Rise and Run
Rise and Run
184: The Culinary Crown Showdown: Who Takes Home the Golden Whip?
From Disney culinary champions to running through every town in Connecticut, this episode of Rise and Run serves up a delicious mix of Disney dining discussions and an inspiring look at one of running's most unique communities.
As the hosts close out their March Madness tournament of Disney table-service restaurants, passionate debates erupt over beloved dining spots like Beer Garden, Ohana, Boma, and California Grill. Watch as they navigate through tough decisions, occasional tie-breaking coin flips, and personal dining memories before crowning a champion that might surprise you.
The heart of this episode features a captivating conversation with members of the Connecticut 169 running society. Founded in 2012, this remarkable community challenges runners to complete races in all 169 towns across Connecticut. Their stories reveal delightful traditions (like mandatory tutus for 100-town celebrations), the thrill of conquering "elusive towns" that rarely host races, and even dogs who've completed the entire challenge. As one member beautifully states, "You show up for the running, but you stay because of the people."
Between heartfelt remembrances of a beloved community member, essential Springtime Surprise meet-up details, and a race report highlighting listener achievements across the country, this episode showcases what makes the running community so special—the connections formed while putting one foot in front of another.
Planning to be at Walt Disney World for Springtime Surprise? Look for the hosts at the expo or pre-race gatherings, and don't miss their Saturday meetup at Disney Springs where homemade cookies await!
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3 am again. Why did I ever think this was a good idea? Welcome to the Rise and Run podcast. Join our group of Run Disney friends. As we talk about running at Walt Disney World and beyond. We'll discuss recent runs, training, upcoming races and surprise topics suggested by you, our listeners. Well, the alarm's gone off, so let's go.
Speaker 4:Hey friends, this is Tara from Ottawa, ontario, canada, just finished up my 19 miler. I am training for the London Marathon and it's coming up fast. I had a fantastic run A lot of puddles, a lot of ice, but I just kept going through it and had a fantastic run. I had a few challenging long runs, but I kept showing up, I kept getting out there and I got this one done and had a great time. So don't get discouraged. Everyone Just get out there, put one foot in front of the other and happy running, because you know what Rise and Run is with us all the time. Get listening and get out there. Happy running.
Speaker 1:Tara working hard on her long run Getting ready for London. Thank you for the intro, tara. Hello friends, hello friends, welcome to episode 184 of the Rise and Run podcast, the springtime surprise episode. If you're listening, look around. One of us is around there somewhere. We'll be looking for you. Yeah, yeah, friends, I'm Bob. I am here this week with Greg.
Speaker 2:Hey, hey hey.
Speaker 1:With John hey how you doing and with Jack.
Speaker 6:Hiya.
Speaker 1:And we're excited to be here. We're excited to be at Disney World. We're not really there now, but we kind of are. You get that. We talk about it all the time. We're looking for you, look for us. We want to say hi, let's see. Friends. This week we've got a fun group with us, the Connecticut 169. The folks who are running all the towns in Connecticut, and we finish our March Madness for 2025 with our sit-down reservation-style dining establishments at Disney world. No spotlight tonight, friends. It happens every now and again. I just couldn't make the proper connections, but that's okay, we'll be back to it in a couple of weeks.
Speaker 7:If you enjoy the Rise and Run podcast, please share us with your friends and introduce them to the Rise and Run family. We want to share their run disney journey. So please remember to follow us on facebook at rise run podcast and instagram at rise and run pod, and check out our youtube channel and visit our web page, rise and run podcastcom. If you guys have any questions, comments, race reports or want to introduce an upcoming episode, call us at 727-266-2344 and leave us a recorded message.
Speaker 2:We also want to thank our Patreons, whose support helps us keep the Rise and Run podcast rising and running. If you'd like to join the Patreon team, please check us out at patreoncom. Slash rise and run podcast.
Speaker 3:The Rise and Run podcast is sponsored by our friends over at Magic Bound Travel and folks. If you're interested in visiting Walt Disney World, especially this summer, but if not through the rest of 2025, I recommend you head over to magicboundtravelcom. Fill out a no-obligation quote, because in the last like two weeks, disney has dropped so many discounts and various promotions, like free dining and all that stuff. It's so many I legit can't keep track of them. I wonder, why yeah.
