Davy Crockett Bear Chase Race Report

A couple of quick, short updates:

1.) I'm waiting on RD Paul Stone to post the results of Hog's Hunt 50K/25K before officially writing our "Battling Bloggers" updates for last weekend and this weekend. (And I haven't seen the Blue Bell 10K results yet either.)
2.) I really wanted to go out to Phoenix (or Tempe actually) today for Ironman Arizona, but Saturday's sunburn and all of the logistics - at 37,500 frequent flyer miles (instead of 25,000) - just were too much. Go Bill and Dana-Sue! I wish I could have been there to cheer you on for the first one!
3.) I got a note from Dalton Pulsipher that the Houston Marathon Veterans project is coming along nicely. At some time in the future, you'll be able to go to a web site and pull data from all Chevron Houston Marathon finishes. Pretty exciting stuff.

If you weren't at or part of the Davy Crockett Bear Chase Marathon in Groveton on Saturday, I think you may have missed some historic stuff.

If you're a native of these parts, when you think of marathons: Groveton is NOT the first place that comes to mind. However, you are kind of in the middle of nowhere in as much that you no longer focus on the cares of the world -- and actually focus more on enjoying the experience. (And Saturday's weather certainly didn't hurt things either.)

I signed up for public address announcing duties awhile back for a number of reasons. They include:

1.) I enjoy working an event with Steve and Paula Boone of Humble (They are two of the most nice people that you would ever want to meet. If you've never done four loops in Kingwood on New Year's Day, there isn't a better way to spend the first day of the year -- well, Penn State playing and beating Notre Dame might be better.)

2.) I met Cindy Jones at the Texas Marathon on January 1, 2007 as she was there to approach Steve and Paula about putting on a marathon in Groveton, and I got to know her and get excited about her vision (which even the locals in Groveton didn't think she could pull off.)

3.) I really needed to put a major running event on my public address announcing resume and this was a chance to make sure that I could do what I thought I could. (It's one thing to think that other people can do it better, and another to actually go out and do it.)

Here's my philosophy on public address announcing duties: "The job is to inform event participants and spectators of vital information that they need to be aware of and not be a cheerleader - unless the situation truly calls for it - nor bring attention to oneself."

I believe on Saturday that I accomplished those goals and tasks.

I wanted people to be able to walk away from the event and be excited that they heard their name called when they crossed the finish line -- and we stayed until Cynthia Leon, a 61-year-old women from Mission, Texas did so seven (7) hours after she started at 7 a.m.

I also got the opportunity to interview the two marathon winners -- Coppell's Dave Emerson and San Antonio's Annemarie Walker -- on the track about their wins. (Annemarie hit a home run - besides winning - in praising the marathon volunteers out on the course during our interview.) I hope the people that were there walked away with the thought process of: "Wow! That was cool to see. You never see that at a big marathon!"

And that's the whole charm of a race like the Davy Crockett Bear Chase, it is about what it should be: people.

It is one thing to be Houston and say that you want to create a positive race experience for 18,000 people, and they - for the most part - do a very good job in doing so; however, events like this - at the half marathon and marathon distance - allow you to get a little closer to the human core because there isn't a throng of people to hide in (or just be a number).

Waverly and I left Spring at about 3:45 a.m. on Saturday as I forgot that you could get to Groveton from Trinity, as opposed to Crockett. So we were in Groveton a little bit before 5:30 a.m. I had the chance to explain to Waverly how I used to go cover high school football games in the late 1980s. I was never one to get directions to the stadiums that I needed to get to. Why? Because I figured that it would be pretty clear as to where the stadium lights were.

And on Saturday morning, this was to be the case in Groveton -- the home of the 1984, 1989 and 1990 UIL 2A state football champions.

We both helped Paula get set up and handled a lot of walk-up pre-registrations by getting runners their bib numbers and t-shirts. Like hospital admitting, packet pick-up is the first place where you really get an opportunity to make sure that you leave a good first impression of the race's organization to your customer. And I try to make sure that I genuinely thank the runner for being there.

At about 6:25 a.m., I transitioned to the press box to begin public address announcing duties. Immediately, I felt bad about people that were wanting to sleep in because I could hear my voice echoing across town. Sooner than later though, we had a more portable public address announcing setup for one of the local Radio Shack stores that was down on the track. Still my voice could be heard far enough away that it needed to be heard.

