The Snowflake Run was held on the PSU Altoona campus and a prettier course you would have a hard time finding. Despite the double-loop course and a few near "switchbacks" that slowed my time a bit, I still crossed the line in 6th place overall with a time of 19:27. With 26 degree temperatures at the start, it was sunny and overall was a pretty good day for it all. I also got one of the more unique place awards (1st in my age group) that came in the form of a tree ornament. A great idea! Pictures from Saturday follow:
Onto Sunday. Despite a chest cold and coughing that came on in the middle of the night, I went to Shanksville for the Shanksville 10k. A fairly tough course with windy conditions were offset by the fact that it started at 1:00 p.m. Temperatures were in the upper 30's and lower 40's and bright plentiful sunshine made it seem much nicer. I decided not to "race" this one, but just go comfortably fast. The idea worked as I was able to post some pretty good miles despite my physical condition and the fact that I had raced the day before. My 43:44 finish time was good for 4th place overall and 1st in my age group. Another unique award that I did not and could never keep. A peach pie! It along with the race bib is pictured below.
NOTE: I decided to let my last post stand for an extra day or so to give it the time that it deserved. Because I was in a hurry (as I usually am of late) on Saturday I failed to write a bit more about the artist of that amazing painting. Linda Flanagan is a fellow Saint Francis alumni who hails from the Northern Cambria County area. She now calls Chicago home and is a very good friend of mine. She is a fellow runner and is married to John who is a successful podiatrist in the Windy City. She is like a big sister to me. The sister I never had.
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