riser run
jeff
40 or so participants toured the Corinth Holders High School cross
country course under cloudy skies. Although standing water was
encountered frequently, good footing prevailed during the gallop
around the school grounds perimeter.
Having not participated in XC while in school I don’t have any
background in these running events, but I do enjoy participating in
them when the opportunity arises. The SAS Soccer Park in Cary has a
nationally recognized XC course, but I’ve only raced there once and
that was over five years ago. The courses at Maymont in Richmond and
the Belmont Plateau in Philly are particularly scenic. Since most
cross country courses don’t involve the running on or across
highways, it’s perhaps surprising that there aren’t more open races
offered on such courses. In terms of safety and reduced traffic
control costs, holding an event off road should seem advantageous to
race organizers.
The other neat thing about the Riser Run was that it finished on the
track inside the school’s stadium. A track finish has a way of
energizing a tired runner. Forgotten are the endless hills or shade
less miles previously encountered. The track as it circles towards
the finish line somehow recharges form in the runner. The runner
kicks. The finish line beckons. And the crowd roars. Well, maybe
not so much on Saturday, but still you could pretend you were Frank
Shorter at the Olympic Stadium in Munich, 1972, or Joan Benoit in LA,
1984, or even that Swiss runner from the same race struggling
valiantly to cross the finish line. And the crowd roars.
Maybe Grandfather Mountain Marathon does it best. It starts on one
stadium track (Appalachian State) and concludes 26.2 miles later on
another in front of a cheering Highland Games crowd. Once upon a time
Philly’s The Broad Street Run would finish on the track inside JFK
Stadium where they played all those Army Navy football games. The
Penn Relays Distance Classic still finishes inside Franklin Field
every April. Amazing what memories a 5k run out in the countryside
can conjure up.
MTCer Joey Anderson did the race as well. 5k this Saturday and 100
miles next Saturday. Ultra Extreme Man. I recall meeting Joey a few
years ago at the Richmond Marathon finish line. I was getting ready
to hobble back to my car for the trip back home for rest and
recuperation. He was bounding off for the coast to do the OBX
marathon the following day. The years have not mellowed him. Good
luck and good weather at Umstead, Joey, and to all the other MTCers as
well.
jander...@nc.rr.com
ultraman joey
-----Original Message-----
From: jeff
Sent: Sunday, March 25, 2012 8:38 AM
To: Mangum Track Club
Subject: riser run
The Riser Run 5k, a first time event, went off Saturday in Wendell .
40 or so participants toured the Corinth Holders High School cross
country course under cloudy skies. Although standing water was
encountered frequently, good footing prevailed during the gallop
around the school grounds perimeter.
Having not participated in XC while in school I don�t have any
background in these running events, but I do enjoy participating in
them when the opportunity arises. The SAS Soccer Park in Cary has a
nationally recognized XC course, but I�ve only raced there once and
that was over five years ago. The courses at Maymont in Richmond and
the Belmont Plateau in Philly are particularly scenic. Since most
cross country courses don�t involve the running on or across
highways, it�s perhaps surprising that there aren�t more open races
offered on such courses. In terms of safety and reduced traffic
control costs, holding an event off road should seem advantageous to
race organizers.
The other neat thing about the Riser Run was that it finished on the
track inside the school�s stadium. A track finish has a way of
energizing a tired runner. Forgotten are the endless hills or shade
less miles previously encountered. The track as it circles towards
the finish line somehow recharges form in the runner. The runner
kicks. The finish line beckons. And the crowd roars. Well, maybe
not so much on Saturday, but still you could pretend you were Frank
Shorter at the Olympic Stadium in Munich, 1972, or Joan Benoit in LA,
1984, or even that Swiss runner from the same race struggling
valiantly to cross the finish line. And the crowd roars.
Maybe Grandfather Mountain Marathon does it best. It starts on one
stadium track (Appalachian State) and concludes 26.2 miles later on
another in front of a cheering Highland Games crowd. Once upon a time
Philly�s The Broad Street Run would finish on the track inside JFK
Stadium where they played all those Army Navy football games. The
Penn Relays Distance Classic still finishes inside Franklin Field
every April. Amazing what memories a 5k run out in the countryside
can conjure up.
MTCer Joey Anderson did the race as well. 5k this Saturday and 100
miles next Saturday. Ultra Extreme Man. I recall meeting Joey a few
years ago at the Richmond Marathon finish line. I was getting ready
to hobble back to my car for the trip back home for rest and
recuperation. He was bounding off for the coast to do the OBX
marathon the following day. The years have not mellowed him. Good
luck and good weather at Umstead, Joey, and to all the other MTCers as
well.
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