On November 21st, I participated in this local run/walk. The weather was really beautiful this year. I remember the organizers had to postpone the race for the following weekend due to inclement weather one year. I kept the chip and forgot it in the car, so after crossing the finish line I continued running, picked the chip, and ran through the finish line again with the chip in my hand.

The crowd was big as usual. Over 700 people. The course was slightly changed to incorporate the newly renovated path in the Greis Park. About a mile into the race we were a group of 4 runners who ran the same pace. The group shrank to just 2 runners later—myself and a tall guy in a running hat. I measured him and I bet he measured me. At about the 2-mile marker a faster runner past us in a great speed so neither of us was attempting to run with him. We were maintaining our pace and later caught up with him. Only after we finished I realized that the tall man in the hat was Johan Ahr and the speedy one was Jaime Palacios. It was a great race. My pace was 5:55 min./mile. I was slower than last year, but the course was a little different. I won the Master’s category and was 12th overall.

This race closes my racing/running season, as the skiing season is coming soon. The event was well organized, many runners were rewarded, as there were many categories. Thanks to Cathy Papandrew, the race director. Lynbrook Runner’s Stop, the specialty store for runners, supported the event by awarding a pair of running shoes to the winners of several categories.