We had greetings from the state representative, the mayor of Groveton, the county judge, the U.S. Forest Service park ranger, race instructions from Paula Boone, an invocation ... but we missed the National Anthem. I was told that they had this covered, but the person didn't show. Paula ran down to see if Waverly would do it, but she declined. (Sometime, this can be a daunting task for a 12-year-old, but I'll keep encouraging Waverly to do so - and try to create opportunities for her.)

The marathoners and half marathoners were off at 7 a.m., but the fun was soon to begin.

We had the 5K runners to get off at 7:30 a.m. and Possum Walk at 8 a.m. The latter was a 1.2-mile Kids run/walk that actually took place on a street called "Possum Walk" in Groveton.

The fun came in that the race didn't have quite the number of volunteers that were needed -- and people were pressed in to duy of doing manual timing. (If I weren't doing P.A. duties, I could have handled this with no problem from my RTW experiences -- and besides, is there anybody that thinks that a race result is more hallowed than me?)

The 5K leaders also turned the wrong way on the course - supposedly going 3.62 miles (according to the second place finisher). I have no idea, but people didn't seem to be too upset as they were enjoying the beautiful day.

At about 8:15 a.m., we had the first finisher in the half marathon and by 8:37 a.m., the first women's finisher came in.

One of the things that I tried to do was to surf the Internet for as much information as I could about different runners. It is amazing what turns up -- and, of course, this is where people give me too much credit for what I do. However, people love to see their name in print and/or mentioned. I know this! And they become more genuinely impressed when you've taken the time to remember something about them - and recall it - because it shows that you took the time to make an investment in them.

I think that this is why God has blessed me with so many friends.

The first person in was Edwin. I noticed the clock was reading "1:44 and change". I was genuinely happy for him. He had gotten the TIR monkey off of his back and he had given me all of this biographical data about him to use before the race. Really inane things like liking Michelob Ultras in a 20 oz. mug(?) and slow dancing in the rain. (I think that falls under the category of TMI.) Nonetheless, I mentioned that he was the former Lufkin Daily News sports editor. He was smiling - and for the sake of an excellent run.

Not too far behind Edwin was The Woodlands Running Club's Stephen Smith. I would say no more than a minute because I almost didn't see him in time to get his name called out.

Finishing in around that time was Paul Brundage of The Woodlands. (His good friend, Randy Miller, of The Woodlands, had walked up and thanked me for the column that I did on Paul in The Courier a couple of months back. That was nice. I was just glad I was in a position to be aware.)

Norman Langwell was next and I'm afraid I put the jinx on him. He came through at about 1:57 and change on the first loop of the course, and I mentioned that he was on target for his first sub 4-hour marathon and that he had run 4:03 the weekend before in the Big-D Marathon. Oops! (Norman, incredibly, posted another 4:03 for his fifth marathon of the season to complete the Texas Marathon Challenge.)

No more than two minutes later was Katy Lampson and no sooner that I said that she was coming through the halfway point at 1:58 and change, she was telling me that "she was done" because of an issue with her hamstring. She'll still get credit for an official half marathon finish - and a nice shiny new PR to boot.

I think it is generally odd to look 11 months ahead for an event, but TIR 2009 is going to be a genuine blast. (Besides it won't be able to get any warmer than what it was this year, right?) I really, really would like to have a third team, but I do not want to compromise the quality of people that we have to do so either.

As the race progressed and people came up to meet to say "Thanks!" for the event and the course, etc., I had to point them in Cindy, Steve and Paula's direction because I had nothing to do with any of them. My job was just to add a touch of class and quality to it, and I think that I was able to do that. (I know that the three of them were pleased, and that's all that matters.)

While one person asked for some music coming into the Stadium (and that is probably a pretty good idea for next year), I just imagine what it would have been to finish an event like that without having your name called out as you finished.

Well, I guess you could say that I kind of remembered from the Saturday before last in Abilene, Kansas. They were broadcasting the race over the radio instead of doing any on-site announcing. I mean I really don't care about those things, but they're a nice touch if they're done right.

We stayed and helped Cindy, Steve and Paula clean up -- and before that I was able to give the Lufkin TV station and ladies from the Groveton and Trinity newspapers vital information that they would need to publicize the event locally. (More of what I do very well!)

I'm really so honored to have a chance to do some of the things that I do. (There's some pressure that goes with that - i.e. of having to feel like you have to live up to those successes constantly -- but when you're able to do something fun, enjoy yourself and do something you do well, it makes for a good day!)

And yes, maybe even the farmer's tan of a sunburn even feels good. :)