Zooma half marathon

I think the Zooma was a success. It was well organized from the neighborhood's point of view. Cones, port o potties and water all out early. Relatively easy to get in and out of the 'hood.

We did not leave. I was up at 6:45 finishing up the muffins and getting the cooler filled up. The table and chairs were out by 7:30am. The house is about 250 feet from the street so it is not like we can just bound out the door and watch runners.

We gathered about 7:45 and shortly there after the first male runner came through. Since it was a woman's race, I decided to cheer him on but not take a pic. I hung my signs for Pam and Joshunda, hoping I would see them. I should have found the pro camera to make decent pics but it is really hard to hold that and a drink.

There were just a few of us, at first, cheering the runners. Then our crowd grew. The runners were fun, laughed at our mimosas, thanked us for coming out to cheer and wondered if we had any breakfast to spare. The horses were in rare form dancing and chasing around the pasture. One runner commented that they were a nice thing to watch to keep her mind off the nasty hill in front of our house.

Pam saw me and shouted out. I missed the pic but got her on the way up the hill. I got pics of Joshunda going down the hill and up the hill. She looked great in both. You would never know that the hill was so bad at the way Pam and Joshunda looked in the uphill pics. There was a man dressed as a woman, funny. All in all it was a big crowd. I really to think our cheering made a difference on the uphill part. We got lots of smiles and folks chatting back to us.

Good job Zooma! I hope the spa incentives we wonderful at the finish line and that everyone enjoyed running through our neck of the woods....er.. well.. hills.

The neighborhood inconvenience

This Saturday we have a woman's half marathon coming through the neighborhood. It turns around in our neighborhood, so technically it comes through twice. Our comings and going are going to be impacted from 7am until 11am. We are a neighborhood of early risers, get things done kind of people, so I suspect this inconvenience may have made some folks angry.

We are also a neighborhood of opportunists. Since the run comes by our house twice, I suggested everyone come on over about 8am and we will cheer and have breakfast. We also don't miss too many opportunities to have a social nip here and there so I am thinking mimosas will be on the menu. Something decadent about drinking mimosas, eating muffins and watching folks run but what the hell!

My co-worker Pam is running. Her running pals ditched her so she is solo. I am going to make a sign for her, tell everyone about her and she is going to get the BEST cheering section. A neighbor is also running it. We will make her a sign too and she will get cheered. She may stop and have a drink though. Who could blame her? Our house is also on a killer hill so the runners will need that extra encouragement on the way up and out of the neighborhood.

I love the idea of the neighbors hanging out on the front lawn, the kids playing everywhere and runners going by, thinking our neighborhood would be so fun to live in. It really is the best.

Somehow this also reminds me of college. We had "wake-ups" where we would get doughnuts and beer, bring keg to a fraternity and wake up the house at 6am. Beer and doughnuts...mmmmmmm. Now that we have grown up, we are mimosas and pastries. Not too different. Then, we cheered for the drunk guys who decided to take their clothes off and run around naked....now we will cheer suitably dressed motivated runners. Seems more respectable somehow.