Sather 5K

23 Jun 07
Got up and ran the Sather AB 5K today. It was mostly gravel so the dust was bothersome but it was a good way to start the day.

One point on the course took us by the flightline. I noticed a C-17 parked backwards on the ramp and several Stryker fighting vehicles assembled not far behind it with their company flag unfurled. In front of the Strykers were several white bread trucks. As I got closer I noticed and American flag in the window then realized what the scene was—a repatriation ceremony that was about to begin. Though they hadn’t formed up yet I remembered the guy at Basrah that ran past the procession and how disrespectful it seemed so I stopped at the nose of the vehicle, came to attention, saluted then carried on with the race.

The guy behind me told me later that he thought I was giving up when I passed the hearse and that he would pass me when he realized what was happening. He said at that point I gained the spiritual edge and he knew he wouldn’t catch me. I didn’t ask what he had done but it didn’t matter; it just seemed disrespectful to not show respect in some way. I ended up winning the race with a time of 21:45…obviously there weren’t a lot of serious runners. The guy behind me thought I was a 20-something and that he would win the over-30 category…he was disappointed to hear I was two years older than him.

For winning the race they gave me a T-shirt but the only sizes they had were 2XL…I haven’t seen a lot of 2XL runners win races but I took the shirt anyway. I also bench pressed 225 lbs while I was there an they gave away T-shirts for that as well.