Speaker 3:Nor can I imagine how a travel agent can do that. But that's the thing that's. A travel agent's job is to run all of those numbers to get you the best price possible, and magic bound is great at doing that. So if you are interested in a again, no obligation quote for disney world, disneyland, disney cruise line, alani, royal carib, royal Caribbean, a lot of the all-inclusives down in the Caribbean as well Be sure to visit magicboundtravelcom to get all the information you need.
Speaker 1:Thanks, Greg, Appreciate it. Good point Before we get into our training. Last week we talked about our friend Erin, and Greg, you were at her memorial service this week absolutely yes, it was.
Speaker 3:It was a beautiful, beautiful celebration of life and that is so true, to the highest level I have ever seen before. I went to the service with, uh, our friend ali, without an e, we, uh, we drove over together and we were about, I want to say, five minutes from the funeral home and we were behind a car that was covered in run disney car magnets and we both looked at each other and we're like, hmm, I wonder where they're going, and just pulling up. And then you know, just seeing all the cars and everyone who was waiting outdoors to get inside, and then, once you got inside, just the sheer number of friends that that we know, friends that you know that we, you know, might have been acquaintances, and then you know, we got to talk a little bit more, but the number of people that just came in run disney race shirts. Because, you know, michael wanted this celebration to be again, you know what, like literally what I just said a celebration of her life and the things that she loved, and obviously running and run Disney was a major part of her life and the fact that that could be represented so well, uh, was just really heartwarming to see. I, I I went wearing my stitch Aloha shirt that I wore at springtime surprise because initially I thought to myself, you know, maybe this might be like an little inappropriate to wear, and I sent a message to Michael.
Speaker 3:I was like, is this okay to wear? Because Lilo and Stitch was one of Aaron's favorite movies and she's a massive, massive Stitch fan. And, and I remember Michael was like, no, absolutely, please do that. Even to the extent where, um, there was someone there in a full body Stitch onesie pajama and that just that brought such a a wonderful smile to to my face and the face of so many others that were there. The number of people who flew up from Florida for this really, really astounded me. It really goes to show how loved Aaron was and it brought a lot of joy to a sad day lot of joy, just sad day and I was very happy to go and and michael and um, tom and diana and and a few others just gave some really wonderful remembrance speeches.
Speaker 3:So again, uh, actually all three of them are here at springtime surprise so okay good so if you, if you happen to, uh, if you happen to see them, give them, you know, your warm, warmest regards, and I know that they would greatly appreciate that. So I'm so glad that we're going to be able to see them this weekend and continue the celebration of a beautiful person's life.
Speaker 1:Greg, I'm sorry I couldn't make it, but I'm glad to hear it. I want to remember Aaron in a positive way, and I think we all do too, and I think somewhere she's looking and smiling and going thanks, thanks. That's what I wanted, friends. That's what I wanted. Okay, let's move on. Let's look at the training calendar. Nothing to train for, we got. We got. I don't know when we pick up, let's see. We got 26.
Speaker 3:May we pick up for yeah, I have it here May. May 6th starts training for Halloween.
Speaker 1:Yep, halloween yeah, okay.
Speaker 3:Halloween and bird in hand.
Speaker 1:Can we add bird in hand to the training calendar? Yeah, we'll. We'll talk a little bit more about training here in the coming weeks. When we got that that gap, there are no Disney races. A lot of you have other races that we can talk about. That in upcoming episodes too, what races we have coming up something I normally talk about at the end of the episode, but I want to put it up front because, again, we're already there at Springtime Surprise and that is where to meet us, because we want to meet you. So the expo is a wonderful spot, wonderful place. I will be there on Thursday. I don't know exactly how early, it kind of depends on where I come in the virtual queue. John, you're Thursday, right for the Expo.
Speaker 2:I should be there Thursday, depending on the virtual queue, but I'll probably be there early anyway.
Speaker 1:Yeah, jack.
Speaker 7:I will be there Friday evening with my mom right, right and greg, you're friday also, or no, I am.
Speaker 3:Uh, I'm thursday, again dependent on virtual q, but most likely morning. Uh, oh, for me.
