Well, it may not have been how EiEi originally imagined it, but on this January night the weather couldn’t have been much better, especially considering the threat of torrential rain from the west. The PAX began to gather after sun set as the electricity of the evening’s main event began to spark and hum along the lake front in Old Mandeville. Brethren from the southern reaches were welcomed with open arms as old friends reunited and new friendships were soon to be forged in sweat, adrenaline and beer.
With a large contingent of The World slipping in under the wire, the tense anticipation simply could not have been any sharper. F3 fellows of all stripes were mulling about when, without warning, the score keeper’s cow bell (speaking of conspicuously absent) rang out in a clanging cacophony sending the runners off into the night.
Now, every man ran his own race. Some took off faster than they oughta, while some found their rhythm and pace quickly. Some could’ve gone another mile, while some dropped to the earth at the finish line. Whether he completed 1, 2, or 3 laps, every man put the hay in the barn.
Special recognition in the HEART category goes to SOGO, who, shortly before completing the 1st half of his 1st lap, caught a pot hole near the “horse-shoe playground” and suffered a severe ankle sprain. YHC, personally, would have called it then and there, thinking of the work week ahead, but this specimen of fortitude got his happy ass up and, not only finished his remaining 2.6 laps, but finished in 13th place!
The Top 10 finishers were as follows:
1. In Time
2. Catfish
3. The Hammer
4. Speedy Gonzalez
5. Bushwacker
6. Beignet
7. Steve
8. Zoolander
9. Belloq
10. Brushburn
With 60% of the top 10 finishers one might expect the Northshore (God’s Country) to have reclaimed the Freedom Hammer, but, alas, it was not to be this year. The dramatic announcement of the results by THE Manny sent shock waves through the reveling crowd, making disbelievers of both North shore and some South shore PAX alike. For the record, after two recounts, concessions were finally made with the the original tally of 366 to 288 verified.
And so another year of trash talking and insidious photo bombing by the World’s hard-won spoils lies ahead. There’s still the summer time interlude of the trophy-less Gnarly Nutria to look forward to before we prime up the orchestra for the Krazy Ivan IV: Drago’s Revenge. Until then, thank you to everyone who showed up for some fun competition and fellowship. CSAUP stands for completely stupid and utterly pointless, but we who participate know that there’s nothing pointless to gathering, growing, and bonding; pushing ourselves and leading by example. Until next year…
SYITG
