A day of racing

The women in the spring training group had their pick of a 5K or 10K race today, and were joined by several women from the marathon and half-marathon groups who competed in a half-marathon. It's not often I can stand in one spot and cheer for the racers in a bunch of different distances.

The Crowley Road Races in nearby Rutland, VT roll four different race distances into one morning. Everything starts off at 8am:  the kids 1 mile run, 5K, 10K, and half-marathon. The kids start and finish in the middle of downtown Rutland to the cheers of hundreds of parents and friends. The other three races start at different points, with the courses converging on the finish in downtown Rutland.

Large races are exciting with lots of people and volunteers lining the race course, but they also make seeing your friends finish, and then finding them to celebrate after the race really difficult to the crowds of people. The Crowley Races are small and friendly, with a local band providing upbeat music, friendly volunteers handing out Gatorade and bagels, and the announcer calling out the names of people as they finish.

One of the highlights is meeting legendary Bill Rodgers who runs the 10K and then hangs around to sign autographs, pose for pictures, and talk running until the last person finishes and has a chance to talk with him. In large races the elite athletes have their own porta-potties and stay out of sight of the rest of the pack. Bill Rodgers hangs out with the pack, grabs his own water at the finish, and seems to really enjoy both running and talking with fellow runners.

This is the fifth year of our women's running group and today we had women from the latest spring training group running or walking in the 5K and 10K, BJ from the half-marathon group who became a half-fanatic today after finishing her third half-marathon in 90 days, women who ran in the winter half-marathon group and worked on speed in the 10K, women who finished a marathon in the past 3 weeks and dropped down to the half-marathon, one woman who was injured in marathon training and completed her first half-marathon today, and two women from past running groups who ran the 10K. All we were missing was a few children in the kids' race.

BJ the latest half-fanatic

The marathon group started training together 8 months ago in October 2011. Our race season started in April with the Westfield half-marathon and moved on to the Flying Pig marathon, Shires marathon, and Vermont City marathon. The Crowley Races mark the end of our group training season, but it's definitely not the end of racing for the women in our group. They're entering all sorts of races, from the fun and muddy Renegade Playground Challenge to local triathlons, bike events, trail runs, and road races of varying distances.

Vermont is plagued by tics who carry lyme disease, but the women in our group have been bitten by a friendly and healthy bug:  the running bug. There's no stopping a woman who pinned on a race number, competed, and crossed the finish line feeling fantastic!