A Great Start!

FYI this is NOT a race report…


After spending an entire year not doing any events, starting the year at Coleen’s Fat Ass on January 07 was the way to do it! I did not make the decision until about 6:00 AM Friday and the start time was 7:00 PM. On her Facebook invitation I had originally responded “Maybe” – I wanted to but wasn’t sure.


I have been running trails with my friend Cheri in Liberty but we had not run more than 2.25 miles on a trail. My longest run since surgery had been 5.8 miles and it was on a pretty easy road. Sooo… when Koach sent out his email about our Saturday training run on Thursday, I responded to see if he needed waterstop help. It was a 10 mile route that I was leery of. I know that he would find a different way for me or pick me up somewhere if needed but I really hate to do that. If I can’t run the route I don’t like being dependent on him to pick me. That’s not fair to someone who might really need his help. In my email I said I’d just run my scheduled 6 miles on Sunday after Mass if he needed help. But as I sent the email, I made plans to call him and ask about doing two 3.2 mile loops at the Fat Ass. I had all my points lined up… I was already scheduled for 6… I would walk the hills… it’s not a technical course – cross country teams run them. So when I talked to Koach Friday morning on my way to school I explained what I wanted to do. He said “Yes” he could use the help and was ok with doing the event. I was excited ALL day! The kids in my classes even asked what was up!


I changed my Facebook invitation to say I would be there and shortly thereafter got a message from Coleen saying to expect I big hug! I have not run with Coleen since before she ran Leadville 100 in August 2009. She and a small group of girls (eventually some guys) would run the hill on Ogg Road in Shawnee Mission Park. It’s a great hill for training! Anyway, she did Leadville then went to Australia for a number of weeks (6ish maybe?) to visit family. By the time Coleen returned I was done running for 2009 (I was in a boot) and 2010 was all about PT, surgery, recovery and a slow buildup.


As a matter of fact, I hadn’t run any trails since September 2009. I hadn’t seen many of my trail friends throughout that time. Cheri runs with RIT on Saturday’s and we do other things together every now and again… we were running trails once a week at the end of 2010. But all the others… my only contact was Facebook. That’s just how life works…


Anyway… I was very excited to see so many people. Since this is a Fat Ass event there really is no support. There is no timer which is what I needed. I just wanted to run without concern for speed. I could walk when I needed to. This helped make it a perfect re-entry into doing events.


They did have Heed and water but there is no swag, no awards, etc. I told Coleen I’d bring Roasted Pumpkin Soup (it’s a vegan soup). I dashed home from school and began the soup. I added some roasted butternut squash also. It was perfect! As the soup simmered, I got all my running gear together… WOW when you don’t run often it’s amazing how things sometimes get scattered! I found all that I needed, put the soup in a crockpot and headed to Olathe Prairie Center.


When I arrived at the Prairie Center, I was greeted by cheers and hugs. I met several people who I had only known by name. It was great to see many others… Debbie, Julie, Gary…


The best part about the trail/ultra runner community is that no matter what our other differences and no matter how long it’s been everyone is glad to see you. They are also they best support system a person could ask for. No one cared that I was hoping to complete just 2 loops. Nor did they care that I intended to walk part of it. Those that “lapped” me were encouraging as they went by. When I finished people congratulated me for what I had done. I wanted to do more but knew better than to push it. (I actually think I would have been fine since I was walking the hills and whenever else I needed.) I stayed to see some of my friends finish their mileage and to chat for a little while.

It was a great start to a new year... as another runner friend said once "a success story waiting to happen."