|
|
|
A Letter From Dave |
|
|
Dear Mark and other assorted Generics,
I don't know if you remember me or not, as it's been a dozen years since I moved to Montana and haven't been able to run with the group, but recently after a race here I decided to see if any of you guys were still around, and lo and behold! you even had a web site. Although I was surprised to find the group hadn't been arrested for some nefarious act, it sounds like you're all still loose on the community, or at least out on parole (which proves that political connections have their advantages). Montana has certainly agreed with me, but I have to admit the running scene isn't as active as in Cincinnati. Each city generally has one or two traditional races each year. For Helena that means the governor's cup in June with a choice of 5K, 10K, half or full marathon, and a 5K Race for the Cure. Since it is at least 100 miles between major communities that means a lot of driving for a few races. There are some nontraditional races around which are put on by seriously sick individuals. The ones closest to me are the Elkhorn endurance run, of which you have a choice of 100 km (billed as the toughest 100 km in the US) or 50 km, the Bridger trail run (52 km with 12,000 ft elevation gain, and an advisory that snow fields had to be negotiated and that "major painkillers" are a suggested item to bring along, and the temperature may vary from 20 degrees to 80 degrees), of the Mount Helena climb, which is basically a straight street hill climb for 3-1/2 miles, and then the bastards make you run back down again. Some of these races are perfect for brain damaged individuals, and I suspect the generics would do well out here. If anybody is interested in these events there are web sites to some of these races. Fortunately there are plenty of other sports to get involved in. About 6 ears ago I started rock climbing and am a founding member and on the Board of Directors of the Helena Climbing Association. One thing about rock climbers is that they make runners seem relatively normal. I also have gotten into mountain biking. Road biking around here is hazardous as the only paved roads tend to be highways, and although it is legal here to bike on a highway every year some biker gets killed by being blown by the wind into the traffic. The mountain biking, however, is superb, and requires a lot of mental effort and attention. Let's face it, in running you only have to put one foot in front of the other, which is on of the things that attracted me to the sport. (When you get right down to it, you can either fun fast or slow, of long or short, but some runners have written books hundreds of pages long about these simple activity and other runners have BOUGHT these books and even read them. These are not the sharpest knives in the drawer, but you've got to love them.) Mountain biking is very instructive in certain physical laws, to wit: A mountain bike descending at a given speed hitting a sufficiently large rock will decelerate abruptly. The rider will also decelerate abruptly, but not for another two seconds. I have proven this on numerous occasions, and fortunately have escaped without broken bones, which is more than I can say for my bike (which has so far this year has cost me $184 in repairs). I have been informed I need to pay more attention to braking and reducing speed. This is a problem I never have while running. One of the popular sport around here among the young people, which I have not gotten into, is bareback bull riding. These guys are seriously deranged and make runners and even rock climbers look like Nobel prize winner in the intelligence department. Most of them are figuratively brain dead and some of them become literally brain dead. I used to gripe about how far I had to drive to run a 5K race until I heard about a bull rider who said he spent 300 miles in a vehicle for every SECOND he spent on the back of a bull. Well, sorry for being longwinded. I'm still running 4-5 times a week, usually 5-7 miles at a time, and am even slower than I was 12 years ago. I'm glad the group is still together. Say hi to some of the guys and especially Thom Hanser if you see him. I miss running with you guys and the camaraderie afterwards. Dr. Dave Slaughter
|
|
Home
Up
Group Runs All
You Wanted to Know
Remaining
On The Roster Letter
From Egypt |
