Members of the Centennial State Pipe and Drum Band were playing one block away from my place. They also kitted the statue of Olympic Gold Medalist Frank Shorter (marathon runner) with a kilt and tam.The first part of the Bolder Boulder race was the Wheelchair Section - the race began at 7 a.m., and I was cheering for the winner when he passed me at the 9K point at 7:20. I kept cheering whenever another participant appeared - and before the last of the Wheelchair racers went by, the First Wave of Citizen runners came by. A man from Kenya came in first, and one from Ghana came in second. I gave a big cheer for the first woman runner to pass by - she's a Scot, and she won. Just before 8 a.m. brother-in-law Jim ran by - I hollered his name and cheered, and he waved and yelled back. A few minutes after 9, sister Kathy ran by; waved and yelled at me, as I was yelling at her.
I have to admit I had a lot of fun. I yelled almost continuously from 7:30 until 11:15, when they moved the citizen race, which had slowed down to a trickle, off the road and onto the opposite sidewalk. This was done to clear the way for the Elite Runners - internationally known road racers, who ran like they were possessed. They knocked several minutes off the current record, finishing the 10K before 30 minutes had passed. I say "they" because it was a group of Ethiopian runners who passed by me in a knot, and then finished up almost simultaneously at the finish line. - Now, here comes the part I have to admit to... I was wearing a pink felt pig hat the whole time. I was the only person cheering the runners on in a 3 block section, and after people finished the race, and were walking around to cool down, they came over and chatted with me, and told me how much it meant that I was there, cheering them on, in the last 1/4 mile before the entrance to the stadium. I now have no voice. I truly will be a dog whisperer tomorrow when I take the red kids out!
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