My Night with the Ben Hill Hash House Harriers



          This past Monday night, FH and I headed out to meet up with a group of folks who call themselves the Ben Hill Hash House Harriers. They are a running group, but not the type you'd ever find training around an oval track, running repeats of any sort, comparing race times, talking running shoes, bragging about training techniques, discussing the Daniel's Formula, or ever even using the dirty "r" word: race. "Hashing" as it is called is not about racing, it is about chasing. Hashing, or at least the game it was modeled after, is a very, very old pastime; older in fact, than the very country we live in. Hashing was derived from the game, "Fox and Hounds" or "Hares and Hounds", that was played in England, Ireland, and Scotland as early as the early 1700's. Those games became somewhat official in the early 1800's and hashing was officially founded by an Englishman in 1937 who was stationed in Malaysia.

The Ben Hill Hash House Harriers gather, sip, and gab before the hash. 

      If you have never had the privilege of playing chase, I'll say sorry first and then I'll give you a quick primer. One person takes off and everyone attempts to catch that person. In the case of "fox and hounds" or "hares and hounds", one person plays the role of the fox or the hare and takes off marking their trail in some noticeable fashion, with paper, flour, leaves, paint, etc. and in due time, the "hounds", the other people, give chase and attempt to find the trail and then in the end attempt to catch the fox or hare. Hashing follows the same basic format. And in most places the trail is marked by flour. And each mark is left behind with a certain purpose to tell the pursuers something specific about the direction in which they are going or should be going. Here is an example of a few known marks:

     In the case of marking the trail, the fox or hare will attempt to lead the pursuers in a totally wrong direction and hoping they lose their way or "lose the scent". And if you've ever watched an animal, except a raccoon, or actually hunted an animal, they do not choose a linear path or one that is easy to follow, it is a trail that goes in, around, over, through, and under anything and everything. It is a path or trail of pure fleeing. And that is the type of path or trail that is marked by the proverbial fox or hare.

The first mark at the beginning of the hashing trail.

    Hashing isn't exactly the same as the old game of fox and hare, but it is very close. Hashing is a mixture of running and socializing; much more socializing than running and it is never a race. And training for the hash is greatly looked down upon. Hashers meet weekly or biweekly and run a course that may vary in length, but usually ranges from about three miles to some over five or six. There are thousands of hashing groups around the country and around the world. Each hashing group that affiliates themselves with the "hash house" title attempts to affiliate themselves with the original hashers who were far away from home and tried to find community and oneness in around a national pastime. The "house" part refers to an old English tavern frequented by expatriates, where they would meet up in Malaysia and the "hash" part refers to the food served at the tavern. I think this part is really neat, but I'm a sucker for traditions like that. The modern hashers that continue to meet, run, and socialize today are really only doing what the original hashers did almost a hundred years ago.

A flour mark showing us we're on the right trail.

     But...I will be quick to add that hashing is not for the faint of heart, or the closest Baptist in the room, or your favorite Prohibitionist. It is a social running club like no other. One of the tag lines I have seen used to describe hashing is that they are a drinking club with a running problem. The closest thing I can compare it to is maybe if a whole bar went running one night and brought the alcohol, the music, and the craziness with them. And if the drinking doesn't offend you, then the route of the hash will make you double-think about why you are there. The hasher that is chosen to mark the trail usually chooses the hardest, muddiest, wettest, thickest, oddest trail they are able to mark. They will bypass many easy and accessible ways in order to make those who are chasing them crawl under trees, through briars, through creeks, over fallen trees, across rivers, over rock ledges, etc. The only let up from the chase is that for all the hard chasing, there will be a beer stop about every mile or so. And at the end of the trail, there will always be a party of sorts to enjoy.

FH riding shotgun on the craziest jog we have ever gone on. 

   And all this brings me to last Monday night, but as should be expected, it goes back further than that for me. When we moved to Fitzgerald in June, I was driving my car through town one night as it was getting dark and came up an odd group of adults running through people's yards and one guy was carrying a flag and I rolled my windows down and tried to follow them for a bit and see what they were up to and they were yelling and whistling to one another and seemingly trying to follow something I just couldn't see. I should have looked down instead of around. I probably would have seen a small patch of flour nearby. I went back home after the group disappeared into a dense section of woods and asked my inlaws about the group and they tried to tell me a little about the group, but made it sound like Mowgli from the Jungle Book had started a little running club and I guess that really isn't that far-fetched. I kept asking around and eventually stumbled upon the name of the club and after some internet searching came upon the Ben Hill Hash House Harriers; who were founded in 1985 and have been dedicated to hashing since then. And later that summer, while on a bike ride with FH and some students, came upon the group assembled in full fashion getting ready to head out and chase the trail.

This is the point in the hash when FH and I moved into second place and were heavily into the chase!

    I really wanted to join them someday, but between school, XC, and just life in general, I never found the time and then this past Monday, that changed. FH and I had a free night and Mel had a few things that she had to have finished before the next day, so we loaded up the jogging stroller and headed to the meeting place. Every two weeks, the Ben Hill Hash House Harriers meet downtown Fitzgerald behind the Modern Appliance building at 6:30 pm and then head out together to the head of where the trail has been marked. FH and I got there on time, but had to wait around till around 6:50 before a soul showed up. A few cars showed up and then had us get back in our car and follow them to a place called, "The Brewery". It was actually more a shed where some beer was brewed a long time ago by a bored bachelor, but rumor has it that they are going to get brewing there again soon. The crew had already assembled behind The Brewery and were talking of past events and money was collected for the beer that was to be shared. And with the talking and catching up also came the first of many beers. I found this to be very funny and very odd. I have been running for almost twenty years and I can honestly say that save milk, beer, may be the beverage I hope to never have to drink and then be made to run. But beer is almost a central character to a proper hash experience.

