I've known Burt Carter for just over six years. Burt is the technology guru for our school system. When it comes to computers, Burt is one of the very best I've ever seen. If I was having dinner with Bill Gates and could invite one guest to sit near me.......it would be Burt. As a computer whiz, I feel fairly comfortable telling you that Burt is a very meticulous young man. He does nothing half-heartedly. So when he took up running, he took it very seriously. Burt played soccer in high school.....so I guess that qualifies him as a bit of an athlete. (Sorry Burt!)

About a month ago, Burt and I started talking about running. Burt was trying to lose some weight, and he embarked on a running program to help with the process. Occasionally I would ask him how it was going, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that he was running about 4 miles a day - three or four days a week. One day we were talking and Burt said that he would like to go out to Magnolia Springs and run our three mile trail. During the conversation, I mentioned that we were having a 5K Road Race in Millen in a few weeks. Super Eagle Day would be a great opportunity to gauge how his training was coming.

Our 5K is a relatively small race, and I was pretty sure that Burt could pick up some hardware in the bargain. We agreed to go out to Magnolia Springs on Friday afternoon.

Friday, February 29, 2008

The weather was very mild for the end of February. As a matter of fact, I had my top down on my mustang and I was going to run in shorts and a long sleeved t-shirt. I picked Burt up at the school. Burt walked around the corner of his truck dressed like we were accompanying Hillary up Mt. Everest. He had on a running suit, over the running suit he had a sweatshirt, over the sweatshirt he had a short sleeved t-shirt. "Hey dude, you might be just a bit overdressed," I commented. Burt, unfazed, said something about being too warm rather than too cold as he pulled on his ski cap.

I mentioned that Magnolia Springs was only about 6 miles north of Millen...not 600 miles north of Millen. Burt chuckled and we were off.

After we arrived at Magnolia Springs, I explained the course to Burt. Now remember, this guy is a computer genius, so I was sure he could follow a trail marked with blue blazes on the trees and with most of the roots still painted orange from last fall's cross country races.

Mistake number one!

Burt told me that he had been running about 9 or 10 minutes per mile. I was going to run a little over 10 minutes per mile. I suggested that we run the first mile together, and then he should pick it up for the last two miles. We ran the first mile in just under 10 minutes......I knew that was too rich for my blood.

I was about to send Burt on his way when I felt a twinge in my stomach. Ops! RR stop immediately!

Burt went on his way and I took care of a little business. Since this was Burt's first outing with me, I really didn't want him to beat me too badly. At about the 1 1/2 mile mark, there is a side trail that leads down to the group camp. I guessed that this side trail would put me about 3 minutes ahead of Burt at the lake. When I arrived at the lake, there was a group of campers near the little pier. I asked if they had seen a guy in a blue running suit come by; they had not. I was about to set the trap. "In about 3 or 4 minutes, a guy is going to come across that bridge; his name is Burt. If you don't mind, just tell him that some old guy came running by and said that he was tired of waiting on you." Now that's funny.

I ran past the cabins and down the Woodpecker Trail to the springs. When I got to the springs, I walked along the stream and waited for Burt. Ten minutes, 12 minutes, 15 minutes passed...still no Burt. Now there is no way he could have gotten lost...is there?

I was about to back track and look for him when I saw him walking across the park. I asked where he had been? He explained that he got to the lake and turned around to look for me. (So much for setting him up with the campers.)

I explained my little prank to Burt, but it just didn't seem as funny now, especially since he had run over 4 miles by going back to look for me.

"Man Burt, I guess I should feel bad for leaving you....but I feel worse that you screwed up my joke."

Monday, March 3, 2008.

I got an email this morning from Burt telling me that he had "streamlined" his look for the race. I didn't get a chance to talk to him today, but I'll find him in the morning.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

I ran into Burt this morning and he was sporting a buzz cut. "I know that should take about 3 more minutes off of your 5K time," I told him. I wonder if I should tell him that research shows that if he shaved his chest and his legs he could reduce his mile time by about 15 seconds? Maybe I'd better save that one.

I stopped by to see Burt at lunch and got his entry form and his check. He's really hooked on our race Saturday. He and I looked at last year's results. Burt was shooting for 9 minutes a mile, or around 28 minutes. From what I saw on Friday, I think Burt can run around 24 or 25 minutes. I pointed out a couple of runners that Burt should try to stay with, rabbits to help him get in around 25 minutes.

