January 1st, a time of rebirth, of renewal, of hope, of getting reinvigorated, of starting the year off keeping those healthy resolutions.
And for anyone who knows anything about our band of rogues, it's a time for soup.
For more years than this blog documents (its previous life pre-2009, is alas, lost to time), a loyal group of friends and their family members have been meeting atop an icy crag in Westford, Massachusetts, to remind one another of long-lasting friendships, rivalries, and of course, to consume copious amounts of soup at the home of John and Karen Piekos. A couple of times over those years, we took a detour to join with 700 other runners in the Lowell 5K, but for the most part, it's been a Westford rendezvous for these rugged runners.
Don't remember our past exploits? Here's a quick trip down memory lane:
There's nothing like documenting the march of time than with a series of pics showing the evolution of a running tradition, at least via the last few years, so here goes a quick flashback:
Whew! That's a lot of souperstars!
Okay, we'll be back to revisit this lineup at blog's end.
But now, it's time for the First Run, 2017!
Featuring among other stars, pasta fagioli and chicken spinach stew
A slow start doing some off-roading as we try to navigate the icy straits of Everest, and we were off!
Featuring, first time Soup Runners, Steve Vachon and this year's wonder woman warrior, Heather!
Posing proudly at the first town-line along the historic course.
It was a wild pack logging the miles in Westford and Tyngsboro this year. Some can stand being in the spotlight. For others, the constant glare of the media lights can be blinding.
Heather kicked butt along the mostly hilly 6 1/2 mile scenic course.
John was all laughs, because he knew a different road lie ahead for him (to get in position for the epic videos to follow)
Good thing these pics don't come with sound, you'd hear Heather cursing out her fellow runners for choosing this hilly course.
How hilly? This hilly:
Remember how I said John ran ahead to get in position for the epic movies? Here you go....
As the crowd begins to winnow, Carlos took a moment to help psyche Heather up for the back half of the winter run
It helps to stop and appreciate the views all around you while you're out there, too
Back on Dunstable Road, the soup, inappropriate jokes, and plans for the long runs ahead abounded.
Thanks again to John and Karen for hosting.
Thankful, also that we're all able to gather in one place to celebrate our friendship, health and prosperity every New Year's Day.
Yeah, it's a run, but it's a lot more than that.
It's a reminder that Mark Twain and Clarence the Angel were right - no man is a failure who has friends. And soup. Always, the soup.
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