Representin!
Turkey Chase, Bethesda, MD November 24, 2011
The Nelson-Wechsler clan, 2010
In past years the Bethesda Rotary Turkey Chase has gone like this: Martha runs her guts out in an always drizzly/cold 10k along the miserable routes of Rockville Pike and Old Georgetown Road, going just fast enough to finish in the money but never fast enough to bring home the turkey, and then meets up with the munchkins (my cousins’ kids, pictured left) and old folks (my parents, also pictured left) after they finish the 2 mile Fun Run. The kiddies express great disappointment when I don’t win the race, I try to explain that 10ks are a bit tough on legs trained for a fall marathon, but Failure Martha is still allowed to eat some pie and turkey. And a nice fat check always arrives a few weeks later.
But in 2011 Things Would be Different.
Don't mess with Wrightie
Team Martha was going to kick some 2-mile Fun Run arse. We had ex-Duke-field-hockey-now-I-scoop-horse-poop Sarah Wright.
We had can-also-work-a-camera-in-the-other-direction Scwartzbard.
there's a new coverboy in town....
And of course we had Rosie & sneaky Mike. This was Rosie’s first road race, ever. But she would not be daunted. Rosie actually ended up being the sneaky one here, sprinting ahead of Mike at the very end to cross the line first. For some real sneakiness, check out this clip.
The Hoodenbaums
The kiddies could only look on in awe.
when are the old people going to finish?
Aaron and I decided that the 2 mile Fun Run could become a tradition. It was a heckuva lot more fun to run with Rosie & Mike than to kill ourselves in the 10k. Granted, we only opted for the shorter distance because Aaron’s Achilles flared up and I have a bizarre inflamed foot tendon (right under the ankle bone). As much as being injured is a drag, it’s been an excuse to learn new tricks. Marching around the woods taking pictures isn’t half bad. I’m still pretty psyched about catching the squirrel scratching:
Grey squirrel relieves an itchy spot, Washington International School grounds
Sugarloaf Mountain, MD
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Today was the 2011 Potomac Heritage 50k and another notch was added to the WUS belt of wins. Warm sunny weather and colorful trees provided pleasant conditions for all of the runners. Keith Knipling won handily in an unofficial time of 4:49. Keith stayed on course and opted not to include any race “challenges” into his run. 4th place finisher and WUS up-and-comer JLD ran a respectable time, considering he did in fact run off course. Fortunately JLD opted to include challenges into his run which may or may not have helped him secure a fourth place finish, though we’re not entirely sure because at this point we don’t know his actual finish time.
Here is Doug interviewing Keith at the finish line, probing deeply with questions.
And here is JLD, cold chillin’ on Kerry’s cozy backyard patio.
Well folks… the move is just about here. Next Saturday Gaby and I load up a big ol’ truck and head southwest for the greener, rolling environs of Charlottesville, Virginia. It’s been a good run living in D.C. 10+ years of city livin’ to be exact. Can’t say I won’t miss my running buds up this way because I definitely will. Gaby and I look forward to seeing many of you at Potomac Heritage on Sunday. I also hope to make it to a final WUS run (as a D.C. resident) on Tuesday. And in the future I look forward to seeing everyone at race events, during visits to Charlottesville- ie C-ville, ie ‘the Hook’- and back up this way because we will be visiting. Take that to the bank, my friends.
In somewhat related news, many of you might be acquainted with a similar running troop in Charlottesville. The frisky folks of the Charlottesville Area Trail Runnners, or CAT. Today I was ‘accepted’ into the CAT email listserv thingy. More friends await it seems. In the meantime and forever still I remain a WUS at heart.
Peace out, my peeps!