As I was leaving, Burt mentioned that he and his brother were talking about a 10K or a marathon. Man, this guy hasn't even finished a 5K and he's talking marathons, what a.......but wait a minute. I thought back to March 1978 and my first race.....it was the Savannah Marathon. I didn't run any 5K's or 10K's; I jumped right into a marathon. So I said we'd talk about that later. But inside I was smiling.......it doesn't hurt for Burt to dream.......just like I did back in 1978.

Oh yeah, he's hooked.

Burt called me tonight after his run. He is having trouble with one of his quadriceps. Burt has not heard my story about Joyce Hodges from about 28 years ago. Joyce had just started running and she was having some problems with her hip. One morning at school, Joyce stopped and asked what she should about the pain in her hip. "Sometimes we just have to run though some pain," was my advice. About two days later someone told me that Joyce was in the hospital in a body cast. It seems that she had a stress fracture in her hip and instead of resting it.....she continued to run. So now if anyone asks me any questions concerning injuries.......my answer is always rest. But I'll tell Burt that story next week after Super Eagle Day! True to my word, after we talked for a few minutes, I advised him to rest his legs until Saturday morning. (I hated to tell him that there are no refunds for Super Eagle Day. That $15.00 belongs to us now, big guy!!!!!)

Thursday, March 6, 2008.

I saw Burt for a few minutes at lunch. He's still a little concerned about his leg, but he's also looking forward to Saturday.

Friday, March 7, 2008.

It flooded all morning. The temperature dropped to about 40 degrees. Not the kind of weather I was hoping to see for Super Eagle Day. I met Sanders and Waters at the school at 3:30 to go over the race course with them. As I was talking to them, Burt and Jake came out of the school. They stopped by, and we discussed the course again with Burt. Jake talked about coming out to the race but would not commit to racing. Less than 18 hours to go.

Saturday, March 8, 2008 - Race Day!

I was up just before six to begin getting everything set up for the race. It was cold and windy....very windy. Runners don't mind the cold so much, but we're not fond of the wind. This was not going to be a good racing day.

I saw Burt for a few minutes before the race. I introduced him to Rick Umpleby. Rick usually runs around 24 or 25 minutes, and I figured Burt could stay close to Rick until the last mile and then go for a better time if he felt like it.

The race started and I was in the police car leading the race, so I kind of lost track of Burt. After the race I saw Burt and asked how the race went. He was beaming, "23:08," he said. I could tell he was really pleased with his time. He was even more pleased to find out that he was getting the first place trophy in his age group. He beat the 2nd place guy by almost six minutes. Great race.

We had to clean up, and Burt had to leave to take his son to a soccer match. I'll just see him at school Monday. I did try to call him Saturday afternoon, but he was out.

Monday, March 10, 2008.

I was at the end of "A" wing when Burt drove up. He got out of his truck and saw me coming to meet him, and he was beaming. It was cold, so I invited Burt into my room to rehash his race. The first thing he said was something about taking nine seconds off his time; that would have put him under 23 minutes. I listened as he described his first mile. His split was seven minutes. There are a couple of hills after the 1 mile mark which slowed him a bit. His second split was 7:20. After the 2 mile mark the wind was really in the runner's faces. Burt remembers that stretch very well. He said the finish was great, but he really wished he had pushed the pace just a bit. Getting under 23 would have been nice.

We continued to talk about running for the next 15 minutes. We talked about track work-outs, intervals and building up his base mileage. I think he might be hooked.

As I listened to him recount his first race, I started thinking back to 1978 when Jim Hite, Wallace Salter, Kenan Kern and I were about the only runners in Statesboro. We would get up and drive for hours to find a 10K Road Race. We got excited about the prospect of a PR at the next race. I remember getting my first pair of Nike waffle trainers (shoes designed especially for running) and my first "The Runner's Log" by Jim Fix. I remember the four of us going to Atlanta for the 1978 Peachtree Road Race. Back then, the Peachtree was a friendly little gathering of about 13,000 runners. I've lost some of my excitement for running. My PR's are all turning into PW's (personal worst), and it doesn't seem to bother me anymore. Or it didn't bother me until now! When Burt left this morning, I found myself getting more excited about running. For those of us who have been running for a while, it's difficult not to get into a rut. But seeing Burt's excitement the last couple of weeks has given me a new energy and really renewed my interest in running.

I'm not sure I'll ever be able to race with Burt, but I promise that I'll be a better runner in six months than I am now. You can bet on that!

By the way, I got an email from Burt this afternoon asking about the Vidalia Onion Run in April. Yes......I think it's safe to say that he's hooked. And thanks to Burt.......I think I'm hooked again too.

See Ya,