I would like to take a moment on behalf of myself and the D5K to congratulate all of our D5k’rs who took part in the this years Disney Marathon in Florida. For those of you not familiar wit this event it breaks down like this. There is a 13.1 mile half marathon, a 26.2 mile full marathon, and if you can believe it a 39.3 mile “Goofy Challenge” A combination of both the half and full marathon. I am proud to say that the D5K had runners participating in all 3 of these of these run options.

Now…here’s where the hook comes in. When you think of Florida, one might assume your mind conjures up images of sunshine, beaches, warm weather, and of course…old people. This year however other than the old people NONE of those Florida Postcard images were present. Quite the opposite in fact. This years runners were not only competing against the clock and personal goals. They had to compete against mother nature herself. Walt Disney himself could have cast a better evil queen for this event. From the information that I received the temperatures for the event hovered in the mid 20’s! “That’s Fahrenheit, not Celsius” Rain, Wind, and even Sleet were all extra foes to be added to the already formidable event.

Did you know water freezes at 32 degrees? This fact was brutally apparent at any of the water stops along the course. “Ice skating rinks” are how they were described to me. “Water to cold to drink” and “Powerade Slush” were a few other descriptions that created a vivid picture in my mind.

Now for the sunshine. All of the D5K runners who set out on this testing challenge finished, and I believe finished well. For some it was there first marathon, others there first half marathon, mix in a few veterans to both the Marathon and Goofy Challenge and you have a family of runners whose belief and support in each other prove greater than the adverse conditions that were placed in front of them.

So on behalf of myself and the D5K, I would like to congratulate you and all the runners on an accomplishment well earned.

Official Results: Click Here

Has it really been 2 years? So if we do some general math (just to get a rough estimate) 52 weeks a year times 2 years = 104 weeks. (YAY, we’re so smart) So we have had 104 D5K’s. Lets say the average for each week was 40 runners. That gives us a total of 124 miles ran each week. So to date, “WE” everyone who has run the D5K, have managed to rack up in the neighborhood of 13,000 miles in 2 years. (Not too shabby) That’s enough miles to run back and forth across the country twice. “RUN Forest RUN” So if we take our little fun math project a little further and say that the average “per mile” pace looked something like 9 minutes, then that equals like 117,000 minutes, or 1,950 hours, or 81 days, or 11 and half weeks, or around 3 months, of straight non-stop running. “How you like them apples?”

Now for the fun math. If each runner averaged 2 beers per week. “Huh…lets be honest shall we?” Ok, so lets say each runner averaged “4″ beers per week, that would give us in the ball park of 16,640 beers consumed since the inception of the D5K. Which basically equates to 2 beers per mile, or 693 cases, or 2,773 six packs. Or…if you feel like getting crazy if you average out 16,640 beers at 12oz.s a beer, that gives you close to 200,000 ounces of beer, or 1,563 gallons of beer. Not too shabby.

Alright enough with the math…on to the mushy stuff. I had know idea that the D5K would grow to become what it has, I find it pretty amazing. I can only attribute its growth and life to YOU…and by you, I mean if you’re reading this, than yah you! You who shows up each week rain or shine, and you run, you show up each week and you laugh, you show up each week and you support. So for that I Thank You. We have an amazing group of people who show up every week, if variety is the spice of life, then the D5K kicks Salts ass. Anticipation, is a word I think fits very well for me in my thoughts about the D5K. I anticipate Wednesday’s, I anticipate the D5K, I anticipate interacting with all of you, I anticipate PR’s and first time runners, I anticipate hearing what races happened over the weekend, and which ones are to come, I anticipate the look on the peoples faces at the food pantry when I lug in 6 huge bags of food, and there like “H…S…!” These are the things I look forward too, these are the things that YOU make happen, and for that I thank you. Thank you for 2 years of “REAL” and “GENUINE” and “THURSDAY HANGOVERS”

That’s all I got…thanks.

