stevens point | Robert's Blog

March 6, 2010

running as elivs or maybe chris

i ran the 2010 point bock run today. it was a fun day in which i was able to see quite a few “threads.” i have three things i want to post.

first, on a whim i decided to do something i have never done … i ran in costume. one of the things that pamela and i love about about the marathons and half-marathons that i have run is the costumed people that run the races. some people come to the races ready to party and they make it fun for everyone else. for example, when i ran the chicago marathon in 09 i ran against a guy dressed as the pope – funny hat, staff, and all. there were also three guys that had rigged a chinese dragon to harnesses so that it floated above the crowd of runners. it was very cool. i love the creativity and fun that the costumed people bring to the race. therefore, i decided to be one of those people for the bock run. actually i was one of 4 costumed people out of 2,000 people who ran the race. the other costumed people were a a guy who wore a green afro, a guy who made a spiked mohawk with his hair, and a guy who had pinned a dust ruffle around his neck as a cape. we were the costumed aspect of the bock run.

this was the first i have ever done this but it won’t be the last. it was a lot of fun running through the race hearing people shout “RUN ELVIS!” i was asked a couple of times during the run if i had run the las vegas marathon yet because they the running elvi begin the race there. kids shouted, adults smiled, and everyone seemed to enjoy the costume. a couple of friends of mine were behind me and when they saw me after the race they told me about all the people talking about elvis passing them during the run. while i’m not sure that i would want to do this on any of the other races i run during the year, i do plan on regularly doing this in the point bock run. it would be even more fun if i could get a few people to costume up with me. who knows we might could turn the bock into a primarily costumed run. that would definitely be fun.

second, i was apparently destined to run today as someone other than my normal self. the race administration made a mistake in entering my registration information because i was labeled as “chris terrell” instead of my real name of “robert adam terrell.” this was pretty easy to correct because our family is the only terrell family in the point area – remember we are surrounded by german and polish people, there aren’t many english names around here. whether i was dressed as elvis or not wasn’t going to matter. i wasn’t going to be running as “robert” today.

third, i love the general vibe of support that is a part of a road race. people genuinely want others to do well in the race. people shout for each other and stay to cheer for the people who are finishing after them. i can’t tell you how many times i have heard someone encourage another racer that they were being passed by or who they were passing. it doesn’t matter if you are fast or slow everyone just wants you to do your best. if you are a slow runner nobody expects you to run with the fastest. you are just expected to try your hardest, improve, and enjoy the experience. it’s a pretty good example of what community is supposed to be like. the fast as well as the slow are expected to run their best and everyone is supposed to “enjoy the ride.” if you do that then the people at the race will celebrate with you. i think that is what the church should do – encourage both the slow and the fast to run their best and party big time.

March 5, 2010

belts and passion

belt’s soft serve ice cream opened for the 2010 season today. belt’s is amazing ice cream and it is a stevens point institution. part of the tradition in the point area is that people camp out at belt’s the night before it opens so that they can be first in line when the service windows open up. typically the first 10 to 15 people get a t-shirt and the first 100 get a free glass. people sleep out in the parking lot for the opening even when the weather is significantly below zero. two years ago some crazy people were sleeping in the parking lot even though the ambient temperature was around -25°. i love it when people are committed to things to the point that they are willing to put themselves out. passionate people are cool. passionate people go to extremes to achieve their goals. that’s something i love even if it is just that they are willing to freeze in order to get a free t-shirt.

i believe that we should celebrate such passion. that’s why for the past three years i and tapestry (once it started) have taken emy j’s coffee to belt’s to give away to those who have camped out. since belt’s opened today eric glaze and i took coffee once again to the parking lot and passed it out. we gave away 5 air pots worth of coffee to those cold souls. it was a ton of fun talking with everyone and enjoying the excitement of the crowd that was there.

i love living in point.

April 15, 2009

deer scare

i had a close encounter with one of our backyard deer this afternoon.

i was by our squirrel feeder loading it with more corn when out of the corner of my eye i saw a shape moving toward me fast. i turned around to see a deer about 10′ away from me running at full tilt in my direction. immediately i realized that what i was encountering was one of the rare wisconsin rabid killer deer. they’re vicious and there is only one way to rescue yourself from them. i screamed “AHHHHHHHH!” and lifted my hands up to shield by face from the impact. this had the desired response and scared the deer into changing directions, right into a tree. the killer deer slammed into the large sapling and flipped onto its back. graceful creatures my butt.

anyhow the rabid but now scared deer finally got back on its feet and dizzily ran about 30 feet off to get its head straight. it was a bit of an odd experience for both of us.

SIDE NOTE – tapestry is team #4360 in this year’s town wide trivia contest. stevens point is the home of the world’s largest trivia contest. it starts friday and last 24 hours a day until sunday at 11:59:59 pm. it should be cool. we do not stand a chance of winning but we do hope to learn what to do in future years. our goal is to be in the top 2,000 teams.

February 17, 2009

yesterday on church street

drove by this yesterday and since i am now a stevens point police chaplain i decided to stop and ask if there was anything i could do. everyone was out and the office said it was just a matter of waiting the fire department to get there and take care of business. they arrived in another minute and got to work. not sure why the lady in the photo was yelling but at that moment she was letting a guy just outside the right side of the photo have it.

here’s the stevens point journal article on the fire.

December 1, 2007

frostbite

today was the 2007 frostbite race. it’s a 5 & 10 mile race through the wintry streets of stevens point. i haven’t run over three milers since injuring my calf. therefore, i thought this was as good of a way to begin training for a marathon again as any. of course, when i signed up i didn’t know the race would take place during the first winter storm of the season. the guys and girls running the 10 mile race had ice beards by the time they got back in. it was immensely cool (or cold depending upon how you think of it).