This is Val. I met Val on January 2, 2010, when we both went out on a freezing, windy morning for the first day of this year's Annapolis Striders half-marathon training. On that first run, Val introduced herself and told me her amazing story, which involves losing 89 (!) pounds, beating breast cancer, and taking up running in her 50's. This is a lady who can do pretty much anything.
Val has been my most regular training buddy since January. We made it through the B&A Half Marathon together, and signed up for the MCM on the same day. On top of that, Val decided to take up the challenge of organizing her own race: a 5K to benefit the Arbutus 4th of July parade, which her father puts together ever year. Anyone who has ever organized a race knows that its no small feat, but Val pulled it off in a matter of months. She found sponsors, got shirts made,
had a course measured, and got 105 racers to sign up.
On May 1, I drove up to the Arbutus fire hall for the race. As soon as I arrived, I felt like I was in the final scene of the kind of movie where all of the people from a small town pull together to achieve the impossible. And if this was a movie, Val was the star. Everyone I talked to had a story about how Val had touched their life. I don't have an easy time meeting people, but all I had to do was say Val's name, and I had instant friends.
Val and I both had the goal of finishing the race in under 30 minutes. It was the first time I've ever set a time goal, and it felt attainable. I did a 5K in about 31 minutes in January, and I'm in much better shape now than I was then. I started out confident, but within a few minutes, I got hit with two H's: Heat and Hills. Val had warned me that "nothing in Arbutus is flat" and she wasn't kidding. Between the hills and the near-90 degree temperatures, I was struggling by the end of the first mile.
As we approached that first mile mark, Val and I were toward the back of the running back, with the walkers behind us. All of a sudden, I heard Val say "Oh no!'" and then she started yelling "Turn around! Turn around!" Apparently, the volunteer who was supposed to mark the first turn on the course had abandoned his post. Thus, all of the runners ahead of us (30-40 of them) missed the turn. Ultimately, they ran about 1/2 mile too far before they figured it out.
Val and I turned where we were supposed to, and all of a sudden, we were in a place I've never been before and will probably never be again: the lead. For the next 1/2 mile or so, until the folks who missed the turn caught up, Val and I ran together in 1st and 2nd place. Every spectator we passed knew Val, and they all screamed and waved. Some of them (including Val's husband) went nuts because they thought we were actually winning. I felt like a celebrity.
In the end, Val and I missed our time goal by seconds. I came in at 30:22, and she was just a second after me. At the awards presentation, Val made an announcement about the course mix-up, and everyone took it in stride. Thanks to the small field and the mix-up, Val and I both placed second in our age groups. When Val got her medal (presented by her adorable dad), the crowd literally went wild.
The sub-30 5K can wait. I was happy just to be sidekick to the first lady of Arbutus for the day. Thanks, Val!
GREAT story! Congratulations!
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