Race Report: Animal Orphanage 5k 2011

[I know, this isn't THE EXCITING EVENT that you're eager to read about, but I have to do this in the proper order.  I slapped these photos into a draft post right before we headed off to NH expecting to finish it from the motel room, but when we got there Alan's laptop said "detecting no available networks" so we were wireless-less...until a brief period on Saturday afternoon...but that's for the next post.]

THIS post is about the Animal Orphanage 5K (and pet run) on May 1, 2011, involving all five of us plus Nana and Gumpy.  We gathered at the Old Town YMCA sporting the matching tee-shirts I made.  They have our names on the front...

...and our new logo on the back.  [In case you can't see it in this picture, it says "SOuLE MARKS" and has a shoe print.]

These photos were all taken after the race and we don't have much in the way of "during" shots because we were all IN it so we had no one parked at the finish line to witness.  The official results show this, however:

62  12/28      81 Nancy Marks          42 F                   31:41 10:12
63  14/20      80 Alan Marks            43 M                  31:55 10:17

Yes, folks, it finally happened: I chicked* my husband.  Woo hoo!  He got an early lead while I sort of checked in with the kids at the start and then I spent a long time trying to catch up.  At mile 2 I was just about there and then *gasp!* he stopped to walk!!  I didn't expect that and when I patted him on the back and said "get moving" I thought he'd follow but it just wasn't his race.  I had my best 5k ever and he was disappointed to have backslid from the week before.  I'm sorry for him but I gotta admit, it felt good being the first Marks over the line for a change!  He said he figured it was just a matter of time before I caught up to his pace.  I always figured his long legs would keep me at bay... 

In other dramatic news, James and Madeline earned awards for 1st and 2nd in their respective age groups!  James ran the first 2 miles without stopping (which was his goal) and Madeline ran the first mile and a half (more than her goal) without stopping, and Jeremy ran the whole last tenth of a mile really fast (we wouldn't let him run before that). Nana and Gumpy crossed the finish line as walkers hand in hand.  Go team!!!!  Here, the kids show off their tees, ribbons and smiles back home on the deck:

Everyone had fun and it was a great day for Team SOuLE MARKS!!

*chick (verb), in road racing, when a girl finishes ahead of a guy, often dramatically.  To be chicked is to be beaten by a girl.  Alan is of course accustomed to having lots of women finish before him, but never his wife.  Until now.  he he he