No mud required

You don’t have to make people crawl through a mud pit or jump through fire or throw colored powder at them to give them a race filled with goose-bump moments. This was clear to those who joined us at the Legends Run last weekend.

Our official starting pistol was stored away after the Sandy Hook tragedy. But we used it on Sunday - we felt the pureness of this event was meant to be dignified with the traditional crack of a real starter’s pistol.

And what a sight when the starting pistol went off! 25 of the fastest, most finely tuned runners in Connecticut ran the inaugural Legends Run. Another 300 or so were fast on their heels.

I loved seeing aspiring high school runners enthusiastic to get autographs from Bill Rodgers, Amby Burfoot and Donn Cabral, and then to join them in their element. What a great moment watching Amby and Bill’s reaction of delight and surprise when they saw 88-year old Elmer Swanson, their cross country coach from 1966. Donn gave us a very impressive first place finish, coming in 19.27 for the 4-miler. It was a giggle to watch Amby narrowly beat Bill across the finish line - first time Amby has beat Bill in a race at Wesleyan.

I think we have created something really good – tipping our hats to the legends of running while applauding the ones working so hard to be the best in the sport today; the youngest looking on with hunger in their eyes to someday fill those shoes too.

It was an honor to pay tribute to the greats. It was a privilege to set the stage for inspiring young, future legends. No mud required.