Covered Me

A great weekend interrupted by a hellacious two-hour run.  That's pretty much how the E Streeters described the ungodly-hot Covered Bridges Half Marathon in Queechee, Vermont this year.

Shades of last year's Boston Marathon temperatures, though truthfully, there wasn't a heck of a lot of shade to accompany the 86 degree temps at the race start.

Here we are, with Andrew proudly representing the Boston Police Department, me, Mickey Mouse.

Somewhere in this crush of humanity are Tommy and Sean.  They'd quickly move up their pole position. 

At Suicide Six, the Felonious Five 

And they're off!  Andrew laughs at Sean's early attempt to keep pace 

The view from the middle of the pack 

Father-son foot race. Within moments, we'd split up, not to see one another for another two hours.  Guess which one of us made his move? 

This is the guy everyone should have been watching out for.  Mountains do indeed, do funny things to a man.  Like make him run like a madman. 

Clearly, it was the performance-enhancing tunes being piped into his head that helped Barry barrel his way to this finish line. 

Despite my obvious pleas for help or water or something, Ann and Jill just simply stood by and snapped pictures, knowing there was a blog to be written.

A ghastly picture, I know, but it was one of the only documented points in the race where I could show the famed covered bridges from whence the race gets its name.  That's not sweat covering my face, it's the glow of a runner's high. 

Sean waving to his wife, Andrew talking smack because he's beating Sean

Running through the village, Barry is hitting his stride

And yes, another torturous headshot, but this one highlights the breathtaking scenery we ran alongside.  Either that or it was the 13 miles that were breathtaking.  One or the other.

Finally, at the finish line, Sean and Tommy are penned in their corral, while the medal winners were kept outside the gated area. 

Hours after Barry, Andrew and I were hitting the pool, Tommy and Sean held court, clearly, rehydrating after a brutal day at the races.

Thanks again, to Ann and Jill for being out there to support us throughout the course.  Thanks also to the musicians who popped up at different points of the winding 13 miles to provide a soundtrack.

No thanks to the blistering heat.  I thought the mountains were supposed to be cool!