Monday, March 26, 2012

More Cowbell! Stadium to Surf 10k.

I can't help it, I only workout when I have a race coming up.

So, I signed up for my first race in New Zealand, the Stadium to Surf 10k.  The race started less than 10 minutes away from where I live, on one side of the Otago Peninsula, and finished on the other.  The course was extremely flat considering there are hills, hills, and more hills surrounding us.  The route took us mostly through residential sections of Dunedin, with a finish across a grassy field and finally to the beach.

Here's a picture of the finish line, although you can't see it just above the beach on the right-hand side.


I was disappointed that the couple hundred spectators standing around, just watching us finish, were not cheering at all.  Jeebus, there was not even one single cowbell, either.  What kind of finish line was this?!  So, I tried to pull a "Bob Stocks" by raising my arms up, smiling big, and yelling, "WAAHOOOOOOOO!!!" as I crossed the finish line.

No one cared.

I actually think I saw one woman shake her head and whisper something to a small child next to her.  Probably something like, "Poor girl, she must be delirious from dehydration!"

I'd like to give the Kiwis the benefit of the doubt.  They could have been distracted by other things, like, oh, let's say... the scenery around us.


I grabbed a post-race celebratory apple and enjoyed the beach before jumping on a bus back to the start line.

(Completely untouched by photo editing software!) 

Just 14,893 kilometers to New York City!


Today, the race was mentioned in the Otago Daily Times.  In the photo, I am in the top center and wearing a yellow shirt.