Michael & Liz are Bloggable

I have been waiting to write this blog post for a long time, and this will be forever long, but hang with me, it'll be worth it.

Ever since I read the blog post from Donald Miller about good stories, I have been seeking out stories that make life interesting. Around that time the concept of "The Home Run" was offered to me, and I emphatically threw out my need to participate. But the reason why I wanted to participate ended up being the least exciting part about it, at least in my opinion.

Starting in 1981, 28 years ago (my birth year by the way), a group of friends who were IBMers went to the Rec Center only to find it was closed for a week. Frustrated and itching for a run, they decided to just leave their cars at work, and run home. This was before GPS, before greenway trails, before running belts with bottles on them, before energy packs of GU, before some big roads and some highways. The run ended up being 20 miles finishing at one of the guy's houses in north Raleigh, right next to Crabtree Valley Mall. It became a yearly event for them and today, we completed the 28th annual "Home Run".

With a few course changes and trail "improvements", the run has been shortened to 16.4 miles. I am thoroughly happy with myself that I was able to run the entire thing without any walking. We completed it in 2:34 if you don't include stops to fill up for water, stops to use the bathroom, and also a 10 minute stop to... ford a creek. It took a total 2:47 if you add all the stops. That's 9:20 minutes per mile. We ended up hitting the half marathon right at 2 hours. Considering that I did the Country Music Half Marathon this past Saturday in 1:58, I am thrilled with another run of the same speed.

What an awesome story, 28 years in a row of running home from work one day in April. There were 9 of us for the run this year. A married couple, two current IBMers (me incuded), and 5 retired guys who have been running for decades. I was intrigued, it sounded so cool. My only issue was that I am not an extrovert, I am very much an introvert and do not do well when meeting new random people. Not that I don't like it, but my small talk skills are a lacking part of my personality. But what made me the most nervous turned out to be what I enjoyed the most.

Boy did these retired guys have SOME STORIES TO TELL! It could have filled the entire run. One guy in particular, Kirk, should write a book with all the stories he had. I volunteered for the run for the story of running "home", but it ended up being the stories they had to tell me that really made it what it was.

So here are some abbreviated stories (that I can remember) both from our run and from their historical runs:

• At one point we came to a creek that came up to our mid calves where we had to take our shoes and socks off and walk through. They said one year the creek was up to their chest and they still walked right through. One dude pulled out plastic bags to cover his shoes and walked through, he almost made it through without getting his shoes wet. I'll be the first one to say though, after running 12 miles, having freezing cold water rush over your feet felt absolutely amazing.
  
  
• One of the first years (80's) they hacked their way through some brush and fields trying to find their way. They came upon a house in a clearing that looked like no one had been around for years. All of a sudden dogs came running out and barking and foamed at the mouth on chains. Outside the house they said "Hello? Is anyone there? Any chance you could give us some water?" People were apparently nicer back then but also didn't understand the concept of running. Who ran anywhere? A woman came out of the house furious and with a cocked shot gun and told them to get off her property. The next year they came to the same house. The woman came out with the same reaction and weapon but was not as furious about it. The 3rd year, she relented and gave them water in the yard. The 4th year she let them in and gave them water and just had a ball talking to them about what they were doing. Soon her house became a poor stop to travel by, so they never saw her again.
  
  
• One year they realized that running through the RDU airport grounds was the best way to get to a trail they used. They called the National Guard requesting permission to trespass on the airport grounds. Their 10 minute access was granted and through a security gate at the airport with an armed guard, we ran down a path and cut through some brush, hopped a creek and onto a trail in Umstead Park. Today we got the same permission, it seemed like the armed guard enjoyed seeing us pass.
  
  
• A few years ago they were going for a 5 mile run. This was around the time they maintained 7 minute miles, which is flying to me. Kirk told the guys, "By the way, I'm bringing a girl with me, her name is Jessie." The guys said "Can she hang with our pace?" and Kirk said "She'll be pushing the pace." When the guys showed up, Kirk was standing there holding the leash of his new Jack Russell Terrior puppy who could run like the wind. He said he tried to stay in the back with Jessie, but she kept tugging on him to go faster. He relented and she ran past the lead group and pushed the pace to a 6:30 minute per mile. Impressed with Jessie, they invited her on the Home Run one year. She managed without a problem until they let her off the leash in Umstead Park. At that point, not only did she push the pace, but she ran across a road before the group could get to her. Fortunately she made it across dodging a few cars, but that was the last Home Run Jessie was allowed to attend.
  
  
• One year someone planned on running half way and then bike the rest. When they got to the bike at mile 9, it was bent and broken all over the place. Someone must have taken a baseball bat to it because it was completely out of commission. Plan ruined, to say the least.
  

That's all I can remember for now. I can't even exclaim how much I enjoyed this group of awesome people. One of them had a GPS watch and said they'd email us the route mapped in google maps, so hopefully I'll be able to post the map on the blog here too.

They have reassured me that I'm now on the list to attend the Home Run next year. I can't wait, I wish it were tomorrow... but then again, my muscles disagree. I can settle for a few 5K's they've dragged me into though. I can't wait to hear more stories, after all, what else is there to life then telling stories and living stories?