Shadowy Running – 20 years ago

So I used to be a runner. Not much of a runner but still I entered races. My big race of the year was the Tulsa Run 15K. I loved it, 9.3 miles from downtown Tulsa through midtown and then back in late October, Tulsa’s best season. It was like a meditation to me. I ran along and just took it all in, the sun and wind in my face, the beautiful fall foliage, the other runners, the bystanders and all the bands. It was a big event in Tulsa, thousands of runners, lots of spectators. Beer and candy bars at the finish. I think I ran something like 20 or more in a row. I was a very slow runner. I always finished in the slowest 10 or 20% of the field. My goal was to just enjoy it and finish. So this is a brief story of my blazing finish at the 2004 version of the race.

2004 Tulsa Run 001

I was running along, enjoying myself, zoning out and like I said before just enjoying the sun and wind on my face. I was going along at a pretty good pace for me and I was getting close to the finish and there were these two women in front running together but I wasn’t paying attention to them. Now oftentimes at the finish, there is the finish line and just before is another line with a sensor that makes your name pop up and you can get your name called out. Well I was focused on the finish line but the two women stopped running hard at the line before the finish line and I didn’t notice that so I ran in between them almost knocking them over. They were good sports and everything and no boyfriend came over and punched me in the nose or anything but it wasn’t really a good look for me.

But, you will notice that I beat both of them by a toe! So maybe it was worth it. Instead of finishing 9,373rd in the race, I finished 9,371st. (I’m making those numbers up.)

The other thing is that may be the only running photo of me with at least one foot in the air. This is one of the thousands of photos I have recently found that I thought were lost forever.

I am linking with Shadow Shot Sunday

4 thoughts on “Shadowy Running – 20 years ago

  1. Alana

    I never have been a runner but I’ve participated in a handful of walking races. Some were charity fundraisers but I think I finished 4th or 5th in my age group in a competitive but for-fun one. Not that we had anywhere near 9,371 walkers and runners anyway.

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  2. Vicki

    I have never been a runner other than in 6th grade when my teacher added my name to the school’s 100 yard dash without me knowing it. I was shocked when they called my name. I was more shocked when I came in second, especially since the girl who won was almost a foot taller than me.

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