Rex Lee Run with the Family

this was my fifth year running in the Rex Lee Run 5k. the run is sponsored by an on campus cancer research group, in honor of a former president of BYU who was president when i started college. this year, i got members of my family to run too. we don't really have a connection to cancer, but the Rex Lee Run has all kinds of runners of all ages and abilities. no one will look at you funny if you're not a record breaking runner. supporting a good cause is probably a big reason for the mix of runners. i always seem to run in to a few people who have since left Utah Valley, but make it back for the race.

The race results have been posted, but i'll try and make things easier for you all. i've collected a few of the stats for you, so you won't have to go and dig for all of the info. but i'm sure that at least some of you might like to check your age group just to see your name posted online.

Laura observed that the race day weather was the best she's seen for the rexleerun. one of the years Laura and i ran the race included a little bit of rain, a wet finish line and too much wind. this year, the race was on a great day; just cool enough to run and plenty of sun. with nine of us showing up for the race (Jonah is the ninth and should get SOME credit for his good behaviour on race day), six of the eight runners posted their BEST TIME EVER. (this is one of the great characteristics of your first official race - a guaranteed personal record.)

Jonah was the first to cross the finish line with Justin quickly in tow. Justin posted an excellent time of 34:30.72, which included time to feed Jonah some snacks on they way up the opening hill in the race. apparently the Ochre training program and long legs both combined for a great time. even if Justin hadn't had a stroller, 34:30 is a great time for a first time 5k.

next in line to cross the finish line were the Peterson's, Laura and i coming in just after the 40minute mark. the Peterson's definitely have plenty to be proud of. Rebecca and i were running well together for the whole race, only walking occasionally. "¿can we run to the light?... the next corner?" etc. was always followed by a response of "that's not far" from Rebecca. Laura made a great effort to catch up to Rebecca and i just before the mile 2 marker and we were all right together as we finished the last legs of the race.

the race ends with one lap on the outdoor track to the finish line. i looked back to see what i could do to spur Rebecca on to the finish and caught quite a sight. Katie and holly were catching up with Laura, Rebecca and i and by the look on their faces they were quite pleased with their extraordinary accomplishment. i wasn't expecting to see them so close behind, and i think that Holly and Katie knew they were about to pull off their own victories. Katie was smiling as she whipped around the corner and past everyone and across the finish line. i was sure that i could still see the smile on her face from the back of her head, as her little legs sped in a whir across the finish line. holly, Rebecca and i with Laura in step behind were soon to follow Katie's lead. apparently holly and Katie are quite the team to contend with. Katie definitely had a spark inside her for the whole race and she and holly kept making little deals with each other to the tune of "let's run past 5 more cones" or "run to the next corner" which combined for a great time for both.

not far behind at the 43min mark came mom and pop. adding to the great scores so far, mom came in at 43:14.41 AND in SECOND PLACE in her age group. the first place for the women 60 to 69 came in close to 39:30 and i think that mom has intentions to keep training to see if she can change that silver to gold next year. hopefully we can get at least as many people out for next year's race.

here are the official results.

Name	Time	Overall Place	Men/Women	Age Group
Justin	34:30.7	1168/1548	516/593	112th
Rebecca	40:08.5	1391/1548	830/954	13th
Dave	40:09.7	1392/1548	562/593	30th
Holly	40:09.8	1393/1548	831/954	35th
Katie	40:09.9	1394/1548	832/954	14th
Laura	40:16.4	1399/1548	837/954	36th
Joan	43:14.4	1453/1548	881/954	*!* 2nd *!*
Weldon	43:14.7	1454/1548	573/593	4th

if you're a little confused how rebecca and i beat katie and holly in our times, it's because of the electronic race timers. there's an electronic marker at the beginning of the race that registers the computer chip strapped to your ankle which is followed by corresponding markers at the end of the race. katie and holly crossed the finish line first, but they also crossed the starting line before rebecca and i, giving the difference of a few seconds added to their time.

you can go to http://rexleerun.byu.edu/ to look at the race results for yourself.