According to the race website, the race is the centerpiece of an 80s-themed weekend in Franklin, including a parade this morning and a party last night featuring a Cyndi Lauper look-alike. Who is Cyndi Lauper, I found myself asking? The name sounds familiar. A Google search tells me that she sang the classic “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” which I seem to dimly remember. Martha and I must have missed the 80s – we moved to Highlands in 1983 and were immediately busy building a family, a home, and careers – but apparently there is some lingering nostalgia for Ms. Lauper on the part of race organizers. “Take a trip back to the 80's for nothin' but a good time for a GREAT cause!” the website suggests. The cause is the Shriners Hospital, to which 100% of the proceeds will be donated, and that sounded like a worthy one to us.
Martha convinced me that it might be fun to run five miles, a race distance we have not completed since 2015. (Girls just like to have fun, after all.) As far as our training plans, it made as much sense to run a five-mile race as to run an eight- or nine-mile long run as we normally do on Saturday morning. This Saturday morning was a little different because we had attended a 10:00 a.m. funeral service for our long-time friend Christy Kelly, who died on July 31, and we have been thinking about her all day. "I’m gong to dedicate this race to Christy,” Martha said. And I readily agreed.
When we arrived at the Greenway, we discovered that the surface seemed to be rough gravel, and we came close to abandoning the race; running on a rough surface would not have been good for either of us just now. But the Race Director assured us most of the Greenway was paved. Thunder rumbled in the background, but the only rain that materialized was a light mist that was cool and refreshing. For a Greenway along a river, though, the course was surprisingly hilly. We both got off to a good start and were quickly glad that we had not abandoned. We found ourselves out in beautiful meadows, and crossed the river several times on bridges. What a beautiful course!
We compared notes later and found that we had both been thinking about Christy during the race, and it had been very empowering. She had fought cancer for twelve years, going into remission several times, until finally succumbing this week. A strong, kind, sometimes feisty woman with an indefatigable sense of humor, she never complained about having cancer. So we did not complain either, climbing hill after hill. We had signed up for this race, after all. Christy had never signed up for cancer.
I realized when I crossed the finish line that the course had not been accurately marked; it was 5.10 miles, not 5.00. So, adjusting for the difference, I completed it in what would have been a 1:00:49, and Martha in 50:09. That was good enough for another First Place for her, and a surprising Third Place for me; I had merely wanted to finish strong.
It was a beautiful evening driving back to Highlands, mist rising in front of the mountains, the light refracted in some peculiar way as we climbed through the Cullasaja Gorge. We were glad that we had used this day well, dedicating it to Christy Kelly, running strong all the way to the finish as Christy had done.
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