Weather forces organizers to turn race into fun run
Chris Hahn, Matt Mulcahy, Greg Turner and Peter Hall at Syracuse's Corporate Challenge.
The fresh cool water burst from the fire hose stretched to the top of the extended ladder of the Liverpool Fire Department. Below runners drenched in sweat immersed themselves in the refreshing spray. Seconds after I crossed the finish line of the Chase Corporate Challenge I sought out that chilled blast of water. I spread my arms, shut my eyes and let it hit me.
I needed every drop to begin to cool down from the intense heat and humidity that forced organizers to alter the run from a competitive road race of 3.5 miles to a two mile fun run. The fire hose spray is also that moment of rich reward that any athlete deserves after giving their all.
Race organizers from both the local level and Chase conferred about a half hour before the scheduled start. They balanced the high levels of combined heat and humidity and made the call to convert to a fun run. Moments later, the announcement was made to the runners and walkers. The runners congregating near the front of the pack were not happy. They wanted the time to count. They had worked and trained to be ready for the day.
One runner even said to me, as he set his watch for the start, he was not going to turn off the competitive switch. He said he's been trying to run faster than people since he raced kids on the playground in kindergarten. I understood. I set my own watch to monitor my time hoping to finish two miles in 15 minutes.
Once off and running this fun run sure felt like the usual race. Runners zipped by. They bobbed in and out of lanes searching for the right pace. About three quarters of a mile into the run I realized the organizers were right about the call to shorten the race. The air was hot and so heavy. Knowing it was only two miles made it much easier to press the pace a bit and keep pushing toward that fire hose at the finish.
A few hundred yards from the end my good friend Greg Turner came up alongside me. My pace had slowed. His had remained steady. We both picked it up together and crossed the line in 15:02, right on time in a non-timed race.
Then it was time for the fire hose spray. Boy, did that hit the spot!
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