Short cuts and more advantageous paths are not frond upon during a hash. If you are behind and see where the leaders are running, nothing says you can't cut a lot of corners and head them off. Trying to be first doesn't benefit one during a hash much. We learned this the hard way! FH and I were first several times only to be dropped by those behind us. 

     After the leader, known and referred to as, The Grand Marshall or GM, decided all had arrived that were coming and the last of the initial beers have been polished off, the GM sounded off a whistle that he carried around his neck and the group assembled in the front of The Brewery and the first point on the trail was arrived at and they all yelled, "On Hunt" and the chase was on. FH dove into his stroller and we just tried to keep up. The trail went up one street, crossed a busy highway, went down a muddy alley, through a field and into a parking lot, through a church lawn, through a high school practice field, over a creek, through a little league field, behind the town's radio station, down the side of another busy highway, through another church yard, through another field, but this one was very muddy, over and through another creek, and through some of the thickest brush I have ever run through, over three fallen trees, down a muddy dirt road, and right to a barn known by the group as, "Mr. Bill's Golf Cart Barn", and then we stopped, whistles were blown, and odd things were yelled by the GM to those hashers who had taken the false trail. I was sweaty, dirty, wet, and out of breath. Pushing a stroller through all of that was crazy! And FH looked at me like what had we really gotten into, but the barn we stopped at was more of a golf cart graveyard than anything else, so he got out of the stroller and took a look around. While we sipped some water and looked around, the rest the hashers made it to the BN, or the beer near spot, and more beers were had and more stories were told. One of the men there was telling some great stories about him getting older and then they all kept laughing about one guy who wasn't allowed to come for awhile because his wife had laid down the law because he had really overdone it at a previous hash. FH and I listened in as we climbed on an old trailer and drank our water.

Follow the leader; especially if he is called the Grand Master and also serves as a standard bearer for local Civil War reenactments. 

Calling in all who had gone the wrong way on a false trail. 

    After about 10-15 minutes, the whistle was blown by the GM and again the chant of, "on hunt" was shouted" and we were off. The trail followed a muddy dirt road, and then through several people's yards, and down the side of another busy road, through the parking garage of a nursing home, and after about a little over a mile, another BN marking was spotted and the group stopped for yet another round of beers and conversation. FH and I joined the conversation, but we also walked around the place we had stopped checking out a few things and then we finished our water while we climbed on yet another golf cart. We had run almost 2.5 miles at this time of the chase. And at this point you maybe thinking that only old "frat" guys who haven't grown up yet partake in this type of stuff, but you'd be very wrong. Within the BHHHH group and most all hashing groups a wide age range can be seen as well as both sexes. And this also goes for the socioeconomic status of the hashers as well. This night there were two women, pregnant no less, and guys ranging from their 20's to their 70's.

The beer, laughter, and stories were flowing at the first BN spot. 

    After about the same duration of time, the same whistle was blown, but this time, the chant of, "On In" was shouted and signaled. "On In", means that the hashers are to make their way back to the beginning of the trail by whichever path they'd like to follow. FH and I cut through several yards of people we know and made it back to The Brewery first. I'm sure that attitude would be looked upon. I loaded the stroller up and we went inside The Brewery for a time, but all that was left of the hash was the party aspect and FH and I headed home to eat dinner with Mel. I am pretty sure that was for the best.

Our leader leading us well. It is about the chase, not the race. 

    I am not really sure how I feel about my whole experience. I'll definitely go again. I'm not sure I'll bring FH, but I probably will. I will say it was fun. And it was very different. And it was also oddly refreshing to join up with a group of people to run, but have the focus be on other things. It was as if the almost four miles we ran was a distant side product of the night. I don't love the drinking aspect, but don't find any harm in it for now. I am not a beer or drinking kind of guy, but I'm also not offended by those who are. Some people are beer people and I happen to be an ice cream guy.

The infamous, BN, mark signaling that the beer is near. 

    I don't know if I'll ever really get into the whole hashing scene, but I definitely liked the whole chasing and following the trail aspect. I also loved how the trail wasn't linear or fixed. I liked the running through water, over trees, through backyards, and through the woods. It reminded me of how kids run through the woods. It also reminded me of the old type XC races that used to be put on. XC is quickly becoming a sport where the courses are becoming more and more manicured and less challenging so the times can be faster. I'm not a fan of that. I'd much rather watch a kid run a 25 minute three mile race knowing he or she had to jump trees, cross through water, and run a quarter mile in knee deep mud and was still able to keep up an eight minute mile rather than watch a kid trot a 14:50 5K on a gravel path with no real hills or obstacles. The latter is a little boring. It's why they have a whole sport called track. And it's also why no except those who have to be there comes to a track meet.

Time to take it to the house!

     I plan on being back behind the Modern Appliance building at 6:30 or so in two weeks and I'm looking forward to it. Don't worry, I won't write another post about it. That is unless something amazing happens. Well, I believe it is time to chant, "On In", and take this post back to the house.

Happy running, hashing, and reading,

DAVID
  



Nike Air Pegasus +29 Trail--A Shoe Review

*As with every post that has been published over the last year and a half....this was supposed to be published many months ago...but life is life. Here it is for better or worse. 

Stretching the old legs with a few good friends at the Georgia Industrial Children's Home

        This past Christmas I opened a box that I wasn't expecting (I know, I know, its almost this Christmas!). I had the item on my Wish List, but I never expected to get it. And that item was a very flashy pair of Nike's Air Pegasus +29 Trail shoes. Many of you may remember that I once did a full a complete review of the regular version of Nike's Air Pegasus +29. You can reread the post here. And I will attempt to do the same for the trail version as well. However, I do not have the same amount of experience with the trail version of the shoe as I do with the road version.

