Summit was a real challenge this time
To paraphrase the Bobby Fuller Four, I fought the Summit and weather, and the Summit and weather won.
I joined around 200 other lunatics, er, I mean, serious athletes who sought a challenge, in less-than-stellar weather conditions on Sunday for the annual (save the pandemic year) Mt. Summit Challenge.
It was 27 years ago Jamie (Montel) Brooks suggested that might be an interesting race to add to the schedule, so No. 26 (minus the pandemic year) was on May Day, except there were no children casually dancing with streamers around a pole or Communists parading in the streets.
Nope, just simple folks gathered in Hopwood to walk 3陆 miles up a historic route, at times tracing the steps of George Washington.
If you happened to be up and around Sunday morning, you were quite aware of the weather 鈥� miserable. At least it wasn鈥檛 40 degrees.
Now, mind you, I鈥檝e done this a few times before, so one would think my body knew what to expect. (If this was a text, I鈥檇 be inserting a string of those laughing/crying emojis).
Now, I鈥檝e suffered injuries while running and walking races in the past, including a busted vein in my calf in the Pittsburgh half marathon 10 years or so ago and I finished (much to the chagrin of my family doctor and physical therapist, 鈥渆h, you should鈥檝e stopped鈥�), losing my breakfast near the finish line once (I blame the sports drink, not to name brands), and assorted muscle pulls and twisted ankles.
Both nothing like my finish on Sunday.
Ever see one of those videos where some poor soul wobbles with the finish line in sight. Well, that was yours truly around 9:50 a.m.聽
I guess my legs forgot how to walk on level ground after fighting elevation into a strong headwind for 40 minutes and as I turned with the finish line in sight, my brain was returning to a racewalking cadence, but my legs weren鈥檛.
To those folks behind me in the final 陆-mile, I wasn鈥檛 being cocky when I walked backwards for short stretches. I was just trying to get my legs back in rhythm.
Well, as I hit the blacktop, I haven鈥檛 seen that gathering around a fallen person since my niece Emily slipped on some gravel in one of her first Woodruff 5K attempts. Moms came out of the woodwork with wet towels and water to check on her.
Same for me. Thanks to the folks who came to help me out, keeping in mind they already had assaulted the hill.
I just wanted to finish, keep my legs moving, but the Good Samaritans, including the SERJ folks, held me in check. Good thing my sister Lori wasn鈥檛 there. The kids took the year off. She probably would鈥檝e freaked out more than Jamie.
An EMT checkup soon followed, took vitals, checked for a possible concussion, and I was deemed in fit (though maybe not fiddle) condition, though no questions were asked about the mental state of someone who would attempt to walk up the Summit.
I gathered myself, walked up another hill to the awards ceremony, grabbed my age group coffee cup and interviewed the winners. (Apologies for not talking to Carl, the men蘑菇视频 walk winner. We headed out before I had the chance.)
The omens were there to take a pass as Jamie, first-time runner Kelly Wilson (mother to Connellsville蘑菇视频 Arlee and Ally Wilson), and me headed out to deposit a car at the top. (We need to stop taking race suggestion from Jamie!)
Thunder, a flash of lightning, rain (heavy at times), I swear hail when I was warming up, and Smokey the Bear warning travelers fire danger was high, were like signs from above to stay inside.
But, no, we persevered. Congratulations to all those who showed up and survived, way to go with big round of applause. Same goes to all the local folks who ran in the Pittsburgh Marathon and Half-Marathon.
As for me, I鈥檒l be returning to the nice, gentle undulating courses for the foreseeable future where the grades are gentle and followed by an equally gentle downhills.聽
And, knowing Jamie, I鈥檒l likely return for Summit Challenge No. 27 next spring.