Speaker 1:Okay, gotcha. Gotcha, that's right you. You get in later on wednesday night, but you'll be there for thursday morning.
Speaker 3:Yeah, okay so what are you talking about, Bob? I'm already there.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's right. Oh, there you are.
Speaker 3:I'm shocked we didn't mention this as a joke early on. Uh, you know, since we're already there, I was going to do my Heidi impression for you. Oh, yeah.
Speaker 1:I didn't notice her name in the roll call, but then again, a lot of times Correct it's never in the roll call.
Speaker 3:but then again, a lot of times correct, it's never in the roll call. And then she just randomly shows up.
Speaker 1:so look, we're looking for you at the expo, we're looking for you over at wide world of sports. Before the run I know I've mentioned it before, but before the run, please look for us to the left of the bleachers as you face the stage in the staging area. That's usually really a fun time to get together, and my dear sweet wife has been baking cookies for the last two days so we are ready for the Saturday 3 pm meetup at the food truck area at Disney Springs. She's got some different cookies. She's got some iced sugar cookies. This time she's got the old standbys. So we hope to see you there.
Speaker 3:And I'll also interject real quick Again, extremely, extremely informal, but we'll do the Muppet farewell on Friday afternoon, meeting at 2 o'clock.
Speaker 1:Okay, sounds good. I got to put that on my calendar or I'll forget it. Oh, you'll remind me. I know Greg will remind me. He won't let me forget it. Friends, it's almost time. We're almost at the final four, so let's get back into Rise and Run, march Madness.
Speaker 3:All right. So we're going to finish up the final rounds. Here we are in the Sweet 16. And since there's only four of us tied, the way that this is going to break down is the four of us will vote in the Sweet 16, and then, if we have a two-to-two tie, then the tie will go to the Patreons. But obviously the Patreons couldn't hop in the Mandalorian to know what the other matchups were going to be.
Speaker 3:So, since we have an even number, we'll vote. In the event that we have another tie, we'll we'll do some thorough convincing to see if we can get someone to change their mind, which could be fun. So we'll just play into that and see how it plays out. But what we'll do is we'll do the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eight first, and then we'll head into our featured interview for the week. So, without further ado, let's get started and, as we have for the last two weeks, we are going to start in the plastic cheese region. Our first game, number five seed Beer Garden, versus our one, cinderella, here, who took out a number one seed last week. The number nine seed Morimoto Asia. I know this one's going to be hard for Bob, so I'm going to pass on him for now. And John, I'll start with you, that's interesting.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I really like the food at Morimoto, but the ambiance and the crowd activity at Beer Garden, I think, really puts that over the top for me okay, 1-0.
Speaker 3:Beer garden jack. Oh, the second week in a row she gives us her answer in german. I love it all right, 2-0, bob. What do you say you?
Speaker 1:know we. One of the things I think about when we do this one is that we're not only playing this game, but I think in many cases we're telling friends about restaurants they may not have been to.
Speaker 6:Yes.
Speaker 1:And it's no secret that I really like Morimoto's.
Speaker 1:It was in the song by Oxen Spoon. It was in fact, it surely was. It was in the song by Oxen Spoon. It was in fact, it surely was. I don't know that if I filled out a bracket all by myself, that Morimoto would come out number one. So much of it is. What mood are you in at the time? But since I know John and Jack have already gone to the beer garden, I want to mention about Morimoto's because it may go out right here.
Speaker 1:The first time I went there I didn't like it. I just went. Eh, it's okay. First of all we ordered too much food and secondly we just we didn't know what most of the stuff on the menu was. So I didn't go back for a while. And the second time I went back I talked to the cast member serving us and said hey look, what kind of recommendations do you have for this place? And man, it's been great ever since. Beer Garden's also excellent variety of foods there. There's good entertainment. My vote goes to Morimoto's in this case, but it is closer than you guys probably think.
Speaker 3:Okay, so 2-1, and I'm going to put Beer Garden over the top, because there is nothing more that I enjoy than the pretzel bread and a nice stein of the grapefruit Schoenhofer, hoffer, hoffer, however the heck you say it. I think it's great. It's one of my favorite beers at Disney World, so Beer Garden moves on, and they have a decent cheese soup there too yes, they do, it's not.
