"They Don't Just Put ANYONE'S Name in the Paper..."

... that's what the head of the Photography department at one of the colleges where I teach told me last week when he saw my name in the newspaper. I just laughed. Here's what he was talking about:

Notice I highlighted the results of my arch nemesis racing buddy Jenny Wilcox who laid down a GREAT time! She told me she'd be "near the back of the pack." Yeah. Right. If 1:04 is the "back of the pack" for a 10 mile race, then I don't want to be running it! ;)

And I also highlighted Michelle (Lilienthal) Frey on the results. I thought I saw her walking towards me after the race, so I did that awkward "I'm-not-staring-at-you-I'm-trying-to-figure-out-if-you-are-who-I-think-you-are" thing. Suddenly she smiles big, and I knew I had the right person. We talked for a minute, and she introduced me to Meghan who had just gotten 4th (55:20!) in the Women's Championship 10 Mile. Michelle had just laid down a FREAKISHLY fast 57:37, and she was OK with that - although she said she HAD hoped to be about 2 minutes faster. Michelle works for the ART Doc that I sometimes go see. If you've got a GREAT memory, you'll remember that I had her sign my Runner's World where she appeared on the cover:

The TC 10 Mile and the TC Marathon showed an interesting "factoid" in the results. It showed how many people YOU PASSED in the final 10K and how many people PASSED YOU in the final 10K. Here's how mine looked:

Yeah, that's about right. Here's Jenny's, which show she was hurting a bit:

In the marathon, here's Pharmie's last 10K, which shows she was running pretty strong!

Here's the funniest / saddest "last 10K:" a professor friend at one of the colleges where I teach ran the TC Marathon. I don't know if it was his first marathon or not (it was definitely one of his first). He C.R.A.S.H.E.D. at mile 20. He actually laid down on the grass just off the course with 3 miles left and texted his family that he was "taking a little rest," and he'd be heading to the finish shortly. He had a good attitude about it the day after the race as he was laughing as he was telling me about this. His first 20 miles took him just a little longer than his last 10K!! Don't believe me? Check his last 10K numbers:

Ouch. That's rough.

I sent him this video the next day: