Congrats to Kelly Fulton in his debut as a race director. Getting tired of seeing folks from Billings having to travel all the way to Bozeman to get in a Thanksgiving Day race (Huffin For Stuffin) - he decided to do somethng about it. And so, about 10 months ago, the idea of the Run! Turkey Run! was born.
Talk about a resounding success - over 1,500 registered finishers (with a couple hundred more that didn't get registered due to overwhelming race morning demand). Great local press (see Billings Gazette story at http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/inaugural-run-turkey-run-event-attracts-s-raises-thousands/article_97577728-6fff-5894-b2b1-ace68dbc324e.html ), good competition, fun social aspect, great fund raising cause (all proceeds went to the Billings Food Bank). And, the Buzzard's favorite - post race adult beverages courtesy of local breweries.
It's pretty much everything that Billings area runners could hope for to kick off their day of feating and football.
Up front, the race was fast and fairly competitive. Matt Adams (MSU alum) took the win in a speedy 15:11. Clearly, he's kept up the training since his Bobcat days. Second place wen to local stud Alan King in 16:22 with third place going to Zach Hunter in 16:52. 1st Master was Ian Blair of Billings with a nice sub-18 clocking (17:54).
The women't win went to Nicole Lair in 19:23.
Great job Kelly. And kudos to the Billing community for getting behind the event.
See you on the roads, tracks and trails
The Muddy Buzzard
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Gone Too Long
Funny how life sometimes gets in the way of things you enjoy. That's been the case for the last couple of months with my ability to post.
Coaching XC at Plains HS takes a fair bit of my free time. And my professional life has been busier this year than at any other time since we moved to NW Montana. And, there's always plenty of things to be done around the house and property. All of those are good things - it's just that they don't leave me much free time.
That's meant that something's gotta give. And, unfortunately - that's meant that the buzzard hasn't pecked at the keyboard keys in a while. And, I'm not too thrilled about that. I like putting my thoughts down on (digital) paper and enjoy trying to keep up with the MT running and racing scene. I'm going to try to do better - more for my sake than anything. Writing in this blog is a stress reliever and "fun" thing for me to do. And, hey - we all need a bit more fun and pleasure in our lives.
Which then segue's me into thinking about a whole lot of fun that I had this fall. It started on the 3rd week of October at the MT High School XC Championships. One of the advantages of being a coach is being right in the thick of the day's activities. I had a great time with "my kids" from Plains High School. The individual highlight was the 3rd place finish in the Class B division by Carter Montgomery. But, just as much fun was hanging out with the kids at our post race dinner at Famous Daves. Being with these kids helps to keep my young and can be just plain fun. With the group of kids that I've had the last 3 years, it's been way more laughs than tears - which is a good thing.
The next weekend was a road trip to Great Falls for Montana Cup. Racing at the Cup is always a highlight for the year (even on years like this where my racing was the equivalent of a big steaming pile of dog poo). But, more than the racing is the ability to see a wide swath of friends from all around the state. One of the great things that this sport has blessed me wih is friends and acquaitenances from all corners of the state. And, Montana Cup is the place where I get to see many of them all in one place.
After a "free" weekend - it was back on the road with another bunch of high school kids (comprised of Carter Montgomery of Plains and the Missoula Hellgate varsity boys and girls teams) to go to the Nike Cross Regional Meet in Boise. 4 cars of parents and friends drove down 14 boys and girls (7.5 hours each way) to compete against runners from all over the NW. [It was 8.5 hours down for our car as we missed the turn to a bit of a short cut and took the long scenic route :-) ] On race morning had a great sunrise run with Julie Gilcrhist, Aders Brooker and Mike Foote in the Boise Foothills. Great trails as the sun rose over Boise on a crisp, calm morning - pretty great way to start your day. In my car it was me and 6 high school boys - and, let me tell you - that much crazed testosterone in one car for hours on end makes for some interesting discussion and body noises!!!
Then, a couple more weeks, and here we are at Thanksgiving. Early in the week my brother-in-law and nephew came to town to hunt; and, I got to spend a few hours in the mountains. Then, my Zoe came home for 5 days. It's nice to have her home from College for a few days. We had a nice Thanksgiving morning hunt in the mountains close to home. Then, dinner at the home of my wife's uncles. Most of her side of the family was around and it was a pleasant afternoon.
So, life for the last month has been awfully full for the Buzzard. Full in many ways - activity, work, friends, family, memories and more.
See you on the roads, tracks and trails
The Muddy Buzzard
Coaching XC at Plains HS takes a fair bit of my free time. And my professional life has been busier this year than at any other time since we moved to NW Montana. And, there's always plenty of things to be done around the house and property. All of those are good things - it's just that they don't leave me much free time.
That's meant that something's gotta give. And, unfortunately - that's meant that the buzzard hasn't pecked at the keyboard keys in a while. And, I'm not too thrilled about that. I like putting my thoughts down on (digital) paper and enjoy trying to keep up with the MT running and racing scene. I'm going to try to do better - more for my sake than anything. Writing in this blog is a stress reliever and "fun" thing for me to do. And, hey - we all need a bit more fun and pleasure in our lives.
Which then segue's me into thinking about a whole lot of fun that I had this fall. It started on the 3rd week of October at the MT High School XC Championships. One of the advantages of being a coach is being right in the thick of the day's activities. I had a great time with "my kids" from Plains High School. The individual highlight was the 3rd place finish in the Class B division by Carter Montgomery. But, just as much fun was hanging out with the kids at our post race dinner at Famous Daves. Being with these kids helps to keep my young and can be just plain fun. With the group of kids that I've had the last 3 years, it's been way more laughs than tears - which is a good thing.
The next weekend was a road trip to Great Falls for Montana Cup. Racing at the Cup is always a highlight for the year (even on years like this where my racing was the equivalent of a big steaming pile of dog poo). But, more than the racing is the ability to see a wide swath of friends from all around the state. One of the great things that this sport has blessed me wih is friends and acquaitenances from all corners of the state. And, Montana Cup is the place where I get to see many of them all in one place.
After a "free" weekend - it was back on the road with another bunch of high school kids (comprised of Carter Montgomery of Plains and the Missoula Hellgate varsity boys and girls teams) to go to the Nike Cross Regional Meet in Boise. 4 cars of parents and friends drove down 14 boys and girls (7.5 hours each way) to compete against runners from all over the NW. [It was 8.5 hours down for our car as we missed the turn to a bit of a short cut and took the long scenic route :-) ] On race morning had a great sunrise run with Julie Gilcrhist, Aders Brooker and Mike Foote in the Boise Foothills. Great trails as the sun rose over Boise on a crisp, calm morning - pretty great way to start your day. In my car it was me and 6 high school boys - and, let me tell you - that much crazed testosterone in one car for hours on end makes for some interesting discussion and body noises!!!
Then, a couple more weeks, and here we are at Thanksgiving. Early in the week my brother-in-law and nephew came to town to hunt; and, I got to spend a few hours in the mountains. Then, my Zoe came home for 5 days. It's nice to have her home from College for a few days. We had a nice Thanksgiving morning hunt in the mountains close to home. Then, dinner at the home of my wife's uncles. Most of her side of the family was around and it was a pleasant afternoon.
So, life for the last month has been awfully full for the Buzzard. Full in many ways - activity, work, friends, family, memories and more.
See you on the roads, tracks and trails
The Muddy Buzzard
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