Speaker 1:Le Cellier. But it's not. It's pretty good. But one last thing about Morimoto. You go to your local Bob's eulogizing Morimoto right now. You go to your local Asian restaurant, right, and you get the hot and sour soup off the buffet line or wherever the heck you get it. And I finally ordered hot and sour soup at Morimoto's one time. I took one sip and I went oh, this is what it's supposed to taste like, did it clear?
Speaker 3:out your sinuses. No, it wasn't that hot, but it sure was tasty, all right.
Speaker 3:I have all the respect in the world for Iron Chef Masahiro Morimoto, especially the time that he almost attacked Bobby Flay in the original Iron Chef series when Bobby decided to stand on the cutting board, which apparently in Japanese culture is extremely frowned upon. So sayonara Morimoto Beer garden moves on. Our last matchup here in the plastic cheese region. We have the three seed, the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Review versus the number seven seed. Speaking of cheese soup, lascellia jack, I'll start with you I really like lascellia.
Speaker 3:It has to be that I, I am gonna go lascellia as well. It's been many years since I have been to Hooptydoo, but I am dying to go back there.
Speaker 6:Oh absolutely.
Speaker 3:I'm trying to convince my wife she thinks it's a little hokey which I think it's supposed to be.
Speaker 1:It is a little hokey.
Speaker 3:So what are these days? I'll convince her, so I'm going to go with Selye as well.
Speaker 1:So that's what we went with was a group and but, as I mentioned last week, I found the food to be fine, but just fine. Lasalle is very good lasalle for me all right, it goes over the top.
Speaker 3:Of john, how would you have voted? I probably went lasalle for you guys clean sweep from way downtown. The seventh seed makes the elite eight all right. Next up we move down to the banana region, a true cinderella matchup. Here we start with the eighth seed, whispering canyon versus the 12 seed splitsville bob.
Speaker 1:Start us off yeah, I was afraid that was what it was going to be. After you said Whispering Canyon, I said, ah, this is going to come up against Splitsville Again. I've been kind of eulogizing the ones that I think are going to go out. I think Whispering Canyon's good and it's fun, it's a great environment. Take the kids's a great environment. Take the kids have a good meal. Well, I think Splitsville is so underrated. I think the only better sushi around is Morimoto and California Grill, then Splitsville Bowling alley sushi for crying out loud and it's really good and the pizza there is really good. So it's that kind of menu. It's not a fine dining menu but the food is good. Spl, the pizza there is really good. So it's that kind of menu. It's not a fine dining menu but the food is good. Splitsville for me.
Speaker 3:Okay, Splitsville for Bob John. How about you?
Speaker 2:I'm going with Whispering Canyon, whispering.
Speaker 3:Canyon. Okay, I am also going to go Whispering Canyon because I again I purposefully say that I would like a large diet coke, and nothing makes me happier than a large diet coke, uh, especially a supersized one. So 20 whispering canyon jack comes down to you. Do we go to overtime with the patreons, or are we asking for more ketchup?
Speaker 7:oh, we do go into overtime, my friends Split's what it is.
Speaker 3:Okay, all right.
Speaker 1:That a girl, jack. Excellent, thank you, bob.
Speaker 3:All right, so it comes down to the Patreon vote. With receiving 69% of the vote, the eight seed seed Whispering Canyon moves on wow well, if you thought that one was tough folks, I think this one gets even tougher. Our last matchup here in the banana region the two seed Topolino's Terrace versus the 11 seed Ohana. Yeah, john, I'll start with you.
Speaker 2:I said, I have not experienced Topolino's yet, but we've had great times and not bad food at Ohana's Okay.
Speaker 3:Ohana for John Bob.
Speaker 1:I've been calling it Topolino. I don't know if I'm right or not. I'm going to continue to call it Topolino and I'm going to vote that way.
Speaker 3:Okay, jack.
Speaker 7:You know, Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind, and in Rise and Run we're all family.
Speaker 2:So Ohana Okay means no one gets left behind, and in rise and run we're all family. So ohana.
