A Perfect Weekend

My wife and I ran the Race for Reason 5k in Ann Arbor, Michigan this morning which benefited diabetes research at the University of Michigan's Program for Understanding Neurological Disease. The thrill of the day was to meet and run with four time Boston Marathon winner, Bill Rodgers. The last American winner of Boston, Greg Meyer, also was in the race. The run itself was like a cross country course. While the start and finish was on roads, the bulk of the course wound through the Arboretum over trails, grass, gravel, and wood chip surfaces. It was also quite hilly with one large hill after mile 2.

Conversing with Bill Rodgers after the race

I did not run aggressively and I believe my chip time is 24:02, which was good for sixth place in my age group. Fifth place only finished 2 seconds in front of me, I should never have let that happen! The highlight of the run was being passed by Bill Rodgers about 9 minutes into the run on a trail and him commenting positively on my running as he went by. What a first class individual to run with us mortals and give us positive reinforcement. Nevertheless I was not following his famous advice on this day "to go a little berserk" and "sometimes be aggressive and gamble".

The day before I was fortunate to see the Fighting Irish rout Jon's Nittany Lions in Notre Dame Stadium. It's been a while since I've seen the Irish whip up on a quality opponent like Penn State. Jamoosh would approve of a very fine ale on this trip, Bell's Two Hearted Ale from Kalamazoo, MI, at the Sidetrack Bar and Grill in Ypsilanti MI.


Running a 5k, a football victory, a fine ale, and being with family makes for a perfect weekend.