Sunburst; the sequel.......................

Yup, that is the inside of the Notra Dame stadium, and not a football player in site (or at least not any in uniform). One day out of every year the stadium gets taken over by runners as they party and celebrate on the football field. Below is the story of how I did. My oldest completed her run with a new PR, completing the six mile run in under fifty minutes. How cool is that?


The day dawned slightly over-cast and muggy. The two excited racers bound out of bed at six am ready to eat up the pavement and maybe a banana or two. Fortunately for the older runner, the younger one has many anal bones in her body so all race chips were tied into shoes,all bib numbers securely in place as they headed downtown to the starting line.

Of course, before conquering the start line, the older one had to conquer the potty lines. Not only was she successful, she was thrilled to discover her first ever porta-john with a sink! Complete with water, soap, AND paper towels. What will they think of next?

After the traditional National Anthem, shared hugs, wishes for fun, and a high five or two they went their separate ways to meet up at the finish line.

The older one quickly settled in to a nice slow pace, or so it seemed until she came up on mile one with the Thought of "I can't have gone a mile already? In 9:16. Better slow down." Before she knew it, she was at mile two, in only 16 something. What was going on here? No heavy breathing OR panting. Could it be that she was getting better at this running thing?

Knowing there were still the hills to conquer she decided to slow down and work the crowds, asking the little kids if they would share their cereal with her, shouting for the dogs to put their paws together in appreciation for her efforts. And of course thanking all those that had turned on their sprinklers for watering the runners and cooling them off.

By mile three 30:35 had literately flown by. At mile four, located at the bottom of a killer hill, she was traveling at a more "normal" pace and the clock read 41: something.

Undaunted, she claimed the hill as her own and felt powerful and confident as she tackled the hill in her way, in her time, unaware of how others chose to take it on. After the hill came the loop around. After making her way back around she called encouragement to those just beginning the loop, telling them they would be there in five, only to receive shouts back of, 'Ya! Right!" as well as lots of laughter from runners and spectators.

By mile five her legs were getting tired, and seeing no need for speed, the older one relaxed into her run and enjoyed each moment as it passed. Someone beside her mentioned that they couldn't wait to see the gold dome which meant they were near the finish, so the older one decided to look for it for encouragement.

Apparently she got distracted by something more interesting, because by the time she noticed the stadium she could have practically reached out and touched it. No parking lot this year, instead the run directed the older one round to the far side of the stadium before she began her decent down onto the field for a quick sprint towards the fifty yard line to finish with a time of 1:06:32 (or something like that), and roars of, "Good job Mom" ringing in her ears. She was handed a cold wet towel, which felt as good as a cold dip in the pond on a hot, summer's day. A nice gentleman ask if he could remover her chip, but as she paused a wave of nausea over took her. She shared this with the nice gentleman, he sprinted out of her way, and she walked until it subsided. When she returned to have her chip removed the nice gentleman laughed and said, Did you notice how fast I got out of your way when you mentioned throwing-up?"

After a few shared hugs, posing for pictures, Popsicles, and a well deserved potty stop, the two runners left the stadium tired, happy,full of pride at their latest accomplishment, already looking forward to next week's race.

And guess what? The old runner even had a little bit of steam left over to jog after the bus that was to take the two back to the start of the race and their car. Now isn't that something to brag about?