Sunday, October 15, 2006
57 Minutes 53 Seconds -- The Great Oktoberfest Road Race!
This morning, I ran in my second Oktoberfest 10 Kilometre race with my good friend, Ron Bonar (pictured with me). My 'chip' time of 57:53 (the interval between crossing the electronic start and finish lines) was a personal best! It was a glorious autumn day in Waterloo and there were over 1,000 people running.
Although my race time was just a little more that 30 seconds faster than last year's effort, I felt a lot stronger all through the race and was not looking for an ambulance as I crossed the finish line.
One of my long term running goals has been to beat Ron, who is also the District Superintendent for the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination in central Canada. Today, I caught up to him just after the 5 K race marker, but was unable to go by him at the end of the race. He's still the champ by about 10 seconds. Maybe next time!
We enjoyed a victory brunch afterward with two beautiful race fans -- my wife, Dianne, who cheered me on from the car just after the 4 K marker this year, and Ron's wife, Jennifer, who is a new grandma just like Dianne. A perfect end to a great time of exercise and fellowship! GG
