THRICE VEXED

runguru October 10, 2016

Well played indeed! I’ve got Real Racing to report on but first of all I’m giving a big tip of the hat to you, you know who you are. I’m really impressed this time, the way that rug was so slickly pulled out from under me. Able to keep it on the QT until it was too late for me to do anything about it.

You got me the very first M2M. I was away in Rio with the USA World Championships Half Marathon team. When looking at the results from the Southern Hemisphere I was shocked and upset to see my mates representing another club.

You got me again around 2010, convincing my top woman that it would be okay to run in another kit for Nebraska’s favorite novelty race.

But Saturday trumped it all. Completely blindsided and hurt to the bone, your finest chicanery to date. Enjoy your coffee this morning.

I, principled, maintain my position. No exceptions.

Now to the Real Racing. What happened to all the great Nebraska marathoners? In last week’s column “THE CRUCIBLE” I called on Nebraskans to test themselves against the very best at Twin Cities and Chicago Marathons. NRGE’s Bree Adams made good in her 2nd marathon in 3:19 at Chicago. No other Nebraskans. A couple of masters females at Twin Cities. That’s all folks. Seriously.

Jeff Gregg earned a belt buckle from one of the toughest 100 milers in America, The Grindstone 100.

So the only mano a mano, In It To Win It, was left to the streets of Omaha. Based on the television and newspaper coverage I’m renaming it “March for the Cure”. Not a single shot of the leaders, not a single result in the newspaper. Even the official results are messed up, listing 15 year old Brittany Bradfield as 2nd overall in 15:25. Sure looked like Luka Thor in that Team Nebraska singlet. Again, how in the world do you use our sport, call your event a “Race” and not give a single pica or pixel to the front of the pack?

Passing of the torch. My buddy and Team Nebraska’s best, Luka Thor, finally got to line up against NRGE’s best. Grant’s 14:38 on a USATF Certified course the fastest such 5K in my 15 years here in Nebraska, maybe ever. If you know of anyone that has run faster on a certified course, at any time in Nebraska, I’d appreciate the correction. Luka was next in 15:25, Joe Coil of LRC Racing third in 16:03 and NRGE’s Drew Prescott 4th, matching my lifetime personal best in 16:19.