Speaker 7:Okay, I thought you were saying couple liters at the end. Yeah, I'm about to do like a fast and furious thing, family I heard that speech last week you gotta say it again I mean fast and furious. They quote the word. They use the word family, like you can get drunk if you do a shot.
Speaker 3:For every time they say family in those films okay, all I can picture now is Vin Diesel sitting down at Ohana just eating shrimp and steak and potstickers and noodles and everything.
Speaker 2:I love it and a Corona, and a Corona alright, I'm extremely torn on this one because both restaurants have.
Speaker 3:Both restaurants only serve two meals. And at Topolino's I've only been there for breakfast. I've not been there for dinner. Oh, it's good. And then the same goes for Ohana, but it's the opposite. I've only been. It's the opposite. I've only been there for dinner.
Speaker 3:I've never been there for breakfast really and I know I said a couple of weeks ago that ohana can be hit or miss lately, especially with how the steak is cooked. So for me I have to base my vote on what meal I guess would excite me more, or, like you know, for the anticipation of going. And I think, based on that thinking alone, ohana moves on to the Elite Eight. All right, so we still have a double-digit seed staying alive in this tournament. All right, we're going to move over to the other side of the bracket now. We're going to move up to the Sports Bean region, our first matchup, and this one's a little bit more chalky than the other side. We start with the one seed, boma. I think we're all going to tonight, I think, if memory serves me correctly, is it tonight yeah.
Speaker 3:I think so yeah, I'm jealous. Versus the five seed Boathouse Jack. I'll start with you.
Speaker 7:That is so easy. Boma.
Speaker 3:Boma. Okay, john.
Speaker 2:I think I'm going to go. I really like the Boathouse, but I think I'm going with Boma.
Speaker 3:To Obama Bob.
Speaker 1:I don't think it's that easy, jack, and that's okay. It's easy because I've never been to Boathouse.
Speaker 7:Let me be fair.
Speaker 1:Oh well, I really do enjoy.
Speaker 7:Boathouse, that is easy yeah.
Speaker 1:They shouldn't be easy at this point. And again, speaking of the one I'm going to take out, boathouse is a fine restaurant. It's excellent Grab the filet, mignon sliders but I love the variety at Boma. I think I enjoy it more for breakfast than dinner, but I've been to both and Boma for me, so that puts it over the top, I think.
Speaker 3:Yes, it does, and it's going to be a clean sweep as well. I love the soup there. I love the soup there. I mean that buffet from top to bottom from soups and salads all the way down to Zero Domes is absolutely fantastic.
Speaker 3:You couldn't make an argument that Animal Kingdom Lodge has the best dining of any Walt Disney World resort and I really, really enjoy it. So, yes, so okay. Boma takes the cake and moves on All right. Last matchup here in the Sports Bean region, we have the two-seed Chef Art Smith's Homecoming versus the three-seed Sebastian's Bistro Jack. I'll start with you. You know, greg, I had such a lovely time at Sebastian's Bistro Jack.
Speaker 7:I'll start with you. You know, greg, I had such a lovely time at Sebastian's Bistro and the food was surprisingly delicious, because before then I'd never eaten there before. I really enjoyed that restaurant. So I'm going to go to Sebastian's.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 1:Bob, only been to Sebastian's once. I think it's good. I think they're fixing the clothes for a while, aren't they Are? They really no. I think they may have a refurb coming up. Nothing big, but I think they may. Yeah, and I could be wrong. I also could be wrong. No, I really like Chef Art Smith's Menu's a little limited, but I like the service. I like the drinks at the bar. I, I like the service. I like the drinks at the bar. I like the food. Artsmiths.
Speaker 3:Okay, one to one, john, you're up.
Speaker 2:Okay. So going there for the first time this year, I found out food was great. No, not great, food was good, I mean, but for the bang for your buck, you can't beat Sebastian's yeah.
Speaker 7:All right, so John's going.
Speaker 3:Sebastian's yeah, all right, so John's going. Sebastian's that's 2-1. Again, I'm extremely torn on this one. This is like trying to pick your favorite child.
Speaker 1:It's easy for you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I say it's easy for me because I only got one.
Speaker 2:I hope it's easy for you, yeah.
