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SRRC Race Reports
Race for Hope 5K—Sunday, May 1, 2005
by Alison Gittelman
Sunday, May 1st, 6:30 a.m., Ted and Cindy Comeau's kitchen. Maria: Gosh, these bananas are cold. Alison: Hey, the dog's bringing a toy over; looks like he wants you to play.
So started the morning of the Race for Hope 5K, in which several SRRC members joined team Cindy's Crew and ran or walked the race in support of Cindy Comeau, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor at the end of last year. The kitchen soon filled with Cindy and Ted's family and friends, as well as SRRC members Alison Gittelman, Beth Maier, Jeff Morse, Maria Little, John Winkert, and of course Cindy and Ted. Before we departed, John's oldest son, dressed as a magician, entertained us with a very convincing multiplying-nickel trick. Jeff wanted to see what he could do with a 50 dollar bill but, alas, it was time to depart for Washington, D.C. before all the decent parking spaces were taken. We may be runners, but we don't like to walk too far to get to the start line!
7:45 a.m., Washington, D.C. We arrived in our Nation's capital, relieved that it had finally stopped trying to rain (yeah, we don't like getting wet…or cold) and was only slightly chilly. Team Cindy's Crew converged at the National Theatre, where Maria accosted a kindly-looking but unfortunately for us very shaky old gentleman and asked him to photograph our group. I'm eager to see how those pictures came out, not only because of our photographer's unsteady hand but also because, by the time he took the picture, several of us were in hysterics…
8:30 a.m., Start Line. OK, so some other stuff occurred between 7:45 and
8:30 but I was in the PortaJohn so I missed all that. Anyway, at 8:30 we
were ready to get this ordeal over with. We
watched a parade of survivors walk by wearing yellow shirts and holding
aloft yellow balloons, which was very touching and poignant and reminded us
of why we were standing there. Rather than the
usual (and very annoying) gun blast to set us off, we had a group of kids
screaming GO! It was hilarious. I think it actually took the front runners a
full second to move, because they're so conditioned by the sound of a gun
that their legs didn't register immediately. Ah well, that's the benefit of
the ChampionChip. Yes, we all wore a chip tied to one of our shoes which
registered our starting and finishing times as we ran over a special mat. The
course was interesting enough; we ran around the Capitol and past the
Botanical Gardens, then there was a big loop before the course turned back
on itself, which gave us the pleasure of watching all the greyhounds as they
sped past, but also the enjoyment of seeing those who were behind us. While
I don't normally like out-and-back courses, I think it works in a big race
where there are so many people cheering you on. As each member of Cindy's
Crew finished, we all gathered just before the finish line so we could cheer
on the other members as they completed the race. We all wore white caps with
"CC" emblazoned across the front which really helped us identify our
teammates.
After loading up on post-race food (can you say carboload?), we headed
back to South Riding and the thrill of knowing we had exercised our bodies
and our minds for a very worthy cause. Special
thanks to Ted Comeau for organizing the team, Lisa Lemieuex for making the
caps, and of course Cindy Comeau, whose bravery and determination gave us
not just a reason but a heartfelt desire to
participate in this unforgettable event.
May 2005
The SRRC would love to hear about your running, racing, or crewing experiences! If you would like to submit a race report, to be posted on the SRRC website, please email srrunner@srrunners.org.