the running man

in early september, bowling green hosted a mini-marathon. james was excited because now he could realize his goal of running two marathons a year without having to travel far to do it. (what a weirdo, right? my goals are things like: "don't eat the whole bag of m&m's - half a bag is plenty.") anyhoo, the day came and he did great! although, he was saying they should call it "the road kill mini-marathon" or the "take your life into your own hands to run this mini-marathon." apparently, the organizers did not arrange to block off roads, so the runners had to run on the shoulders of the roads making up the course. (have i ever told you about bowling green drivers? no? well, let's just say that half are visually impaired retirees, and the other half are youngish people who are chomping at the bit to illegally pass them.) with this shoulder-of-the-road running, james was able to get an up-close look at various specimens of roadkill. the short list: mice, possum, snake, dog/coyote, birds, etc. no skunks, though. (thank heaven for small favors.) despite these interesting conditions (along with the "flat" course including numerous hills and the organizers running out of water before any runners finished the course), james ran a great race! he felt good, looked good, and finished strong. we love you, james! we're so proud of you! (by the way, james says he is most likely not going to run this race again. we don't blame him!)