View From the Back

The race is called the Snow Joke, but I wasn’t laughing when I finished.

My daughter and I planned to do the Snow Joke race together. This would be the first time we would do a race together, so I was really looking forward to it. We awoke that cold morning at 6:30 AM to a temperature of -20 F. By the time we arrived several hours later to pick up our race packets the temperature was probably -10 F. My daughter had been dealing with some chest pain for the last two weeks, so I was more than concerned for her health if she was going to do the race. She was insistent to at least start and do the first five miles with me and I couldn’t talk her out of it.

I’m guessing it was around 0 F or colder at the start. The race started with a “bang” or should have, but Palin (a look alike masked person) couldn’t get the rifle to fire. That was ok, the clock had started so we started the race only to hear the rifle fire a moment later behind us. Maybe that’s why they call it the Snow Joke! It was humorous.

For the first five miles I was constantly checking how my daughter was feeling. She had some pain but wanted to continue. At the five mile marker her husband was waiting for us in case she decided to stop. She decided to stop at that point, but wanted me to continue on, so I did.

At mile marker 8 both calf muscles started to cramp. Never having to deal with cramping before, I wasn’t sure what to do. So I slowed down my pace to see if that would keep them from going into a full cramp. That seemed to work so I continued on, but I could feel that the calf muscles were hurting and just on the edge of cramping. Although I wasn’t laughing at the end, I sure had a big smile on my face and enjoyed the experience. And that’s how I finished the race.

I’ve learned a lot by participating in different events organized by Run Wild Missoula. The training classes, races, monthly newsletters, and all the RWM members have been great. And let’s not forget Runner’s Edge and all it contributes to making Missoula a great place to live & run/walk. A big “THANK YOU” goes out to all of you!
~Stan Harris