The fancy shoes ready for action. 

      I asked for the trail version of the Pegasus shoe because most of the training we do for cross country is done on trails and the races the team participates in are run on mostly trail-like terrain. No, we aren't running races in the Rockies or even the Appalachians, but we are running on wooded trails with odd grades, exposed roots, loose rocks, mud, heavy vegetation, and mountain bike ruts. And the races the team runs are held on everything from single track mountain bike trails to livestock fields where the perimeters have been mowed down for a little bit easier trans-versing. So...I wanted to try out a pair of trail shoes instead of the normal running shoes I usually sport as a coach and as a runner. I have previously owned a pair of Montrail trail shoes and though they looked neat and I had great ambition of all I would accomplish in them, they never quite measured up to their reviews. I know there are many people who put their complete trust in the Montrail brand and I know that you can't judge a brand by a single pair of shoes, but I don't think they're for me. We had to break up. It was me, not them.

The Pegasus +29 Trail shoes in motion. 

           Before cross country season, I only took the shoes out of the box and wore them one time because I was saving them for the season. And so, I was very eager to see how they would perform. This year, we held our pre-season XC camp at Fort Yargo State Park and it ended up being a great place to use the shoes and during the season, we practiced five days a week on rocky and wooded trails. I was not sure how the shoes would perform and hadn't ever gone through a XC season wearing official "trail" shoes. For the past seven years as a coach, I have only worn regular running shoes and in my brief few moments as a collegiate runner, I only wore regular running or racing shoes. I feel most people do this because the whole mindset of wearing trail shoes for cross country is not a common one. I think in the eight years I been coaching XC, I had a single runner who wore trail shoes for our training runs. I guess most people assume all running is on a track or on the roads because that is the type of running that occasionally makes it on tv. This would make sense because XC is not track, but most people I know always refer to XC as track; even those who know differently. No, not "real" runners (who ever that really is), but everyday people. I never mind, but know there is already some person on Letsrun.com calling me "hobby jogger" with all the rage of someone whose life revolves around an online message board.

 

       Trail shoes have come along way in the past several years. I know I ran a 15k trail race several years ago and when I contemplated purchasing a pair of trail shoes, there just weren't that many choices for the "hobby" runner who wasn't putting on his shoes to go run the Leadville 100 or some other equivalent race. I instead ran the race in an old pair of New Balance 993's because the race had several stream/chest-high river crossings. However, trail running is becoming more and more prevalent as American runners consume road races like they do everything else and as people move away from the roads and to the trails to avoid the crowds of strollers and the lack of "serious" runners. Now, most every larger shoe company is putting out several trail models for each of the major types of runners. And the shoe companies who are producing these "trail" models are making them more like road racing shoes than the older models which had more in common with hiking shoes or boots than with running shoes. And that has been a welcome move for runners who divide their time between trails and the roads like I do. 

"...getting to the bottom of it all..."

        Nike has been making shoes that can be worn on a trail since the early 1980's. They began with shoes that resembled hiking boots, then began their infamous, "All Conditions Gear" line, that lasted till the mid 90's, but has been resurrected recently, then came the Air Terra verisons of shoes, and now we are seeing a new line of ,"Zoom Wildhorse/Terra Kiger" shoes. This is a very shortened history, but if you need more, you can see some pretty neat pictures and read some interesting factoids here. The Air Pegasus line issued a trail model in the mid 90's and has had one since then. The Pegasus line originally teamed up with Nike's ACG line, but soon just began putting out their own trail versions of their popular shoe. I hadn't really noticed the trail version of the Pegasus line till a few years ago. 

     The Nike Air Pegasus +29 Trail shoe is a good all around shoe for light to medium trail runs and races. One of the reviews I read mentioned you could use it for road running, but on the days we would run on concrete, I'd bring different shoes or spend several minutes during the run wishing I did so. They feel ok on concrete, but the lugs that are on sole do make it add friction to the run; not by a lot, but enough to feel it. They do offer a shoe were the outer is made with GoreTex and that is great for those of us that hate running with wet feet and socks. I do not have that version, so on the days the courses were wet and muddy, my feet would be the same on runs that lasted longer than forty-five minutes. However, I would say the outers of this version did better to keep liquids out than the road model which seems to feel wet the moment I run near liquid.

       

    Overall, I was impressed with the range of the shoe. It reacted well to each of our workouts and was a consistent shoe in its behavior. Whether we were running a speedwork session on trails, strides, hill work, long runs, or even in race conditions, the shoe seemed to be the right shoe for me. The only two cons I can think of about the shoe were the already mentioned fact of they weren't the crossover shoe that the reviews talked about and for the way the shoe began feeling when I had run for longer than an hour and a half. After that time, the shoe did not cushion my tired feet the way I really needed, but for runs that are up to 10 miles, they felt great. 

    To make it easier for you to think about the shoe and to make this post more like a review than a ramble, I am going to break this review down into some short sections based on the different facets of the shoe:

1. Aesthetics--The Nike Air Pegasus +29 trail shoe is a sharp looking shoe and one that will get noticed. I have received many compliments about the look of the shoe from much younger and much more hip people than I. Although, I originally felt they were a little too flashy for my taste, they grew on me and I really like the way they look. And I'm not too sure you can buy even a mid-range shoe these days that aren't flashy in some way. 

2. The Outer Layer--The outer layer of this version is more solid and tighter than the road model. I feel that I could run through some pretty muddy and wet conditions and still have somewhat dry-ish socks. Yes, I would have very wet feet if the trails ended up being one deep puddle after the next, but overall, the outers allowed my feet to stay somewhat dry. No, if I ran through a puddle or creek that ended up being several inches deep, my feet would not stay dry.  

