Fourth of July and the heat shows up on cue. Decided against testing the hills in Ralston this morning and will save the legs for this weekend’s Run For Justin. We did sweep the top spots though with Cory Logsdon taking first, Justin Mollak second, Mike Reilly 8th and Jeff Marshall 9th. Jen Viehrig proved once again there is no tougher hill runner in Nebraska claiming the women’s title. I know our Good Mates raced, even a non certified, novelty event like this can be used to hone the competitive fires. Or you can fun run it, that is the quaint nature of this perennial favorite, choose your flavor and roll with it.
Fourth of July. A busy day for me from the mid-80s to latter 90s. Putting on the Baytown Heatwave 5 Mile (Baytown, TX) for many years and then the Firecracker 4 in Lake Jackson, Texas. Nice to actually sleep in this morning. I was doing a little research on some of the fastest times from the Heatwave 5 Mile. The men’s course record was 23:40 by Sean Wade in 1996. The women’s cr was 26:42 by Albina Galliamova (Russia). The event had a long history of Studs and Studettes so I’ve always felt great pride in that race.
Circles. I like them. Looking at the Heatwave race results from 1979 I notice the 8th place finisher was a young speedster (sub 14:00 5K) out of the University of Texas. His name was Ruben Linares and he would come back several times and finish near the very top, I think he may have won in 82 or 83.
Better know a mate: Cheto Cerda came over for a run and to join TNB yesterday. He was a good runner at Wayne State but took a year off after graduating in 2009. He’s getting back in shape and will be a force on the roads this fall. As Cheto and I got to know each other he told me he graduated from Robt. E. Lee High School in Baytown, Texas. When I told him of the Heatwave 5 Mile he told me his dad used to run it and do pretty well. I asked whom his dad is, his reply “Ruben Linares“. Circles. I like them.
Some further digging yielded an interesting clipping from the Houston Chronicle, circa 1997. In the paper’s annual Top Ten Road Races of the Houston Metro area, the Brazosport Run For The Arts 10 Mile was ranked 3rd and the Baytown Heatwave was ranked 7th. How in the world was I able to put my 2 races in the top 10 in Houston, Texas but have yet to find the same magic in Omaha? I think it speaks to the running communities’ expectations being so different, or maybe things have just changed that much. Not through lack of trying, we’ll keep at it until we get it right!
The Brazosport Area Road Runners Association (BARRA) was the club I formed (1995) in Lake Jackson, Texas to administer the Run For The Arts. This race was named the “Official Race of the New Millenium” in 2000 and voted one of the top races in Texas for several consecutive years. The club grew to over 100 members and they were kind enough to name their Volunteer of the Year award after me when I left Texas. Aw shucks.
Feliz Cuatro de Julio!
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