Spruce Run Recreation Area in Clinton, NJ, was the site of my final day with Mainly Marathons; as the rest of the Mainly Marathoners headed to New Platz, NY, for Day 5, I was off to Delaware for my Sunday race. But first there was a matter of 14 loops to get through.
Norm was whipping up fresh berry pancakes and needed a taste tester. I’m nothing if not a team player. I gave my approval and the pancakes went out.
Weather forecasts were grim the night before but the rain held off and by the time I was finishing my 14th loop there was even a bit of sunshine.
It was a nice way to end… especially as Mwenyewe Salahuddin Dawan was able to join us. I often see her at events and I forget she’s a Philly local so it wasn’t surprising to see her out on the course. Her mom and sister ran the day before in their first event and she couldn’t join as something at work came up last minute. But as the loops took their toll, it was nice to see her smiling face along the course. She snapped this great pic of us at the finish line, one of my favorites of the series as I’m in mid-smirk holding my Mainly Marathons hat.
It was the largest day of the series, close to 200 runners across all distances, and there were a lot of fresh legs mixing it up with us wearied veterans. All told, I finished fourth overall with a time of 3:51:24.
As I bade farewell to the Mainly Marathon team (at least until the Southwest Series in November), I grabbed a quick photo with Clint Burleson. He struck a serious Blue Steel look, unusual as he’s typically gregarious, smiling, and brimming with enthusiasm. As a result, this shot makes me laugh for its being so … incongruous with what is the norm.
As I post this, I’m winging my way up to the Northeast for a double marathon weekend. It’s my perhaps Quixotic fool’s quest to strive for a Boston Qualifier on Sunday, a downhill run in the Pocono Mountains. Attempting that after the Independence Series and a race on Saturday might not be the best strategy but, hey, fortune favors the bold … and the stupid. So I figure I got a 50/50 shot.