Wildflower – It’s All Good
This year’s event, like prior years, was a celebration of fitness. It’s amazing to see thousands of athletes gathered in one area to participate in such a challenging race. The transition area is bigger than a K Mart parking lot and is packed with race gear. In the campground you can feel the anticipation building throughout the day as competitors prepare for their event.
Sometimes, no matter how much preparation we do, mechanical failures will get in our way. I experienced a flat as I was leaving T-1. Jeff Vicaro also had the misfortune of changing a tube and later was left stranded on the bike course when his tire exploded. I now consider myself fortunate, as I was able to finish the bike and run without further complication.
It was great to see team members Rick Crump and Stephanie Pillard racing the long course on Saturday. Rick looked strong at mile 12 of the run and finished in under five hours! Great job Rick.
There were lots of Team Polar shirts on the course and I spoke with a few Bay Area members during the weekend. Stephanie and I bumped into each other on Saturday evening at a post-race gathering and she shared her race day experience.
Deer were visible all over the campground and at one time during the race decided to cut across the course. Luckily the runners saw them coming. The cyclists didn’t see them, but fortunately the deer made it safely across. Another sighting worth mentioning (maybe not) was a parade through the campground of college students in their birthday suits. Wearing nothing but what God gave them, a group of about 25 men and women jogged through at sunset.
Vince Mattera
