10 Feet Short

Friday was the Kirsten Wolcott Memorial Run. (Also know as the Fitness For Life 5K.) I did not decide to run in the race till that morning when I found out that it would be free for runners who are not in Fitness for Life. After getting off work, I got there right at 3 pm when it was supposed to start and quickly registered. The race started and after the first turn I was the 5th runner. Not to much further I made may way into third. Keeping the leader in my sights this is where I stayed for most of the race. In second was an older guy that I followed right behind. On the down hill I passed him and then not long after, he passed me back. The leader was only 100-200 feet in front of me. Nearing the end, I made my move. In passing the older guy, he told me to catch the leader, I needed to start closing the gap. As the end got closer, so did the gap between me and the leader. From 200 feet to now about 10 feet by the last stretch. That is when the leader also picked up his pace, and by this time I could not sprint any faster. I crossed the finish line in 18:06 only about 10 feet short of the 18 year old winner. It was a little disappointing that I could not catch him at the end, but I congratulated him and the older gentleman that came in 3rd not far behind me. I did get a metal and the satisfaction of placing in the top 3 for the first time in a race. It was also my fastest time on Southern's hilly campus 5k course (by a minute). Running that fast and coming up only 10 feet short, makes me think of a lot of "What if...?" questions. The real purpose for me running in this race was to remember the life of a fellow SM, Kirstin. We both ran this race back in 2007. I wore red, in honor of her favorite color.