Santa's Reindeer Dash

Hate to run: Guardian reporter tests her mettle during annual event

Somer Breeze-Hanson/Northwest Guardian

I hate to run.

Growing up playing sports I participated only in activities that required short sprint conditioning: volleyball, softball and basketball. I tried distance running when I was in the sixth grade with the thought if I am athletic then running one lap around the track should be simple enough.

I was very wrong.

That was the first time my athletic ego took a hit. I finished second to last in the 400-meter run in 1996 and afterward I hung up my track shoes.

For the past six months I have been the Sports & Leisure reporter for the Northwest Guardian. In just that short amount of time I have met the most encouraging, courageous and inspiring athletes, and have been fortunate to be able to tell their story. Included in that list are runners. There is Sabine Pullins, an Army Spouse and mother of two who turned herself into an ultra marathon runner. Then there is Teresa Maggart, an Army spouse whose husband was killed in Iraq in August 2010. She joined the Wear Blue: Run to Remember group to run to heal and to honor her fallen husband. And then there is Shannon Swords, a Soldier who could barely pass the run portion of the physical training test when he first enlisted, but since then has logged 50,000 miles and 30 marathon wins in 20 years.

How can I not be inspired to run after meeting people like that?

I decided in November to sign up for the Joint Base Lewis McChord Family & Morale, Welfare and Recreation’s final race of the year, Santa’s Reindeer Dash. I thought it would be an attainable goal to aim for: a simple 5K (of course I wouldn’t dare do the 10K) through Eagle’s Pride Golf Course.

For moral support I asked my friend Emily Nolte to run with me, because the University of Washington basketball team was playing Duke during the same time so asking my husband was out of the question.

I had nearly three weeks to prepare for race day, but of course I procrastinated and my laziness kicked in. Of the three weeks I had to train I ran once, and I only ran about a mile and a half before I felt like I was going to collapse.

When race day arrived I was more excited to dress up in my Christmas sweater vest than I was to actually run.

As Emily and I stood near the front of the racing field waiting for the 9 a.m. start time we noticed runners stretching and jogging in place. Feeling out of place we mimicked the people who looked like they knew what they were doing.

Unfortunately Emily, 25, was just getting over laryngitis and wasn’t feeling well. She made the game-time decision to run the 2K race with the children.

When the race started streams of people passed me coming off the start line. I knew if I had any hope in finishing a 5K I would have to have a tortoise-like pace.

I made it to the 2K sign when my legs felt like they were going to give out and I slowed down to a walk. Every time I picked up speed I was defeated by the next hill. My exposed skin was bright red in the 25-degree weather and all I could think about was how far away the finish line was.

I kept pace behind two girls who couldn’t have been older than 10. I pushed through my fatigue and welcomed the down hill slopes and even saw a deer run across the course.

As people began to pass me going the opposite direction for the next lap of their 10K run I knew I had to pick it up a notch. I passed the girls and saw the finish line. Finally!

But wait, the girls saw it, too! They took off in a full sprint as their families cheered them on. I felt like I couldn’t show them up, so I kept pace and crossed the finish line in 39 minutes and 15 seconds.

I was welcomed with cheers from the JBLM Intramural Sports Coordinator Kathy Salcedo. Also at the finish line was Emily who completed her first 2K.

“I met the first kid to finish,” Emily told me. “Her name is Taylor and she is nine. We had orange slices together.” Just a few minutes behind me Sabine was the first female to cross the finish line in the 10K race. As I congratulated her, she congratulated me!

My legs felt the pain for the next three days, but it was worth it. I might have been showed up by 9-year-old Taylor, and I definitely could not compete with Sabine, but I finished a race and I wasn’t last! The next race isn’t until March so I have plenty of time to start training. Right?

Related:

Santa's Reindeer Dash: One final challenge