One of the hazards of working for a newspaper is that other people enjoy community events, and your job is to document that. You, yourself, are not a participant. Sometimes that seems like an …
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One of the hazards of working for a newspaper is that other people enjoy community events, and your job is to document that. You, yourself, are not a participant. Sometimes that seems like an all-work, no-play experience.
But on Saturday morning, June 22, some of The News team – Morgan Dakarian, Giovanni Coronel, and I -- ran the Kalona Days 5K. The temperature was 75° with 85% humidity and a 9-mph breeze, less than ideal for running. But we toughed it out.
169 runners and walkers signed up for the 5K by the time the race started, exceeding the record set last year by 12. Over $2,000 was raised for the Parkinson’s Foundation as a result – an amount certainly worth the effort of the organizers, volunteers, and participants.
Thanks to KCTC, age group winners received medals, and thanks to Kalona Creamery, Yotty’s, and Kalona Brewing Company, runners and walkers got to enjoy treats like chocolate milk, ice cream, and drinks post-race.
In spite of running a time slower than I’m comfortable admitting (but not an all-time personal worst, so at least there’s that), I won my age group. If that sounds impressive to you, you should know that I received my AARP card this month. If I’m lucky, I’m going to start winning my age group just by showing up.
I jest, but this is the turning point at which runners start to reduce their milage and consider becoming cyclists, if they haven’t already. Even I’m starting to embrace long walks on the beach and purchased an inflatable kayak.
Giovanni put in an impressive sprint-finish and then chugged a chocolate milk. You can imagine the regret, but he managed to recover without incident.
Gio and I ran this race last year, so we knew what to expect. This was Morgan’s first 5K, however, so the delayed onset muscle soreness was a bit of a surprise. But that’s an automatic personal record for her, both in terms of speed and distance, so she has a lot to be proud of.
Last year TJ Rhodes ran with us, but this year he elected to be the reporter for Kalona Days and documented our experience. As he accepted a job with another newspaper, this is likely his last fun run with our team. We’ll miss him.
