Runners ride the wind around the bend

Ride the wind - “C’mon on the rising wind, we’re going up around the bend.” - John Fogarty, 1970. On a drizzly morning April 12, 1,200 runners, each with their own story, elected to run the Coastal Delaware 5K as part of a weekend running festival of four races. Running bibs have first names and then there’s facial recognition, but mostly it's a sea of spirits. Arden McFee ran by me as a Beacon 12-year-old, but I didn’t recognize her. The last time I saw Arden, she was 5 years old at the Race for the Ribbon 5K in Rehoboth. She was wearing a homemade headband that looked like white carnations, her hair just growing back. She had a kidney removed at 14 months old, and four years later, a tumor removed from her remaining kidney. I wrote seven years ago, “Arden is cleared and good to go.” Her dad, Tray Sullivan, gave me a heads-up late Saturday that I had captured Arden's photo, and that she has been cancer-free-as-the-wind-blows for the last seven years. “She decided to run track at Beacon, and Saturday she placed third in her age group,” Tray said. Arden ran in the 11-14 age group of 129 runners, finishing in 29:38. 

Must be a billionaire - I was nestled atop my folding chair, a boy in the hoodie along the trail by Herring Point capturing photos of marathoners six miles into the race. I made friends with three generations of a family from Annapolis waiting for their runner, a Virginia Tech graduate with a master’s from Maryland. That is a typical profile of a marathon runner.  The weather was as friendly as the people, and runners were in their happy place, most smiling and waving. A woman said, “You must be making a billion dollars today. With all these smiling faces, everyone is going to want to buy their picture.” “My business model is simple: free and overpriced,” I told her, “That way I’m not beholden to anyone.” 

Blues clueless - I was taking photos of Cape girls’ lacrosse versus Marriotts Ridge April 12 at Queen Anne’s County High School, a weekend tournament game with no overtime and a running clock. Everyone seemed to know the format but my clueless self. And after a scored goal when the scoreboard clock kept running, I refused to act like an annoying fan screaming, “Hey, the clock is running!” figuring those with a stake in the outcome like coaches would say something, but no one did. The running clock and no overtime sucked urgency from the field of play. The expression “play like your hair is on fire” comes to mind. As Cape coach Lindsey Underwood has often said to me, “We play best when we play fast,” but starting slow with a running clock is not a good formula for a fast-running team. The game ended 9-9, and Marriotts Ridge is a pretty good team, having beaten Queen Anne’s earlier in the tournament, then Queen Anne’s tied South River 9-9, and the songs “Take Me Home, Country Road” and “I’ll Be Your Roundabout” melded inside my brain.

Haughty taughty - “The Masters is a tradition unlike any other. I’m here at Butler Cabin.” I am reacting, “Be quiet, Jim Nance, it's just a stupid golf tournament.” The whole weekend smacks of money and privilege, except for those wankers who scream “Get in the hole!” after the ball is struck. But through all the subdued yet enthusiastic coverage, there is less talk of monies earned than in other professional sports. Prize money, often referred to as the purse, is $21 million for the Masters. Winner Rory McIlroy pocketed $4.2 million, while Justin Rose earned $2.2 million for second. Caddies for the best golfers make a good living, which is why some of them are left holding the bag into their 70s. 

Water stop - There were high school kids working the water stop at the 21.5-mile point of Sunday’s marathon. I asked, “Where are you guys from?" They said, "Sussex Central." "What are you guys, honor society?” “No, we're the track team” ... “But honor society is what we all aspire to be,” a young man Joe Villareal added in deadpan delivery. He made me laugh. I said, “Make sure you tell coach Shockro Fredman took your photo.” High school kids are the best.

Snippets - Rosters with names, matching numbers, past team scores and results – is that too much to ask? When there are no numbered rosters, people in the reporting business are dead in the water like a Boston Whaler with a busted drive shaft. Schools are moving into spring break, what some dare to call Easter vacation. A family vacation that causes an athlete to miss a practice game may impact the vacationer’s playing time going forward. There are issues every spring. Basically, the coach makes the decision. Go on now, git!