Head for the Cure, hurt for the cause

On Sunday morning, me and my sister and her friend Stacy ran in a 5K race in Lawrence. This was Jessica's idea... I ran a lot of 5Ks when I was a high school kid, but I haven't run one since I was 19.

The good news? I finished 5th in my age division.

The bad news? There were only five people in my age division.

Good news... both Jess and Stacy finished in FIRST PLACE in their age division!

As you can see, the race was called "Head for the Cure," and yes, this was a benefit for brain cancer research. Brain cancer is what took our Dad, so Sis thought this would be a good event for us to support.

Maybe next year I'll support them by just mailing them a check!

Seriously, the 5K hurt. It didn't help that I have/had a bad knee, a sprained ankle, a level 1 hangover and only four hours of sleep when I ran (I was at the Smashing Pumpkins/Cake show the night before). I ran the first mile straight through, but then ran/jogged/walked/farted through miles two and three. I was hoping to finish in 30 minutes... I ran it in a whopping 32:30. OUCH. Jessica and Stacy ran it in 26 and 25 minutes, respectively.

While I was on the first mile, I saw some poor runner stepped in a giant load of dog shit. There was a right shoe-print of dog poo that went on for about 50 yards. Within that same 50 yards, someone apparently got a nose bleed, because there were little splotches of blood on the sidewalk every six feet.

And I thought to myself: wow, there are two people actually having a worse time than me!

All kidding aside -- it was a great cause, I'm proud of both Jess and Stacy for winning their divisions, and I'm happy I actually made it across the finish line and that the camera man documented this occasion for me. (He must have realized the feat of me crossing the finish line was special, as I was the only person who seemed to get a finish-line photo taken.)

I'm also glad I didn't step in dog crap or get a nose bleed. Those two dudes may have had better times than me, but hey -- at least I didn't have to leave my shoes outside when I got home.