Good folks are all around us
I walked my fourth Turkey Trot Thanksgiving morning, although this was my first solo effort.
The first two were with former Herald-Standard sportswriter Cecelia Jo Record, at her suggestion, and last year was done “virtually” with Cecelia Jo as she was deployed to Kosovo.
First, I must commend whatever party was responsible for the weather between 8 and 11 a.m. The forecast promised miserable weather, chilly temperatures in the 40s with rain showers. The temperature was much warmer than expected with no wind and the 40 percent chance of no rain came through until late in the awards ceremony.
(I really don’t care to run, walk, work or exercise in rainy weather, especially rainy weather in late November.)
The proceeds from the kids’ race and the 5K run/walk benefit the good work done by the folks at the Salvation Army for our neighbors in the county.
A large round of applause for all those who volunteered, those who handled packet pick-ups and late registration, the folks in safety yellow to keep automobiles at bay at the many intersections throughout the 5K course, and the fine members of the Uniontown police and fire departments.
And, not to forget, the great folks of SERJ who handled the timing of 750 runners and walkers, and who patiently put up with the lone sportswriter’s request for all the results, as he watched over their shoulders as they did their job on a holiday.
It was really nice to see all the smiles and good feelings surrounding all those who came to compete or just share a good walk or run and conversation with family and friends, who came from near and far. I came across runners and walkers from New York City, Shreveport, La., Ohio, Lolo, Montana, New Jersey, Philippi, W.Va., and Pompano Beach, Fla.
The names of the top-finishing runners were so familiar because I’ve covered all of them on the cross country course or track.
Jefferson-Morgan’s Aaron Mylan came up short in his bid to make the PIAA cross country championships, but he left nothing to chance Thanksgiving morning with his first-place finish by eight seconds over Nate Edenfield, a former stalwart runner at Uniontown. Andrew Cramer, who was a top runner for Connellsville during his high school days, led the second surge to the finish line in third place with a time of 18:20, nine seconds ahead of Uniontown cross country’s Harry Strauser and 19 seconds in front of Frazier senior Nyoah Marteny.
It was nice to know Jennifer Locke-Hoffman remembered me in our brief conversation after the race, however, I had one of those “wow, it’s been that long” moments when she informed me she won her WPIAL cross country title way back in 1998. Jennifer is a grade-school teacher in Potter County and coaches cross country and track with her husband.
Jennifer was the two-time defending champion of the Turkey Trot, but passed the torch to the next generation of Brownsville runners, freshman Gionna Quarzo. Gionna had a great 2016, winning the Everhart Invitational and county titles, medaling in the WPIAL Class AA final and just missing a medal in the state final.
As for the 5K walk, I had some cutesy mock interview lined up with the overall winner — me — but decided against that and opted for another route.
I was quite pleased that this old body, that hasn’t been training like I could or should, of late, had the wherewithal to get out in the first mile as I did. I even managed to hold it together in the middle mile.
I was approaching the court house when I allowed myself to think ahead a bit, feeling pretty confident I was going to meet my goal of a top-10 finish. I began to think how much my dad would’ve enjoyed hearing about the race and my finish, and the whole race.
Tuesday was the seventh anniversary of my dad’s passing, which happened to be on my parent’s 53rd wedding anniversary. He lost his eyesight in the final years of his life, so he anxiously awaited word from me or his grandsons on how the race went, while, if we were successful, handling the trophy or medal received.
I know Dad would’ve enjoyed hearing about the whole Turkey Trot experience, especially about how well the area’s young athletes did. He did enjoy watching and hearing about the county’s athletes, notably those of Connellsville and Geibel Catholic.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Be nice today, maybe it’ll catch on as make your way through Black Friday.