9 LKN area PAX made the Saturday morning trek to Spruce Pine for the Run for Holland 5K/Speed for Need event. Hearing how great last year's event was, once Fenway made the rally call for PAX, we were eager to jump in and help our fellow Spruce Pine PAX White Lightening and Whoopi pull off another great event. FNG was CrabLegs son, Riley a high school senior track star, who shall now be known as Soft Shell.
0530 Saturday morning we loaded up the rental van and were off. After a brief stop at Dunkin for coffee, breakfast sandwhichs, and donuts, we were now well prepared and carbo loaded to tackle the 5K ahead of us. With Fenway behind the wheel, and Duval riding shotgun we arrived in Spruce Pine safe and sound. This truly was going to be a great day!
Checked in and geared up, we were now ready to meet our track commanders. Fenway, Daisy, El Chapo, Crablegs, Ultraman, and Softshell were paired up with David McLott. A few years ago David, (48) moved to Bakersville,NC to live closer to his brother and family in Spruce Pine. David loves spending time with his friends at the Mountain Opportunity Center. David enjoys working at the thrift store in downtown Bakersville. David’s favorite things to do are listening to music, watching movies and WWE, playing pool, and going to concerts with his brother.
Duvall, Zamboni, and Mona Lisa were paired up with Zeke, who is 20. Zeke is a former 29 weeker who spent 110 days in the NICU. Zeke’s mother was diagnosed with a clotting disorder, antiphosphilipid antibody syndrome, at 17 weeks. This compromised the pregnancy and Zeke’s development. He is developmentally delayed and has autism. He loves traveling, horseback riding, listening to all kinds of music, and spending time with his family––especially his 3 brothers.
0900 came and White Lightening gave the gentleman start your engines call and we were off. El Chapo was behind the chair first and set off at a "I'm 30 something years old" pace. Our track commander David had his Metallica concert T-shirt on from the Charlotte show he went to in October. Rightfully so we had Metallica tunes playing as we clicked off the miles.
Before you knew it, we were looping back around the start line and only had about half mile left. The last short uphill portion of the course was a Strava running segment. Up for grabs that morning was a hand craft painted Rooster. Of course our High School track sensation Soft Shell easily won the segment prize.
The team of Duvall, Zamboni, and Mona Lisa were hot on our heels and were coming in hot to the finish. There's something about pushing these Track Commanders that throws all planning run paces out the window!
Post race pics, refreshements, and age group race awards for the LKN PAX followed. We then loaded up and started the trek back home.
Great day all around with some great 2ndF, and time to reflect how rewarding it is to give back when the opportunity presents itself.
Many thanks to Fenway for his Q leadership and company's sponsorship of the van and gas.
Daisy