Speaker 3:So, that being said, though, where I'm going to land, because, again, food is excellent at both, service is excellent at both I think the one that I'm going to pick is is going to be the one where I think it's easier to get a reservation, and because, since I like both so much and I always have such a terrible time grabbing a reservation at homecoming, usually by the time I log into the my Disney Experience app it's like are you interested in eating fried chicken at 10.30 pm? And no, I'm not. So for me, I'm going to put Sebastian's over the top. Here, again, I agree with you, john, I think. Even though the price has gone up in the last couple of years, I still contend it is one of the best bangs for your buck at Walt Disney World, and I always get excited to go there. So Sebastian's moves on.
Speaker 3:All right, and our last region. Here we move down to the Cliffs Block region and our first matchup, the one seed Raglan Road down at Disney Springs versus the four seed via napoli. Uh, and I'll start on this one, I'm gonna go via napoli here. Uh, I've been to both restaurants in you know, the last couple of months, and while both are very, very good if I had, you know, pitting them up against one the one here. Uh, I'd much rather go to uh, to via nap vietnam, and get a foot long pizza, uh, that's covered in uh prosciutto and uh and cantaloupe, because that's just, it's delicioso. So vietnam for me, jack. What do you think?
Speaker 7:I love me some italian food. So vietnam, all right. 20 john I'm.
Speaker 3:All right, 2-0. John.
Speaker 2:I'm going for Annapolis. I like the pizza there is probably the closest I'm getting to anything up here, okay.
Speaker 3:I think I heard a rumor once that it doesn't come from Italy. But I want to say I thought I heard the water that Annapolis uses gets shipped in from Pennsylvania. I think All the fact.
Speaker 2:Check myself on that one, but I've heard that tomatoes come from Italy. I didn't hear the water story, though, but I know a lot of places that have done that. They've brought the water from the northeast down to the Carolinas to make bagels and breads and stuff like that.
Speaker 3:Okay, so Bob, obviously Vianapoli moves on, but how would you have voted?
Speaker 1:Surprisingly for my taste. Neither one of these would be a top seed for me, but I think they're both good. I would probably vote Raglan Road, and here's why I think the menu is better. Via Napoli does have excellent pizza, you guys are right, but the other dishes the pasta dishes at Via Napoli, are disappointing. Going for pizza at Via Napoli is great. Raglan Road you can go for other things, it really doesn't matter, it's already Via Napoli, go for it.
Speaker 2:I like getting yelled at by the servers for saying the name's wrong. Okay, Can I get some calamari? And some mozzarella. Oh, what do you need? Calamari? Okay, thank you.
Speaker 3:Love. It All right, and our last matchup here in the Sweet 16. The three-seed Tusker House over Animal Kingdom versus the seven seven seed California Grill Bob. I'll start with you.
Speaker 1:Tusker House is good, but it's an elevated Asian style restaurant. California Grill is just, in my opinion, a top flight restaurant all the way around. It's been a little while since we've been there. It's expensive way around. It's been a little while since we've it's expensive. Of course it's been a little while since we've been there. They went on that fixed price menu for the 50th anniversary and I don't know that I've been back since. You've been able to order off a regular menu, but I sure will be. Great restaurant, great views, excellent service. California Grill for for me all right jack because I really want to go there.
Speaker 3:California grill all right, 20 john, what say you?
Speaker 2:okay, I'm gonna throw a kink in this. Uh, I'm gonna go with tusker house. I mean, cal I, I never really. I was there once bad experience, not because of the food, because of the way they handled the place. I had a free bowl of soup, but that was it, and so I'm going Tusker House.
Speaker 3:Okay, so 2-1. I am going to go California Grill. I have not done the prefix menu yet, but in all the experiences I've had at california grill they have all been excellent. You know, even though I haven't tried the sushi yet.
Speaker 3:over at uh splitsville, I remember one of the rolls that I got there years ago was one of the best spicy tuna rolls I've ever had before oh, it's top flight absolutely, and I know two weeks ago Alicia and I were lamenting about this that brunch that they used to do, while pricey I also thought, was a really, really good bang for your buck. And I think Bob might have gone in the marathon PR because of the California Grill brunch, because he knew I was waiting for him at the finish line when he crossed his first dopey but knew I had a reservation to get to. So you uh, you really turned on the jets there I did do negative splits.
