First Run of 2019

For the past sixteen years, it has been a tradition in Highlands to run the New Year's Annual Resolution Run on January 1.  I still have all of the photos for those years, and it is a little sobering to review the earlier ones; they include runners who are no longer with us, like my good friend Richard Tankersley who took me under his wing in my very first marathon in 1999, friends who have moved away, runners who have become so injured they cannot run anymore.  Gosh, we looked young back then!  Most years, we are bundled up in warm clothes, and some years we had to bring out the rain gear.  Last year's run was the coldest I remember -10 degrees - and there was so much ice on Fifth Street that we 17 foolish runners waddled up to Main Street (where more salt had been applied) and ran a half-mile or so, back and forth on the completely deserted street.

Note that Fred (lower right), 80 years old next month and the oldest runner in the group, braved these conditions in shorts.

Martha had the idea this year of changing the starting time from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., hoping that one hour would raise the temperature a merciful degree or two.  We were surprised to find record-breaking temperatures this morning - 50 degrees - and the overnight rain had also dissipated.  The combination of these two factors brought out some 53 runners (plus at least three who did not make it to the starting time at 10:00 a.m. but caught up later) - three times as many as last year and a record for all time.  And many of us wore shorts.

What an enjoyable way to start off a New Year!  Some of us had not seen each other since last year.  I asked the traditional question in a loud voice - "Are we going to run, or are we going to talk about it?" - and started off up the hill on Fifth Street, to be quickly passed by faster runners.  When I reached the one-mile mark, I turned back as I normally do and spoke to all of the slower runners and the many walkers who were bringing up the rear ("Oh, this is a much more sensible pace back here," I would say), wishing them a Happy New Year and thanking them for coming out.  I met some new runners, and so did Martha, who might have been encouraged to come back for a Saturday group run.  And in the last mile, Karen and I ran with Faviola and her 11-year-old daughter, who had never run that far before.  I ended up doing a couple of extra miles, completing five in all, and Martha completed six. 

So that's how we runners start a New Year in Highlands, no matter what the weather conditions:  a few companionable miles (or perhaps even a heroic half-mile) to break in the new running log, enjoying the camaraderie of other runners, encouraging new runners, and looking forward to many more runs in 2019.