I want to start this column by thanking the entire Nebraska running community for the support showed during Saturday’s Market to Market Relay. Prior to the start, during the conduct of the event, and post race, it was heart warming for me to overhear the conversations regarding the fine athletes on TNB. I got to answer a lot of questions about the club, the who’s, what’s, why’s, & how’s. One common thread was the respect that is out there for our athletes, and certainly they are deserving of all accolades and respect accorded. It seems like everyone we met and spoke with knows a TNB mate as a hometown hero, former classmate or teammate, shares a dentist with their second cousin, or otherwise has a sense of pride in the Red & White. Thank you for the love.
Photos are up on our Flickr account.
I’ve had a couple of days to digest my own actions and efforts from the morning. Some Very Sweet, and some not so much. My passion sometimes manifests itself in ways that to the neutral observer may seem brash if not down right abrasive. I had been pretty amped up with this opportunity to run with our Co-Ed team and the trash talk with our Open Men’s team was in good fun. The fact that I put that exuberance on public display may just have tinted an otherwise perfect morning. I’m owning up to my part and hope these words, outside the heat of battle, more closely reflect my true nature. Whew, glad to get that off my chest.
More love: I want to thank Peter vd Westhuizen especially, and the rest of our Co-Ed team including David Adams, Matt Schneider, Eric Rasmussen, Linda Barnhart, Carole Swanson, and Emily Langdon. I was both thrilled and honored that Peter wanted to include Linda & me on this team. Easy to recognize that I was not selected for my athletic ability (although I did hold my own), rather as a gesture of appreciation/recognition of what I’ve wrought over the last 10 years. To be included on a roster with this magnitude of character and talent was, as I see it, a once in a lifetime opportunity. Linda would prove her selection to the team was not only a reward for her work but recognition of her talent as one of the top female athletes on the club.
Congratulations to our Open Men’s team for taking the Overall victory. Even without the 20 minute advantage provided by my getting us lost (I drove us to the 12th exchange point instead of the 10th, oops!) the Open Men would have still beaten us handily. Kudos as well to the Lincoln Running Company for the 2nd overall finish. Our Co-Ed team would end up third overall just 5 minutes behind LRC. While it is easy to see how our fastest mates made this possible, I can’t say enough about how Linda (48 years old!), Carole (44 years old!), and Emily (young and just beginning her arc of improvement) gave Everything they had to the team. And I really did try my hardest, left absolutely nothing out on the course and am feeling well hammered for it this morning.
I’m giving a tip of the hat to Team Ndorfapaedic for making it a race early on for the co-eds. When they rolled in right behind us at Springfield my jaw was open wider than usual. Here’s why: David Adams split his first 5K in 14:27. Matt Schneider opened up splitting 15:05, Rasmussen in 15:00, and Peter turned in 14:47. Sprinkle in our women and this old man and you’d think we’d still have a comfortable lead, but not so. That means they had some Very Special performances by Each of their roster and that is worth noting here in RGS.
Also worth a mention: David Adams averaged 4:49 for the entirety of his race, Peter averaged 4:55, Eric averaged 5:00 and Matt averaged 5:05. This is why Nebraska loves TNB. More tomorrow as I’ve already gone well over my usual 500 word limit.
Andrew Jacob, Paul Wilson (tall), Cheto Cerda (small), Tim Langdon, Dylan Wilson, Ben Shultz, and Justin Mollak were the Overall Winners at the 2011 Market to Market Relay.
Matt Schneider, Will Lindgren, David Adams, Linda Barnhart, Peter vd Westhuizen, Emily Langdon, Eric Rasmussen, and Carole Swanson, your 2011 Market to Market Co-Ed Champions.
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