Speaker 1:I didn't pr, but I did do negative splits all right, california grill moves on I I checked about sebastian's.
Speaker 2:uh for going back to sebastian's march 24th 2025, sebastian will be closed for refurbishment and is expected to be reopened by the end of March. So it should be open, so check.
Speaker 1:I think they're just replacing the ice in the ice trays or something. It's only closed.
Speaker 2:The floor is painted. Touch some paint up, that's pretty good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, right Right, that's about it. All right, good stuff.
Speaker 3:All right, good stuff, all right. Well, you know what we're going to do. A slight change of plans here, because I know we said we'd do two rounds and then take a break, but I think these last three rounds are going to go super quick, so we're going to change things here. We're going to go now to Bob to tell us about our featured interview for the week and then, when we come back, we will do the Elite Eight, the Final Four and the final championship round. Bob, over to you.
Speaker 1:Friends, you know, if you listen to the race report and you pay attention, you take good notes, you notice that every now and then I'll talk about a runner who is in a quest to run each of the 169 towns or cities in the state of Connecticut. Well, tonight we're going to celebrate the Connecticut 169 on this week's episode and we got a bunch of friends here to join and help us out with that. Guys, welcome.
Speaker 5:My name is Adam Osman and thank you for inviting us. Guys, welcome. My name is Adam Osman and thank you for inviting us, and I was going to tell you my. I won't tell you my real age, but I will tell you my running age, which is 55 and 59 age group. I have run all 169 towns already. I completed that. I did about 500 races because I used to repeat a lot of towns, and now I'm doing the second round and I have 12 uh towns so far. So I'm doing slowly this time. Uh, the first time took me 10 years, so oh, okay hi, I'm Danielle um, I live in Waterbury.
Speaker 10:I actually have no idea how many towns I've done. I really don't keep track maybe every, maybe every six months, I'll go through my Strava and I'll start like adding them in, but I really I go more for the fun. The party. I have no idea how many towns I'm at Probably 60. I don't know and I've been doing this since. I think this is coming up on my third year in May.
Speaker 1:Okay, Hi, I'm Danielle. I'm in.
Speaker 11:South Windsor, Connecticut. I'm Danielle. I'm in South Windsor, Connecticut. I am 101 towns into my 169 towns journey. I actually just hit town 100 this past weekend and hit a PR in my 10 K doing so, which was incredible.
Speaker 1:I remember talking about it, Danielle, on the race report.
Speaker 11:Yes, I'm a fellow Disney runner and I am chasing the Abbott world majors.
Speaker 8:All right, I'm Jeff. I also live in South Windsor with Danielle because we're married.
Speaker 1:That's convenient, very good planning.
Speaker 8:And I finished the 169 towns in September of last year. I had joined in 2015,. I think Okay. So it took me about nine years and I'm 20 towns into round two, mostly just kind of saying, oh, that's an elusive town, which I'm sure we'll get to what that means later, and it's easy to just kind of have fun and go along with it. I am not doing the Abbott World Majors, but I am doing all the five Ks.
Speaker 11:Oh cool, I forgot to mention I started in 2019 with the 169 journey because of Jeff.
Speaker 1:Oh nice, very good, very good.
Speaker 9:Well, hi, I am Katie. I have been part of Run 169 Town Society since 2015, when a member tried to recruit my husband instead of me, but they got me. My husband has also completed all of the towns in Connecticut, but he never has joined the group, which people find very funny. But my dog is also completed running a race in all the towns, quinn, so I finished. I had to look it up. Someone gave me like an ornament, because I am not a data details person. I looked it up today because it was above my sink and it was April 14th of 2019, before the pandemic, and I didn't really care about repeating towns because I want to focus on running and racing and doing what I want. But you never know what will happen. I also have a French bulldog who I will register, but I don't have any need for her to do all of the towns, but she's up to six towns now at 15 months and so a lot of people have met her and so they know Quinn very well too. So sorry.
Speaker 1:Oh no, that's good. I got to get back to that, but I got one more person to introduce here, and this is the person that got that piqued my interest in that, and that would be that got.
