Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Race Results

I thought you might like to see some pictures from the Run to Remember that our son and his friend participated in last Saturday. It was a 5K run along the Chicago lakefront. Any of you who have visited Chicago can attest to how beautiful it is. The morning was simply spectacular and since the race started at 8 a.m. there wasn't much traffic to contend with.

There was a good turnout for the race, over 1,700 people who ran and walked the course.



The starting line was just in front of the police memorial site, directly to the east of Soldier Field.


This is two photos that I've badly stitched together in Photoshop. The old stadium structure is the Roman looking part on the bottom. The stadium was remodeled/updated several years ago. It's probably the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. Evidently the architect simply couldn't come up with a solution so they decided it would be a good idea to just land a new spaceship stadium on top of the old classical design. Ugly.

People ran as individuals or as a team effort. Many of the teams were formed to run in memory of certain officers. Here's one of the teams.



Our guys seemed pretty serious before the race. That's Charlie on the left and our son Evan on the right.



Someone sang the National Anthem. I was ahead of the starting line taking some photos and the Farmer was further back. When I met up with him I mentioned that I was perhaps the only person with their hand over their heart during the anthem. He assured me that was not true - he did also! Is it a generational thing because I didn't see anyone else doing this.

The Chicago Police Department bagpipers piped the runners off the starting line.



Members of the New York City Police Department Running Club made the trip to Chicago to participate. They looked like serious runners.



The announcer told the crowd that only those who ran a 5 minute mile or less should be at the front of the pack. Right at the front was a young man with no legs! He had these high tech prosthetics which is totally amazing to me. My stepfather lost his leg at a time when none of this technology was available.



I especially loved these two team members who grabbed hands just before the finish line so that they could cross together.



Great job!!

Here's our guys immediately after the race, looking happier and more relaxed. They finished in the top 170's out of 1,700. In the last stretch they were able to pass the SWAT team runners and they were happy about that.



After the race there's drinks and snacks for the runners. I've never seen so many bananas in my life.



Chowing down and celebrating.



It's really wonderful to see people get together for a good cause and to remember those men and women who serve.

Thanks for coming along to the city with us. Any runners in your family?

8 comments:

Heidi said...

*gulp* your son is cute...*makes sure Milk Man is NOT looking of shoulder* ha ha :) Really he is a nice looking fella, his friend isnt bad either! What a great thing to participate in and I am glad they passed the SWAT team! It looks like the weather is great there!!!

Jody Blue said...

Sadens my heart when no one puts thier hand over thier heart. What a fun day!

Vee said...

They placed very well! I'm impressed. Course I'm also impressed with the last runner to cross the line because running in a race like that is pretty incredible. Thanks for the photos of Soldier Field. I hadn't seen
"the spaceship" yet. I agree with you. Not very attractive. I don't think that people are taught to place their hands over their hearts when the flag passes by or the anthem is sung. It is too bad. But then, it appears that patriotism is a thing of the past these days. And that's just the sad, hard truth.

Ang. said...

You know, my husband lost his leg in a farm accident 22 years ago. Most people don't even realize he has a prosthesis because of the great technology. It still amazes me to see an amputee run these races! The beating their bodies take is so much more than an able bodied person.

Thanks for sharing! This looks like an amazing day. :)

Bill and Liz said...

Lurker here...leaving very first comment ever! I just couldn't help it! I am a member of the "current" generation (although I'm in the oldest age bracket I think...), and I have always placed my hand over my heart. Something to do with two veteran grandfathers and a brother currently serving?

In my family, I am the runner. In three weeks I will be running the BolderBoulder, a 10K Memorial Day race, in honor of the aforementioned grandpas and brother. Hooray!

Lynn said...

I hear you about acknowledging the flag. In my town, we have a big annual rodeo, kicked off by a wonderful hour-long parade, full of horses, stagecoaches, saloon girls, covered wagons, marching bands, mounted bands, cowgirls, cowboys, and Native Americans. Many of the groups and individuals marching carry the nation's flag, along with the state flag and their association's banner. We are a patriotic bunch here (lots of farmers! and veterans!) and while we don't overdo it, everyone stands for the first flag, and hats come off, and hands are held over our hearts. One year we were seated near a smart-alec young lawyer (from somewhere else, natch) who deliberately remained seated, with his hat on for the flag. I saw about a dozen guys that wanted to knock it off his head---but did they? No, they left him alone. That's pretty much what they had fought for; his freedom to be a jerk.

Chris said...

I'm so glad the weather was good for the race. 170's, great job!

Love the bagpipes!

Chris

Jill said...

My husband runs in as many 5 k races as he can find in our area...

Congrats to your son - his results are awesome!