3. The Insole--The insole of the trail model is exactly the same as the road model. It needs to be replaced as soon as possible. This is one of the few not so great things about this shoe, but I'm not sure this category would get high ratings no matter the shoe or brand. To be honest, before I started running, I never took much notice of this part, but since I've been running, this is a facet of shoe design that I always end of replacing with something that is much more substantial. This shoe was no different. I put about 20 miles on this shoe before I phoned my dad and had him order me the running specific orthotics from Foot Levelers that really are amazing. They really do change the whole running experience for me; especially when I've been running without them. 

4. The Midsole--I often get many eyes rolled at me from my high school students for generalizing, but I will take that risk here. For me, in the few trail shoe models, I have worn, the midsole feels very rigid and after awhile seems to hurt my feet because it its seemingly lack of flexibility. This shoe was much different. The midsole felt much more akin to a road shoe. It was very flexible, not Nike Free flexible, but about 100x more flexible than the Montrails I once owned. Many "serious" trail runners and racers desire this rigid midsole, but this guy does not. 

5. The Outsole--This is the facet of the shoe that I feel is the most different than the road model. Both the road and the trail models use Nike's "Cushlon" technology and from the left sides of the shoe, they same to look very similar, but...but...but for me, the feel could be anymore different. Although, I love the Pegasus road model, there are times that I wish that the shoe was a little more responsive. No, not all the time, but occasionally, like during 200 repeats or at the end of a 5k, I wish I could feel the surface a little better, so that I could respond a little more quickly. I know that seems strange, but for me it is true. The Trail model however, feels much, much different and not in a bad way. I felt the shoe was very responsive to the terrain in way that was advantageous for the runner. I am not saying that I could "feel" the rocks, roots, etc. and that inhibited my runs, but could feel them in a way that allowed me to decide how to run over them in better way. I know this sounds a little hoaxy, but if you run, you know what I mean. 

6. The Lugs--Last, but least are the lugs, or what what non-weirdos who know too much about shoes refer to as the bottom sole of the shoe. In many of the trail shoes I have seen or looked at, the soles look like they are far too aggressive for the terrain that I spend time running on, but the Pegasus Trail seems to have found a happy medium for people who run like I do and where I do. As mentioned before, I am not running in mountainous terrain with rock faces, steep ascents, or treacherous descents, but I do run 100's of miles each year on trails with exposed rocks, rock debris, exposed roots, mountain bike ruts, fallen branches, little streams, etc. and at times I will gain and lose a lot of elevation over a long run due to a lot of ups and downs on the trails. This XC season, I felt a lot more secure will running due to the fact that I felt the soles of my shoes were handling what I was running over. I am not a graceful guy and usually do some falling and tripping during my runs, but this year, this was kept to a minimum and I give credit to the lugs on this shoe. They were sturdy and strong, but also flexible, which worked great for what I used the shoes for.  

     I have now put about 200+ miles on the shoes and I'm about to bring this post to a close, I will say that I would easily feel pretty good about buying another pair of these great shoes and plan on doing so. I always think that this is the largest compliment someone can give to a product of any sort. If I get the priviledge of coaching XC next season, then I will probably order another pair of these shoes and give them a drive over the many places we run here in Georgia. If fact, just thinking about it, makes me pretty excited. Few things beat a good run in the woods with my runners during XC season. 

Happy reading and happy running (trail),

DAVID 

It's Beginning to Look A lot Like...XC Season

         Well, good ladies and fine gentlemen, it is that time of year again. It is cross country season and I feel it may be one of the best things I've gotten to be apart of and I mean the last part. I don't feel you control or even can control the cross country season; or for that matter any season of life. You do not know what will unfold or how it will end. It may be the season where your team crumbles into nothing. It may be the season where your glorious apparatus of a team dies into its own embers. It may be the season where your rag-tag team comes out of nowhere and finds the joy that is out there and brings back trophies to the school that doesn't remember it even has a cross country team.Or it may be none of those will occur and something you have never seen the likes of will unfold. The season is merely something you are allowed to be apart of, allowed to experience, allowed to be included in. It is bigger than you, your team, your experience and that is what draws us to it as all things bigger than us do. 

       I have been apart of the cross country season/family/experience/sport as a coach for the last seven years and I'm thankful for each moment. For me the season is much like Christmas or something that only happens for a short time each year. I can almost feel it coming and not by looking at the calendar. I can sense its presence almost as if it were something that my body has adapted to and now needs in order to exist. I know that seems odd, but you probably have something in your life that is similar or I hope that you could say that you do. You should. Cross country is as much part of me as I am apart of it.

   

    I am not quite sure how I would feel if in the future, there comes a late July/early August where I am not running among a group of kids, sweating, laughing, breathing hard, tripping, getting dirty, smiling, and taking pride in making it through each daily practice. I am not quite sure how odd it would feel to wake up some Saturday in the early Fall and not meet a bus, ride a bus, sit in a van or car driving in the cool of the day with all the reservations, expectations, nerves that one feels on their way to a race. I am not quite sure how odd it would be to not stand in a tight little huddle of heads with morning sun on our backs kneeling in the middle with their little heads around me and begging them to reach deep inside themselves and be who they really are; the great giants they have inside themselves that will tackle the hills, rush the straights, fly over the mud puddles, and tell all their doubts and excuses to shut up because today they will be greatness in a physical form. I am not quite sure I would want to not get to watch them rush the finish line muddy, bloody, throwing up, exhausted ready to collapse. It is the Biblical metaphor of finishing the race that was set before us in the most real and tangible event I've ever been apart of. 

