Bele Chere

On Saturday, July 26, I ran the fastest 5K I’ve ever run. While this in itself is a rather remarkable accomplishment, it’s actually fairly amazing, considering the course had “a few moderate hills.” When my younger sister JJ suggested I join her for the Bele Chere 5K in Asheville, NC, she promised me a fun run, but she lied about the terrain. (She explained later she was afraid I wouldn’t do it if she told me the truth.) I had expected some hills, of course, because the race was in Asheville, but I wasn’t prepared for a “roller coaster” running adventure, beginning with the first hill just around the corner from the starting line. Up and down; momentary flat; up, up, and down; more of the same for 3.1 miles. Sometimes I thought about bike riding while I ran, as I tried to visualize my feet shifting gears to create momentum. Mostly, though, I heeded my sister’s alternating words of encouragement and admonition, as she raced ahead and jogged in place while she waited for me to catch up. Then we crested the final hill and sped toward the finish line for a time of 36:44. Since that was a PR for me, I was happy with the result, even though I was 9/13 in my age group. JJ has now decided she needs to be my personal on-site running coach, so she’s thinking about doing the Richmond Half-Marathon with me in November.