Don't say I didn't warn you - there will be occasional blogs about running. And, since it's Sunday, I decided to lighten up a bit . . .
Today was the thirty-sixth running of the Richard S. Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race. I have run the 10K event almost every year since I started running in 1999. I couldn't be there this year - I'm living about three hours south in Glenville, West Virginia, and I couldn't get a dog sitter (long story for another time, perhaps).
The Great Race is known for its long uphill climb from mile four to mile five - it goes up the Boulevard of the Allies out of Oakland to Mercy Hospital (Pittsburghers will get this immediately). The elevation chart doesn't do it justice. There is no shade and the road is concrete. Although the second, third, and fourth miles are rolling hills and the overall elevation of the course is downhill, it's a tough mile. Often, it's hot.
I'm a slow runner, so it's almost always hot by the time i get there. My favorite part of the course is where the hill crests right behind Duquesne University. There are always cheerleaders and band members and other students cheering the runners on, and there's a water stop. From that point, it truly is downhill all the way to the finish line at Point State Park.
Interesting that the expression "downhill all the way" can be used to describe a happy circumstance, at least for runners, or an unhappy circumstance, something like "down the tubes."
I ran over four miles in my tee shirt from last year's Great Race today. Don't know how I would have felt about running past my alma mater.
In other news, as the world's worst transition puts it, "Death of an Adjunct" letters earned The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's "Issue One" position today.
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