(Yes, that should be You and I....)
Ok. You are amazing. So am I in many ways.
BUT...
Today I witnessed really amazing.
It is the first day of FIBArk in Salida. I've written about it before...First in Boating on the Arkansas.
A four day festival that started back in 1949 with a 57 mile boat race from Salida to Canon City, through the Royal Gorge. Since the first competitors almost died on that race, they shortened the route to almost 26 miles. There are boat races, kayaking races, and foot races.
Today was the Tenderfoot Hill Climb, the kick off event to FIBArk. It starts at the stoplight at F Street and First Street in Salida and goes straight up S Mountain/Tenderfoot Hill. Contestants run up to the Gazebo at the top and then slip slide back down- it's an elevation gain of about 1000 feet. O! And these runners are starting at about a 6500 foot elevation.
See those tiny dots in the ravines on each side? And the few dots going up the center?
Those are people.
Running.
This year's winner clocked in at almost 12 minutes for the round trip run. Contestants range from about 4 or 5 up to their seventies. Parents run with kids. Little kids run on their own. Families run together. Some people run in costumes. I'm not sure I could even walk up that hill, much less run.
The winner.
Smiling and high-fiving everyone.
Camden Gills ran the hill -up and back down - in
11 minutes, 46 seconds.
One contestant ran in a leg brace. And finished.
Another one ran with forearm crutches. He ran a good race, coming in with the middle of the pack.
Third place (Maybe second?) ran in a cheetah print thong leotard. I was concerned the family jewels were going to be on display by the end of the race...but no. Maybe those bare legs and buns enabled him to move faster.
What can I say?
He was one of the top three....
A nurse I work with ran in a tutu. And was still smiling as she came back across the finish line.
I watched.
I am just in awe. I did a 5k Walk once. It was one of my challenges. And it was hardly a challenge.
Maybe next year I could try the Tenderfoot Climb.
Ha!
And....
if these runners weren't enough to amaze you, let me tell you about one of my patient's today.
At 85 he has run marathons in all but 4 states. He will do Tennessee in September, right before his 86th birthday. He has a bad knee and foot drop but is determined to complete all of the states.
Wow.
