4 master

4 was the magic number this weekend, particularly in regards to the master title.

Saturday agenda-united way 5k

I had the chance to race close to home, as the holiday run was held at palmetto bay; a perfect selection under proximity. I passed it up because the best i could get was a medal. They held both a 5k & 10k, & drew over a grand of runners. Under the been there, done that rule, I went up to Hollywood & discovered I was not the only one to avoid the local race. Jon Williams came & won the race, edging out a younger competitor. Jeffrey Tait was 3rd overall! Even Ripley wouldn't believe this but with nearly a minute & a half gap between the kid & I, no one was present. I was 4th & thought for sure I secured the master title. I would have, had it been offered. Therefore, I had to settle for top in age group. The award was like an 8 x 10 photo certificate in an advertisement frame.

Sunday agenda-run for tomorrow

This event offered both a half marathon & a 5k. I chose the latter, as Jon did in the past, to focus on speed. This year, both Jon & Jeff chose the distance & they performed admirably. Jon won the master title & Jeff, his age group with a new PR. As for me, position wise, I managed to match my performance of the previous day. According to the finish clock, likewise, I failed to break 19 again, despite pushing harder. But lo & behold, they committed an error. I, among the others, were docked 30 seconds & that was later reflected in the results; what a relief. How the race played out was interesting. I got to that position near the close of the 1st mile. Amazingly, some young girl was in front of me & I was closing in. All of a sudden, a rabbit jumped in to pace her. She took off while I struggled to keep her in sight. Yep, I got beat but the racing Gods smiled on me. This time, the master title was offered, in fact 3 deep. In addition, they had grand master & senior grand master as well. Both Louis & I overshot our categories. Once again, I did not get a master title this weekend but on this day, that was desirable. I was overall male winner, 3rd place! Louis was so fast that they decided to move him from top grandmaster, which is what he earned & desired, to 3rd master. George won the senior grand master title.

About the title: 4 equals my overall place in both races, while master was the title that eluded me.

Honorable mention

* Lisa Dorfman won the 5k master title at the holiday run
* Jonathan was 2nd overall in the 5k at the holiday run
* Kevin A won the 5k master title at the holiday run in my absence.
* Gene won in the 5k at the holiday run
* Asha won at the holiday run 5k
* Edmundo won the 10k master title at the holiday run
* Kenny C was youngest 10k winner
* Felipe wins age group at the holiday run 10k
* Jeffrey also wins at run 4 tomorrow half
* John G wins 2nd age at run 4 tomorrow 5k
* George wins age at united plus the top senior grand master title at run 4 tomorrow 5k
* Gary S (premier) wins age at run 4 tomorrow half
* My dad won 2nd in the run 4 tomorrow half over another bell

---runners depot----

* Jon W won the united way 5k & top master at run 4 tomorrow
* Anton wins the run 4 tomorrow half
* Joel is runner up at run 4 tomorrow half
* Louis M wins 3rd master at run 4 tomorrow 5k
* Marci wins 3rd master at run 4 tomorrow half