I wonder if we runners don't sometimes take our sport just a little too seriously. I know we've put in the miles on the road, we've put in the hours in the gym, we've sent in our entry fee, we've eaten just the right food for dinner last night, we got up extra early this morning to make sure we were at the race in plenty of time, then we get to the race and something goes wrong. That happened this morning.

The Brooklet Peanut Festival 5K turned into a 3.7K race this morning. For some reason, the runners missed a turn and we lost a little over 3/4 mile. NOTE: I'm glad that we didn't miss any turns that would have ADDED 1/2 mile!!! I suspected that something was amiss at the 2 mile mark. I set my usual blistering pace at the start. I hit the 1 mile mark in 9:26, right on pace. Then we reached the 2 mile mark in 13:17. Curses I thought, I didn't mean to throw in a 3:51 mile now...that was going to be my last mile. Needless to say, the second mile was just a little short. Anyway, everyone ran exactly the same distance. There were no questions about places or awards. Race director, John Burgess, felt really bad about the wrong turn and immediately apologized for the error. Even so, I was a little disappointed that some of the runners were a little less than kind about the situation. (Not Millen Milers I'm happy to say.)

HEY, IT HAPPENS, GET OVER IT!!! This was not the Olympics or the World Series or the Super Bowl. We didn't miss a chance to be on Sports Center or the 11 o'clock news. THIS WAS ONLY A FUN EVENT ON SATURDAY MORNING. We can all do this again next Saturday if we want to. You can find a 5K road race any week-end. The Peanut Festival benefits the boys and girls cross country teams at Southeast Bulloch High School in Brooklet. In case you didn't know...the Lady Jackets of Coach John Frazier are the defending Class AA State Champions. John Burgess was more than gracious in his apology and he encouraged all runners to come back next year. He didn't dodge or bob or weave...he said he was sorry and he promised do his best to make sure that this doesn't happen again. I AGREE!!! Now I've been to enough races to understand that the buck stops with the race director, but in this case, there was absolutely nothing John could do about the mix-up. I sincerely hope that all of us will continue to support this race because it is for a very worthy cause. I even asked John this morning if he had next year's entry forms ready...hey, this is the fastest 5K I've had since 1992...I was ready to sign up on the spot. I WILL be back for the Third Annual Peanut Festival 5K...I guarantee it! It takes many hours of work to put on a race of this magnitude. There are dozens volunteers who put in long hours to make the race a success. SOMEBODY DROPPED THE BALL TODAY, BUT THE SUN WILL STILL COME UP IN THE MORNING!! I trust all the runners in today's race will be more than just a little understanding and we'll make the 2003 race a roaring success. John, his sponsors, and the boys and girls who are just beginning to enjoy one of the most rewarding sports in our land, running, deserve another chance. I'm willing to give it to them...I hope you are too. See You Next October in Brooklet!!

See Ya, Ray