Brill Harvest Fest 5 mile

 Once again the Brill Harvet Fest came about.  This year was one to provide some interesting changes to the day.  Due to some logistical concerns, they were unable to have enough volunteers to be able to help out with the race.  As a result, the directors felt that making the race a noncompetitive fun run was the thing to do.  It wasn't my idea of the ideal situation, as the race has already varied between noncompetitive and competitive over the last few years.  The concern is that if the race continues to vary between competitive and noncompetitive, the numbers have the potential to suffer.  This year, the race organizers decided to do away with the Wisconsin State Nordic Walking Championships.  I am not sure why this has happened since this event has been one of the pinnacle events of the Brill Harvest Fest.  I even participated and won the event one year.  Although I am not traditionally big on noncompetitive fun runs, I was asked to be a pace runner for the event.  I was asked to lead a group of people going 7 minutes/mile (or was it 7 miles/minute. . .there was room for confusion.).  In any case, I decided to show up and give my wife an opportunity to go to a meeting she needed to go to, and then take a much needed nap.  I decided to bring Kaia to the event.  I wanted to push her in the stroller though I was asked to be the pacer.  I didn't think that a pacer was really a necessity for a run of this caliber.  Usually pacers are something that race organizers will bring to the sport when the field of runners is large.  Well, this wasn't the type of race that needed a pacer.  One of my wife's previous coworkers, Karen Heram, showed up to take some pictures.  I didn't watch the watch too closely.  I just decided that with little effort I was able to set a pretty good pace. . .one that led the field.  The only time I gave up the lead position was when I noticed my shoe was untied and stopped to tie it.  Otherwise, Kaia and I led the race out for the 5 miles of trail running (also different than the 5K and 10K runs that are typically held on this trail).  Five miles is such a random distance that I hope the 5K and 10K distances will be in the plan for next year.  I treated my job as a pacer seriously and decided that I needed to lead a few runners to the finish and ran with two other guys who wished I would run pushing the baby stroller more often.  In the end, Kaia finished first in the event.  She was a stroller length ahead of myself and the other two guys.  The other two guys and myself crossed the finish line tape together hand-in-hand.  It would have made for a wonderful picture, but for the first time in as long as I can remember, there was no one taking pictures at the finish, so you will have to simply believe me on this one.  One of the guys told me we ran a 7:53 min/mile pace.  So, for the five mile run, we must have been about 34:25.  Not a blazing fast run, but one that was indeed fun because many fun things were discussed along the course of the five miles between myself and the other two guys (both of which hope that I show up pushing the stroller again next year since they say it levels the playing field).  The pictures below are from Karen Harem (who I wish would have been at the finish line for a wonderful picture opportunity).