2017 started out great. \u00a0(Well, the race did.) \u00a0There was little rain, mild weather, and a small field of competitors due to our having been dead a year, so it felt a little like the old days. \u00a0The pancakes were hot and fluffy thanks to Betsy, the timing crew of Leslie Miller, Jill Hudson and Rich Menzel were cheerful and efficient, and the cars in the parking lot all had windows.<\/p>\n
\u2026except one.<\/p>\n
A\u00a0little after 8:30 someone said, “Someone broke out a window over here!” \u00a0There was a car, a bunch of glass and a purse-shaped void\u00a0in someone’s day. \u00a0A neighbor came over to help out, saying “This happens all the time here.” \u00a0And one of our runners and his wife\u00a0spent the rest of the day fixing the car, canceling credit cards, and driving home from what was going to be a nice run in the park.<\/p>\n
After that we all became much more vigilant, looking for anyone suspicious. \u00a0Loopy the race director looked in all the garbage cans in the area for a tossed carcass of a purse, but found nothing.<\/p>\n
Then it happened again. \u00a0This time one of our runners saw the guy reaching into the car, yanking out a purse that had been hidden under the sun shade out of sight in the back, then\u00a0diving into a truck and speeding\u00a0off. \u00a0Another runner, an off-duty cop, got the plate, so we played with trying to find the culprit, but the truck was a rental, probably rented under a fake ID, so we were at a dead-end. \u00a0Obviously they had someone there as a spotter, watching and telling the break-in guys where to look. \u00a0We never figured out who the spotter was.<\/p>\n
It was a total bummer, but the race went on as usual, with runners racking up personal records but not course records. \u00a0Food was eaten, jokes were told, and the rain was mostly well-behaved.<\/p>\n
And then near the end of the race the car alarm went off. \u00a0When we looked, it was the same damn truck speeding off. \u00a0Three purses in one day, right from under our noses. \u00a0We packed up, went home, had a couple of shots of bourbon and called it a day. \u00a0One hell of a day.<\/p>\n
Bring your crappiest purse if you join us\u00a0next year, and leave it empty. \u00a0Or better yet, put a bear trap in it.<\/p>\n
Dizzy 2017 Results<\/a> (Ultrasignup)<\/p>\n