     And so the season is upon us and we are already in the thick of things. We held our pre-season XC camp at Fort Yargo State Park where we ran almost 25 miles in 3 days give or a take a few minutes. I rolled my ankle during a very heated match up between my team and another while racing in our annual relay race that we have the last morning of XC camp. My team won last year and we were two strides in the lead this year on the last leg and then the next thing I knew I was writhing in pain near a mud puddle while the other teams raced by. I hobbled back for a last place finish. Sorry, team. I tried.    

      We have participated in two road races and two meets and have meets scheduled from now till the end of October. My school is hosting its own meet for the second year in a row and the number of teams coming have doubled, almost tripled, and we're pretty excited about that. We are even participating in a few dual or small low key meets for the first time and I'm pretty excited about this. This is a great training tool and something my teams at the first school I coached at did all the time. And oddly, we will have our state meet in north Georgia for the first time in GISA history. So, this will be exciting to see. I hope. Our schedule is busy and I know we'll all be very happy and sort of sad come the end of the state meet on October 26th. 

      And so, it is the time for cross country. It is the time for sweaty clothes, muddy shoes, smelly kids and coaches, a lot of laughs, funny restaurant experiences, early morning bus rides, team dinners, cases of Gatorade, dehydration-driven headaches, rolled ankles, cut up knees, very intense ultimate frisbee games, chafing, sore vocal chords, weird words (i.e. a fartlek), running drills, loads of laundry, and about a hundred other items that I wouldn't want to live without. And this year, I have gotten to add my sweet boy FH to the equation. He has come to many practices and has started yelling go to the kids as we pass them or they pass us. He has sort of become a little mascot of sorts and we couldn't be happier. 

 

    Happy reading and happy running. See you at the starting line or in the woods, 

   DAVID

Runner's for Boston

   A week ago, two bombs went off at the finish line of our nation's oldest and most revered marathon. It was horrific. It was tragic. It was terrible. It was grotesque. It was deeply saddening. I will not attempt to explain it or even try to give my own take on it. I will only say that I do not understand what happened and that it will be a long time before I can wrap my small mind and shallow consciousness around it, but I think in the face of something like this, we should silence ourselves and learn from something as basic as running. When an event like this occurs, I, at most feel helpless and insignificant, but here are two images that I feel we can gather the most out of and they are the images of the runners ignoring the finish line, something many of them had worked a multitude of years to cross, in an attempt to help those who had been hurt and the images of those who crossed the finish line and ran another two miles, making for a total of 28 miles, to the nearest hospital to give of their own blood. 

   It has been a hard year on running. There was Hurricane Sandy and the NYC marathon. They were left at a crossroads and chose to host the race as a means to highlight the human spirit, but all it made runners look like was a parasitic host trying desperately to make itself look good in face of human loss and tragedy. It was terrible and yet it was also a time for running and running community to redefine itself. And then seven days ago, two bombs went off hurting hundreds of people and killing four at the finish line of America's most prestigious race. And so, it was once again time for the running community to redefine themselves and redefine the sport and from the images that I have seen, I believe that I will be inspired long after the tragedy has become a cold item in the news. Now it became time again to look to the simple of running to help us know where to turn and what to do. And at most running stores across the country, this is where hundreds and I'm sure probably thousands upon thousands gathered for moments of silence and for some outlet to feel useful. Our local running store, Run Fit Sports, was no different, so FH and I got in our car and headed over.

The run for Boston began at 6:30 and Ford and I arrived at around 6:24 and there were already hundreds gathered.

Not a great picture and you can't really see the people, but I was impressed and yet overwhelmed that so many had turned out to run the 2.62 memorial run. 

And at 6:32, we headed off after some instructions from the store owner. He reminded us twice that it was not a race, but rather a group run, which reminded me that, that is one of the key components of running and also key in the face of national or personal tragedy. We are not alone. We are standing on the shoulders of giants and all those that have gone before us and they are holding us up and those that surround us are holding us when we cannot hold ourselves. 

And so, we took off and ran and felt the ground beneath our feet and I was glad to be moving. Running is about a movement forward. You do not run backwards. A good racer will not even look behind because all that matters is the way forward. And once on the run, running is about silence and listening to the sounds that surround you and inside your body. Boston is about these two things. A movement forward and about listening. 

And we charged the hills and glided down their backsides and breathed the air and smelled the good green earth that encapsulated us and yet provided the freedom of space to move forward. 

And at the end, we were once again surrounded by people and those we love all doing what we love. This is where we must all go. There must be faith in better days and times. There must be hope that life will not be solely tragic. And there must be the love of people and place. And we must gather these bold affections and protect them because without them, life is far from valuable and we must prove them true, even in the most simple of acts like pushing a little wheeled stroller over some hills and through a neighborhood proving that we are alive and that we can and will go on. 

Ford and me at the end. 

Ford was parched at the end so we both got a water and a Gatorade. 

We ran for Boston. We ran for ourselves. We ran to run. We ran for the freedom that no bomb or tragedy will take from us.

Run. Breathe. Hope. Persevere.  

David

    

The Price of a Road Race

      One of my favorite things about running is just how simple it is. Yes, the gadgets are neat and the shoes are cool. Yes, the running-specific shorts and shirts are a plus, but you really don't need any of it. All you really need is a pair of shoes (or even just a good pair of feet), some shorts, and an open space. I don't have to go somewhere special. I don't have to make reservations. I don't have to pay a membership fee.  I don't need a permit or a license. I don't have to wait till certain parts of the year. I can just lace up, head out the door, pick a direction, and run wherever and whenever I want. And then when the act of running begins, it is just legs moving, arms pumping, slow breathing, and little concentration. It is simple, just the road or trail and myself. I am in no way saying that running is easy or that some of the flashy gear isn't helpful, because running is hard, even the "easy" runs and the right pair of shoes will make or break you. All I am really trying to say is at its most basic root, running is and should be simple.

