Patriot Run #5 ~ Blue Devil 5K

The University of Wisconsin-Stout dwells in the town of Menomonie, WI, where I went to school for two years and where my husband proposed to me ♥  It is only fitting for us to run the UW-Stout Blue Devil 5K.  A beautiful looped course that runs alongside the Cedar River, through town, and through campus.  On a fall morning, how can we resist?!    As we came into Menomonie, fog was just lifting over Lake Menomin, the leaves were in full color and a perfect temp of 50 degrees.

My husband, son, and neighbors were ready to run the 5K.  After our usual warm-up session, I unfurled the flag with about 5 minutes before the start.  Instead of starting near the back, I decided to change things up a bit and start near the front.  I also wanted to try to keep my son, Zac & our neighbor Nate, in view.  Both boys are on the middle school cross country team that I help coach, and both are very good. (They placed 2nd ~Nate and 3rd ~Zac in the under 18 group)

Not much is said about the flag in the beginning of the race, but that's okay.  I know it gets people thinking, positive or negative - they're thinking!  Like the last race, there is a bit of wind drag.  I still love the flapping sound.  As we came down the hill to the start of the river, there was a small child in a stroller who got pretty excited to see the flag coming.  The dad standing beside him, validated his enthusiasm and gave a little cheer.  That's what I love to see - youth getting excited to see the flag, and hopefully to know that it's not just for decoration, it means something!

There was a moment I wished to capture and be able to play it over and over:  Running alongside the mist covered Cedar River in the early morning sun with leaves gently falling, and flag gently flapping.  Wow... wish I could share that memory video!  A handful of runners passed and would say things like, "Good job!" or "Thank you!" ...puts a smile on my face every time.

As I made the ascent up to the bridge which led to the campus and town, I got to wondering where do college kids stand these days, as far as, understanding what the flag represents and how precious that really is.  Maybe, its hard for them to truly appreciate our freedom, maybe not.

Coming to the last 400meters, I believe I saw something I'd never thought I'd see during a race.  A group of young men - I presume it was the UW Men's cross country team - dressed as women, running together in the opposite direction, cheering on the finishers.  They got even more crazy when they saw the flag coming..."Yeah! Go USA!!!"  Definitely smile worthy ☺

I bettered my time by about a minute from the last race, and felt great!  While doing the recovery walk, a man who also had just finished, asked a familiar question, "Did you run the whole way with the flag?"  I love answering that one ☺    I walked inside the gym, began to unfurl the flag, and a woman caught me to ask if she could get a picture of her two children holding the flag. "Absolutely!" I said.  The second time I began to put the flag away, a group of three college kids came up to me to ask the golden questions, "why & how?"  I filled them in with all the details and told them of the blog.  We talked for a few minutes, then went about our business 

I realized why I was meant to run this race.  It was to see that there are many youth of all ages proud to be an American, who respect the flag and who understand that it stands for something.  Hats off to them!  They are our future leaders.  I pray for them.

One last thing...a very patriotic friend of mine, a veteran, posted something for me to see.  It was Red Skelton's "Pledge of Allegiance.  I have the link listed under the "links to check out".  Check it out!  In it, Red defines every word in the pledge.  Here's what he had to say about the flag, "...Our standard, Old Glory, a symbol of freedom. Wherever she waves, there is respect, because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts freedom is everybody's job!"  


Thanks Red!

Patriot Run #4 ~ Panther Pant 5K

     How can I not run with the colors close to home?  The small town of Hammond, WI holds a Panther Pant 5K every summer which has a good local turnout.  Does it have the big crowds, or screaming spectators? No, but it was still worth running.  Our middle & high school reside in Hammond, and Panthers are the mascot, thus the name "Panther Pant".

