5k for Saint Paddy

Achilles 8th Annual St.Patrick's Day Run.

When I left the house this morning, I had no particular destination in mind. I was glad to come across this wheel/run/walk down by the lake. When I arrived about 15 minutes pre-race, the excitement was starting to build. The runners were getting tense and bouncy, like dogs approaching the off-leash park.

The wheelchair athlete seen in these photos was amazing to watch. She was really out there alone, which was probably less exciting for her then if there were other athletes in her segment. I'm trying hard to get her name - sent emails and doing searches. No luck so far.

2048, Francis Coral-Mellon, came in first. He's the guy with the neon orange gloves. He really poured on the power at the finish. If you look, he's on the right side of the frame in picture 9, which was taken in the first few seconds of the race. My impression of him is that he runs his races all alone as well, inside himself, focused.

Older runners are hot, IMHO.

In the last second of the race, 228, Darren Weldrick, passed 1194 Ian Young to take second place. What a burst of fierce energy! You can see him in black, setting himself for that final explosion of strength.

Paul Osland, 2013 ran with style and finished 4th - first in his age category (40 to 49).

Interesting to me: The winning runner was in the 19 and under catagory. Second place was 30-39, third was 20-29, and fourth was 40-49. Age doesn't make so much difference in this sport.

Jennifer Faraone, 770, was the fastest woman. There she is in the last shot of the series.