with us! My final line in the prostate cancer survivor group... Place Men Overall Chip Time Gun Time Pace 2/11 134/425 156/696 25:43 25:43 8:17 I run to raise awareness for prostate cancer and to benefit my community. www.runningforacause.tumblr.com |
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