Jordan, my second oldest son and cross country runner also ran this race.  We noticed there was plenty of room at the start of the race.  This was new for us!  At a half a mile into the start, a police officer was helping to direct traffic.  He nodded, clapped and said, "Very nice."  I felt good this race, even though the wind was stronger than I've experienced.  There was just something about the sound of the flapping in my ear as I ran down that country road.  The heart of America is not in a downtown metropolitan area.  It's the quiet country fields with blowing grasses and whispering corn stalks, with wide open roads.  What a perfect place for the US flag!

I had a couple of very small (but very important) fan clubs cheering along the way.  One at the start/finish and one near the half-way point.  Gotta love those cheering sections! ☺  We made our turn around and worked our way up a very long, but gently sloping hill.  I passed a runner and heard him say something like, "Go flag girl!"  When I reached the top of the hill, the policeman was there and in his car.  He saw the flag, got out, stood at attention, and again nodded in approval.

Just a half a mile to go and all downhill, love that!  I thought it was fitting to hoist the colors the last 200 yards.  The elementary school principal was volunteering at the finish.   He was the guy taking the tags.  He congratulated me on a good race.  It's always nice to impress the principal, right?  ☺  Another guy said, "Wow, and that was with an added..." he finished by gesturing with his hands holding something.  I kept walking past because I needed too.  "...strength," he finished.

Our head cross country coach also wondered if my arms were tired after running as we met after the race.  What people don't realize is the strength I receive from holding the flag.  Instead of being tired or having arms in pain, I feel so strong, so blessed.

We ended the morning by walking through a car show in downtown Hammond.  On two separate occasions I saw the phrase, "Freedom isn't Free."  Once hoisted high on a crane, and once on the back of a t-shirt.  May I always remember this simple yet meaningful phrase as I carry on with my daily activities in my simple life.

Patriot Run #3 ~ Willow River Run 10K

     Returning from a week long vacation in Colorado at 11:30pm, gave the family a good excuse to not come with me the next morning for an early 10K race ten miles north of my home.  I don't blame them.  They've been supporting my crazy goals all along, I'll give them a brake ;-)  

One of my close friends met me in New Richmond, WI where the race would begin.  It was a cool, foggy morning.  I hadn't registered yet, because I didn't know if we would return in time from vacation.  I took care of that, then my friend & I began our warm-ups and stretching.  I grabbed Old Glory all wound up, just waiting to be unfurled yet again.  We began near the back of the pack, as it was our first 10K for both of us.  Knowing I was tired from all the traveling, I just wanted to enjoy the route and get my message out.

We chatted most of the way.  It kept my mind off of the fact it was a 10K.  Believe it or not, 10K's scare me.  I love 5K's, half marathon's, and of course love the challenge of a marathon, but 10K's for some reason scare me.  I think it's because it is run at a 5K pace, but twice the distance.  I've seen some amazing runners come in with some impressive times.  These Patriot runs, however, have a way of easing my mind of my own troubles, and getting me to focus on so much more important issues.

There weren't many spectators for this race.  It was early, it is a small town.  As usual, there were the runners who would pass us saying, "Good job! Thumbs up!" and "You get extra points for that!"  It is always humbling to hear a "Thank you," as a vet would pass by, for it is me that should be thanking them.  I sometimes clamor up my words because there is so much I'd like to say to them, but mostly I simply reply, "It is an honor."

Running past one of the water stations, the flag flapped one of the volunteers right in the face...oops!  "Sorry!"  I shouted back. They just laughed.  There were gusts of wind at times, but somehow, miraculously, the flag was not difficult to carry.  My friend held it for me for a few steps while I got a drink of water. (personally, I think she just really wanted to be apart of the patriot experience :)  We finished with a relaxed time of 54:43.

A couple of days later, a man from the New Richmond Newspaper called me to question me about my purpose of running with a flag.  We had a nice phone interview.  He thought it was pretty cool. ~ The following week, I was at Wal-Mart.  I looked down at the check out lane, noticing that a small picture of me had made the front page.  A smile crept onto my face knowing that the message was indeed spreading, and that little me could indeed make a difference.  And so, I continue to run...