Sunday, November 26, 2006

The $40.00 5k?

My father-in-law and I were having some wine yesterday and one of my best buddies, my son’s godfather, stopped over for a visit with yet-another bottle.  Anyway, after much of that, we started talking about entering a 5k, which was scheduled to take place today.  For my friend, who isn’t really a runner, this would be his first race, and all runners of every ability want to share the joy of running with anyone they can, so we were pretty pumped to open up the world of running to Frank.

The plan was simply to show up in the morning, sign up and run the race.  As it was a Jingle Bell race, I was a little concerned about how I’d react to the sound of bells throughout the entire 3 miles, but I thought it would be a good first experience for Frank.  We setup a meeting time, we talked about what to wear.  We regaled Frank with our best race stories, our PRs and how we elbowed our way across the finish line (in my case, I had to run past a 9 year old on my 5k PR, and I felt bad about it, but hey, it is a race). 

Then we parted and the waiting began.

About 8:00, Frank called.  He asked me if $40.00 was the usual amount for entering a 5K.  I said “no” and asked why.  He explained that the Jingle Bell race was $40.00, but you get a pancake breakfast.  I explained that pancakes weren’t enough, and even though the race was in support of a good cause, it was simply too expensive for something that lasts less than 30 minutes.  Heck, most marathons are only slightly more in terms of dollars.

So, my first race with Frank has been postponed.  We are currently trying to talk him into Brian’s Run, so maybe we’ll see ya there.  First timers beware:  Brian’s Run is the hilliest 5k in the world as far as I’m concerned.

Maybe we won’t tell Frank that part…