     And after one has been running a while, it is only natural that one would be drawn towards the desire to race because no matter how "uncompetitive" you say that you are, you are really always trying to catch someone in something. It is only natural to want to chase or be chased. It is fun. It is exciting. And each person in their own way wants to know how they stack up against someone else. Most runners have had the experience of being out on a run and seeing someone in the distance running and have done everything inside themselves to catch and pass that person. I know I catch myself doing this even when I have headed out the door for just a quick pass around the block.

     It seems that since running is so simple that racing should follow a very similar thread. I think we all remember how easy and how fun it was to race someone during our elementary school days. You just pick somewhere to race to, line up, have some arbitrary person yell go, and then you sprint or run towards the agreed upon place. Or if it is organized, like the infamous 50 yard dash in PE, all the items are decided for you and all you do is run. As you age and progress in school, running becomes more complex, but at the same time it stays pretty simple. I coach varsity cross country and even our most competitive meets are as simple as everyone lining up, a set of instructions are given, a gunshot begins the race, all the runners head in the same direction over an agreed upon distance, and after a certain amount of time, the race is won and then everyone else finishes. And this brings me to the real point of this post: the rapid, rising cost of racing.

     As with most things, you can boil it down to money. And that is the real topic of this post. Several months ago in Running Times, my favorite running magazine, they had an article that was titled: The Price of Competition.  (If you want to read the article, click here) And it was as if all I had been thinking about in relation to running and racing secretly made its way into an article for the population at large to read. The article was written by Pete Magill. He is one of America's top Master's runners (a Master runner is anyone 40 and above. Pete Magill is 50 and is still running four and some change minute miles and 17 minute 5k's.) and he writes great articles for several running publications and each of the articles is full of either good thoughts about running or great advice for older runners, but really just runners in general. 

    

     In the article, Mr. Magill talks about how the price of road races has so greatly increased over the last decade that it is hard to believe. He talks about how he used to go to races during the running boom of the 70's and would pay $3 and get everything we now get minus the t-shirt, but now we pay $30. I wrote a little blog a while back about a similar idea, but it was less direct and Magill is better writer. Mr. Magill simply asks in his article what is one getting when you pay for a race and spend all the money to get to one when the whole act of racing is simple. The example he uses is how he signed up for a half marathon that cost over $100 and then paid for gas, food, and a hotel room and then ends up getting sidelined due to training and does not run the race at all, but rather gets well, runs 13.1 miles to a local Starbucks, orders a large coffee drink, uses the restroom he didn't wait to use, and all the for the price of $3. 

   

Mr. Magill racing college runners and beating them! He's the man in blue. 

      If Mr. Magill were not a well-known runner and talented writer, I would question his reason for writing and it would sound more like sour grapes, but if you read the article well, you can see the point he is making. He is simply saying that back in the 70's, a runner could go to a local race, pay a small fee and be guaranteed three important items: the race would start on time, the course would be measured correctly, and the runner would receive his/her correct race time in a timely manner. And this would occur all for a small fee. He notes that racing then was about racing and now it is about causes. But now you pay $30 and the race doesn't start on time, the distance is almost never what it should be, the results are almost never correct. And I couldn't agree more. 

       Now please do not think I am or Mr. Magill is  raging against charity races or that we do not want people of all running talents to show up to race because that is neither what Mr. Magill writes about and that is not what this post is about. I am simply asking the same question: "Why has racing become so over-priced that people like me that actually just want to race can almost no longer afford to do it?"  Or, "Why has the simple act of racing become so expensive, less accurate, and so complex?" 

     I will give a couple examples from my own meager running career. I ran my first non-school race in 2003. It was a local 5k and I paid $10. I got a t-shirt, water, Gatorade, fruit, a bagel, and a trophy for coming in 4th place. Most 5k races now start at $20 and some go for as much as $50-$60. And I ran my first half marathon, The Seaside Half Marathon, in 2007 and I paid $45. Today, that same race costs around $105 while offering the same amenities to the runner. This last example really highlights Magill's point: what is the runner really getting for all that extra cost when all the runner really wants to do is to race over a chosen distance? I feel that the quick is answer is nothing. 

    Racing has become big business with many races, especially half marathons and marathons, leading the way on outrageous prices. Several companies, most notably, Competitor Inc. have created series of races where they promise seemingly everything, but the actual race itself. Competitor Inc.'s "Rock and Roll Race Series" advertises a party atmosphere and charges as much as $125 without food, hotel, travel, etc. Last year, the NYC marathon cost almost $400. I have several acquaintances that ran last year's Savannah marathon and their total price tag for race weekend was somewhere around $500. 

   And this has caused me to choose not to race. And I feel I am not the only one to choose this way. In the years 2007-2010, I ran 30+ races, but in the last three years, I have run less than 10 races. This is not due to my lack of training, but rather due to the price. I do not see this changing anytime soon and why would it if countless hoards are willing to pay. Please know I am no way against racing companies making money. And I am no way wanting those hoards to stay home and quit running. I am elated that so many people are running. I love it. I wish everyone ran. It would be great. I just want running and racing to be simple again and much less expensive.