What a great Wednesday night run this turned out to be. I never really know what to expect each week, and I guess that’s one of the things I like about the D5K. You just never know who’s going to show up what’s going to happen. For example, I was not expecting 53 runners to be at my doorstep ready to rock and roll. Most people drove here, some ran to the run “which in itself is funny” and I know at least three people rode bikes. Regardless of how you ended up here, I am just glad you did.

Of the 53 runners, 6 were first time runners to the D5K. To you, I say welcome, and I hope you enjoyed the show. Also we had 5 D5k regulars lay down some fast times setting Personal Records for themselves on our course. The top ten was filled with the usual suspects, with Pak coming in first for the dudes, and Crystal coming in first for the Cuties. Although in looking back in the results that I had previously posted, I seem to have put the “First Female” tag in the wrong spot. Sorry Tom, don’t beat me up, but I am too lazy to go change it.

I hope you all saw my previous post about what a great job you all did in donating food to the food bank. Once again I thank you all for your continued generosity.

For those of you that hung out for a while after the run, I am sure you will agree that we were treated to some good laughs and some good edibles from one Mr.Pak. Homemade on the spot bread, and an interesting game of skill that is way better if you win than if you lose. “Trust me…just ask Frank” For those of you who haven’t experienced Pak’s game, or more importantly his bread, I will hold back trying to describe either of them, for they truly need to be experienced for ones self.

See you all next Wednesday.

Six…seven…at tops TEN. “question” How many runners I expect to show up on this rainy Wednesday night. “Actual answer” Twenty. Twenty runners who refused to be deterred by a few measly rain drops, and slippery covered roads covered with leaves. I suppose somewhere nestled in conditions like this, lies the challenge and excitement of the run.

Though it was not a night for PR’s, we did manage to attract one new runner this week. Who traveled all the way from Chesnut Hill to take the D5K for a spin. It was a pretty good time based on the feedback that I received from her. Thanks for stopping by Lindsay.

As for the rest of te 29, it was business as usual, Pak, and Annie came in first “shocker” and the rest of the field came in at there own respective times. By the looks of it to me the highlight of the night was the “spread” waiting for the runners at the end of the course. A good variety of food, and a nice blend of beer awaited all our damp dazzlers. The only thing that could have topped of the night would have been some more of Pak’s homemade bread. Unfortunately in his rushh to get over here for our prompt start he forgot to bring the pan insert for his bread maker. Which I guess is a key ingredient in making the whole thing work. So alas our tastebuds will just have to wait till next time.

Have a great week all.

The D5K…Oh how sweet it is. We gave host to 46 runners this week. All of whom seemed to be drinking the Kool-Aid. We are by no means a “CULT” but I would say that we have a certain level of devoted followers. The first rule of “Run Club” is…”You do not talk about Run Club” and the second rule is…well you know the rest. If not, email my buddy Tyler Durden, and he will fill you in.

With days creeping ever so closer to November, nice weather seems to be something of the past. Not the case for this Wednesday, it was beautiful out, and the warmth was nice enough to hang around for a while after the sun called it a day. The temp. was perfect for a run, and run we did! All 46 out, all 46 back. There were not that many P.R.s tonight, only one that I am aware of. It seemed like one of those nights that everyone just wanted to enjoy the run and the weather for as long as they could. Granted Junyung Pak only enjoyed it for 19 minutes 17 seconds, still for him, that’s kind of taking it easy, as annoying as that sounds for me to write. We did however have quite a few new faces lining up around the punch bowl tonight. 9 first time runners as a matter of fact. All of whom seemed to have at the very least had the hint of a smile on there faces at the finish of the run. As for you 2 or 3 lappers out there, I may have to set up a special course just for you guys. Apparently I am not working you hard enough.

Enjoy whatever it is that gives you enjoyment, “other than giving me a hard time” and we will see you next Wednesday.

For all of you who couldn’t hang out to long after the run this week. You REALLY missed out on a special treat. “Someone” brought a bread maker with them and treated all who were remaining to fresh homemade bread. It was really something to experience. It definately put a smile on alot of our faces. I only wish the picture was Scratch n’ Sniff.