Dutchess County Classic: Ridin' that Fox Wave

The above picture features newly minted half marathon finisher Kelley Gould (white singlet, fancy medal around her neck) surrounded by the best support crew a runner could ever have. Kell killed it out there today at the Dutchess County Classic, completing her first 13.1-mile race in 1:35:05 (7:16 pace) and winning her age group. More on her truly inspired effort in another post soon. This post is about the great support she had out there from Coach Chuck and several members of the Red Fox Distance Crew. Several of these ladies are freshmen who technically were never teammates with Kelley, who just graduated in May. But we are all family, and they proved that today.

This old guy was also the beneficiary of the Fox Wave. While I won't bore you with the details of my race -- some middle-aged, middle-of-the-pack guy clicking off 7:50ish a mile is hardly blogworthy or all that interesting, for that matter -- I will tell you that the wall of cheers and pacing procession I received on the final few strides along Stringham Road is something I won't soon forget. Not sure which women were running alongside and behind me -- my eyes were painful and sweaty slits at that point -- but rest assured that I felt their presence. I hope they know that we have their back, every day in practice and competition, now and always. For one morning, it was nice to know that they have our back too.