     So, where does that leave a person who wants to run and who wants to race, but doesn't exactly feel like throwing down a couple hundred dollars for a race weekend or actually doesn't have it to throw down? This is where I do not agree or align with Mr. Magill. I think there is hope and a chance for proactive runners to do something about it. I will give three suggestions or examples of items or events where I see great glimmers of hope for the runner with a budget or for the runner who is tired of paying ridiculous amounts of money to run.  And here they are:

1. A lot of track clubs around the country offer a variety of races and racing opportunities throughout the calendar year where you can race for either free due to a nominal club membership or a very small fee. My local running club doesn't do this, but the Atlanta Track Club does and have always done so. The picture above is from their very popular summer track series where any individual can race the 3000 meter race or do other events for $1. And you can race about 10 races throughout the year for free or for rates no larger than $10. I think this is a great option and participated as a member for a year and got way more out of the club than my $35 fee. I ran a couple free races and even got my sister and dad into a race for free. 
2. Host your own race and make it an event. This can be done for a nominal price that can be shared amongst the people you invite. And it is a great way to have a get-together that is much different than the usual. It does take some planning, but is very easy. Mel and I did this last December and it was a huge success. We hosted what we titled, "The 1st Annual Hot Cocoa Invitational". We advertised through Facebook and charged nothing except that we asked them to bring a treat to share. I mapped out a 5k course and marked it with chalk and homemade signs. I borrowed a race clock from a XC coaching friend of mine and some water coolers from the school I teach at.. I got free race numbers from Road ID and they even sent us 6 gift certificates that Mel dressed up and we gave out as prizes. We had around 25 people participate and everyone seemed to have a great time and altogether, we probably spent a total of 3 hours prepping and $25. 
3. My third suggestion is almost the same as my second. Bring back the cheap race that focuses solely on racing and do it for a cheap, cheap fee. I know this can be done. All that would have to be done is gather some people that want to race, decide or agree upon a course and distance, make sure the course is well-marked, have someone start the race and time the event, yell out finishing times when folks cross the finish line, have someone record these times, have different people bring a cooler of water and paper cups, and have each race be apart of series of races and at the end of the series give prizes to the top three or four of the top finishers. Races could be held at public parks so you would have access to a restroom. Running clubs used to do this all the time and some still do.

Let's do some of these! 

Happy reading and running,

    David

Nike Air Pegasus +29--A Shoe Review

A Brand New Pair of the Pegasus' +29 Model

    For fans of this blog, you have read about my love for Nike's Air Pegasus running shoes before in several previous posts. If you want to read the main precursory post about them just place your little mouse here and read with pleasure (I hope). I have written about them more than once because to me, they are the most consummate running shoe around. I don't say this flippantly, but rather because I have been wearing them on and off almost exclusively for the past six years. They have been my go to training shoe and at times racing shoe for almost every race I have trained for during that time. 

A little boy trying to figure out why his dad sits him down to take pictures of an old pair of shoes. 

       

     The Air Pegasus is Nike's most popular and most successful running shoe. They have been making it  since 1983 with a few lone exceptions somewhere around the early to mid-90's and a couple times in the early 2000's. They stopped for some reason and then brought them back somewhere around year 2000, 2002, and 2005. (If you can read French or at least like to look at pictures, a French fellow wrote a pretty complete little history of the shoe line or he at least found some good pictures of the shoe line from the first version to the latest version and you can check that out here) As I mentioned previously, I did not  start wearing them till around 2007, but my older brother ran track in high school and he had one of the early 90's models that he passed onto my granddad and he sported them around into the early 2000's. Each year, Nike tools around with the shoe and changes something about. All shoe companies do this, but Nike is famous for it and this has caused much dismay and because Nike is so popular other shoe companies have followed this line of thinking to the constant frustration of the running hordes. If fact, there is a little phrase you will hear often among the running community and that is, "just the time you finally find the perfect shoe, ___________ (fill in the blank with the company name of your choice: Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Brooks, etc), will go and change everything you like about it." I have heard it from others and I have said it myself a time or two.

 
What a pair of 29's look like after they have a quarter of a XC season in them, a little over 200+ miles on them, and track season conditioning on them. 

      However, since 2007, I have owned either one or two pairs of each current version minus the +26 version. I was even at the store to buy that model when I stumbled upon a two year old model for $20 and instead bought those. Each year, I run somewhere between 850-1250 miles. A well built running shoe can safely handle somewhere between 300-500 miles on them. Sometimes its more and other times its less all depending on the runner and the type of running he or she is doing. If a runner is a heavier runner (above 150+ lbs.), a heel striker, and does most of their training and racing on concrete, it would be best to go with the lesser number of miles. I say this because the runner will get injured in some way, not because BIG SHOE COMPANIES are paying me because if they are, then I'm not sure how. However, if the runner is in-shape, does most of their runs on trails, and maintains a healthy weight, then one can get far more than 500 miles out of a pair of shoes. (The guy I coach XC with got a 1000 miles out of one pair of Pegasus +25's last year).

"Enough with the pics of old shoes, dad. Pick me up and let's do something I want to do for a change!"

     So, you are now into paragraph four of this post and very little has been said about the +29 model of the Air Pegasus. As the song goes, "be patient, be patient, don't be in such a hurry...", you are in the thick of it now. The +29 model was released early last summer at the starting price of $100, but I don't actually know anyone that paid that much for them; most places sold them for $79-$89. Unless you got a special model (Trail, GTX, Shield, etc), then you paid more for those and you got what you paid for. I bought my pair in the last month of XC season out of desperation.  I had purchased an older model that I was sure would last me over the 500 mile mark, but I lost the sole of the newish pair of shoes in the clay one day during a very wet and muddy run which I was shocked by because I have owned around 8 pairs of Pegasus shoes and not one of them has ever even tried to tear up.  

   The +29 model ends up being much different from the previous models I have owed in a variety of ways. The liner of the shoe is called the FITSOLE 2 and it was a descent enough liner and contained much more padding than the previous models, but if you do any real running, you will desire an orthotic or some other inner sole. The actual sole of the shoe is composed their patented Cushlon materials, but it ends up feeling more like the Nike Lunar series of  shoes instead of what I have come to expect from the Cushlon. The toe box is wide, which is good because as you run your toes splay outward and you need the room. The mid-foot portion of the shoe is firm, but padded. And the heal is a little high, but you don't notice that much while you are running. The upper part of the shoe is breathable and the middle portion of the shoe is held together with an early version of what is now Nike's Fly Nit technology. The +29 model is similar to the +28 model, but is a far cry away from the other previous models. 

   Some pros for the +29 model is that it is a great all around shoe and can be depended on to be just that on a variety of surfaces and for a variety of uses. I have enjoyed them on long trail runs and have enjoyed them on a track during lengthy and fast interval sessions. I have also used them as a casual shoe and for race distances ranging from 400m-10k. The only con I can really think is that I at times wish the ride was a little less plush. I have only owned one pair of Nike Vomero's and they feel more like that pair than the desired responsiveness that I have come to love from the Pegasus model. 

   I am not sure if Nike is planning on a +30 model as of right now or I can't seem to find any information about it via the web and they haven't started phasing out +29 model options yet. They usually release new models of shoes in the late, late spring or early summer, so we may get a new model just yet. I do know that once Nike releases a model, they let several months go by and then they begin offering a variety of options for that model to be had by the public as I have mentioned earlier in this post. Right now, the current special option is the Shield option which is pretty neat and useful if you are like me and run at night and during a variety of weather conditions because the Shield technology is both to help against water and darkness.And I received a very cool pair of the trail version of the Pegasus for Christmas that I am saving for XC season. 

Happy running and happy reading. Let me know your thoughts on the Pegasus +29 if you have them. I have enjoyed them and plan on buying another pair in the future. 

Enjoy,

   David

And So It Begins--The 2013 Track & Field Season

"I had as many doubts as anyone else. Standing on the starting line, we're all cowards".
-- Alberto Salazar

"You must realize one thing. In every village in the world there are great potential champions who only need motivation, development and good exercise evaluation"

--Arthur Lydiard 

"A race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected in as many ways as they’re capable of understanding".
--Steve Prefontaine

"The will to win is worthless, without the will to prepare."
--Juma Ikangaa

"I still bother with runners I call hamburgers. They're never going to run any record times. But they can fulfill their own potential."

--Bill Bowerman

     So, today it begins. At around 3:30 this afternoon, I will walk out the double doors of our Upper School building and make my way down to our little version of a track and will attempt to say something inspiring and motivational. And then I will send the runners to do their half mile warm up and it will have begun. The "it" I am referring to is track season. To be completely honest, I begin this season with fear and trembling. I guess, I always begin each season feeling like this and there are always good reasons to do so. Nine times out of ten the "unknowns" far outweigh the "knowns" at the beginning of the season and that makes it a little scary. Each season holds the possibility of being the best season the school has ever had, but also shows signs that solving the world's food scarcity problem would seem a little more reasonable than putting together a full team. And in today's sporting/cultured climate, getting kids and their parents to commit to anything is sort of like me dunking a basketball. (If you know me, you get this. If you don't, I am a good 5'7'' on a good day with about a 5-8 inch vertical. Slam dunking is just not going to happen without a trampoline.)  So, this could be the year that my JV and Varsity teams win Region and State and mop up the competition, but it could also be the year I spend 2 months begging, borrowing, promising kids the world only to have them say no and then see them spend the time when we have track practice sitting in front of the school playing games on their phone while waiting for their parents to get off work and pick them up or watch them sit the bench and never get a second of playing time several years in a row in another sport. Oh', the delicate balance! 

    Track shares many items in common with cross country and that makes it hard to compete with the other sports at a school of any size. And to make matters even harder, I live and coach in the South. Boys and girls would rather be on a 0-13 football, baseball, softball, or basketball team than have a spot on a state champion XC/Track team. That is just the cold hard truth and I spend a lot of time trying to convince kids that running track is just what they want to spend some of their afternoons doing. And another obstacle I have to hurdle is the fact that in Macon, as with much of the South, several of the track meets are on Wednesday's and that makes it extra hard because kids love going to youth group and parents love them going as well and both parties guard Wednesday night like it is a bag of rare jewels. And so a student athlete would rather miss a whole track season than be late to youth group about three times. I know this sounds crazy, but after coaching track for five seasons, this is very, very true. I understand it, but I don't understand it. And then there is the length of a normal track meet. I am not going to say that the meets are just the right length because that is far from true, but I do find it odd that the same people who are willing to get on a bus, travel a couple hours, play a two-three hour football/baseball game, and then travel back another two hours are the same people with the same parents who say the meets are too time consuming. I understand this, but I don't understand it. Such is my life.

   And so today we begin conditioning and it is my job to get kids who have been immobile or semi-immobile to begin getting back into shape. I, myself, will also have to get back into shape. I have not run even a half mile in over 40 days. It is hard, but I will attempt to make it enjoyable. This is a part of the always-present delicate balance. The hardest item to get across to my runners is that working really hard in February will make you a flying missile come late April/early May and this is the task I have before me. And I am ready. As I have already stated in my other posts about running is that there are few things more rewarding in life, for me, than to watch someone struggle through the first couple of months of track and then watch them stand on a podium to accept a ribbon or medal later on. I am ready to do this. I am ready to scream my head off watching the last leg sprint into the curves of my 4x400 team. I am ready to speak to my long distance runners and tell them what to do and how many laps they have left. I am ready to do my best to run a couple stop watches at once.I am ready to try to distinguish, with the naked eyes, the difference at the finish line a thousandth of a second can make. I am ready to cart coolers and tents to ovals all around the city and the state. I am ready to play ultimate frisbee on Fridays. Track is here and I think I am ready, but we will see.  I will hope and plan for the best and in three months we will if I have done it correctly or not. The jury is still out about last year. We started with high hopes, but we ended up taking a skeleton of a team to state and winning a few things here and there, but it is hard to win big when you bring 10 kids to race/compete against teams that have 30-40 kids. 

  Track season is here and I will try to coach/run the race that is set before me,

     David