Speaker 6:That piqued my interest in that and that would be. I'm sue. I'm from newington, connecticut, um. I've run 168 towns and I'll be running my 169th this month, the end of the month in bloomfield, connecticut, which is where I grew up, so I saved that town specifically um to finish in um. So that'll be fun and I'm really excited. And then I'm excited to do just all the wonderful races that I really enjoyed. Now I can go back to them and just enjoy them. I might keep track.
Speaker 6:I keep debating if you'll keep track a second time around, but I won't stop. I won't stop racing and I won't stop hanging out with 169ers once I'm done, because I really do enjoy seeing everybody at races and meeting new people.
Speaker 1:This is marvelous, and it is Sue being a Disney runner and with Rise and Run. For a while, that's the first person who brought it to my attention, but when we got close, I said we need to do something special, and actually Danielle, Danielle Kay, approached me and said hey, I know a bunch of people and we're delighted to have you all here with us tonight. Thanks for spending the time. It's great. Now listen, friends. This is interesting. How did all this get started?
Speaker 5:I think I can answer that. So eight of us started the group back in March 2012. And the idea of running you know all 169, I mean 50 states the idea has been around, but eight of us decided to start this group and we wrote a symbol rule, which was it has to be official race. And what makes it really interesting is that charlie merlis, who was the ninth, who was the first member to join, and was the ninth member he always chokes about it that, saying it in, there was eight members and no one joined it till he did. And then everybody I followed my points about that is, you know, although there was eight founders, I think everybody who followed with is what made the society grow, because everybody introduced somebody else, somebody else, and then the world just went around and that's how it got so big, because every everyone introduced somebody else. So you, currently we have about 5,300 members.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 5:I'll give you a little bit numbers.
Speaker 1:No, don't name all of them, adam, no, no, no, we won't do that, so we have about 5,300 members.
Speaker 5:We have 228 members who finish it all running home on 69 towns. We got eight of them who finished twice, oh wow. And we got one member who finished it three times and he does it quietly Hardcore. He doesn't want anybody to know his town, so he keeps it in until at the end that he submits it all of them at one time.
Speaker 5:Oh, I'll be darned, so that's how it started and, like I say again, it's the members who made the society where it is today and everyone has a friend and introduces another friend to the group. Another friend, another friend.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, I mean I can tell that I do know some of the folks in this group. I don't know all of you, but as soon as I started asking I could tell that you're a very tight-knit group, that you get along well with one another, and the interaction was a lot of fun. Now there really are 169 towns and cities in Connecticut. That's official, right.
Speaker 5:Official 169 local government. Each one has its own government. We don't have a county system in Connecticut. That's what also makes it so nice. Every town has its own local government. I got it. Unique town. Yeah.
Speaker 9:And they're not cities. So our hackles get up when you confuse them. So it's all towns and I live in a borough of Naugatuck and that is considered a town. So I figured people get very technical because some people will be like, well, what town does Mystic count for? And it is not a town? So we count the race start line as the actual town that you get credit for. Right, right so there's some technicalities into it that go into play.
Speaker 6:You become a geography expert in connecticut. It is kind of funny to think like I've been to every town. Because I've been to the town. I'm gonna finish it because I grew up there. So it's like you've been to every town. You can get anywhere.
Speaker 8:I feel like I can get anywhere in connecticut right now and mystic, for example, right like depending on which side of Mystic you're either in Stonington or Groton and it's like oh just like you said, katie, like which side and where am I?
Speaker 5:going. That's one of the emails I get a lot from the members. I can't find Mystic from the drop-down when they submit it in town.
Speaker 1:Is there really a Mystic Pizza? Yes.
Speaker 6:Mystic is kind of a touristy town, so that's one town that sometimes people will recognize from out of state and it's very lovely really.
Speaker 2:So these races, they're always in the same town, do they like? For example, I'm looking at some of your towns. They're, some of them are like four square miles, five square miles, right. So do they count? Like, if I'm looking at Derby's, like your smallest town in Connecticut from what I'm looking at, if it goes into another town next to it, does that count as two towns or is that one?
Speaker 6:Nope, only counts as the town that you begin your race in.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 6:So it's not uncommon for that to happen, but it doesn't count.
Speaker 5:Yeah Well, way in the beginning there was one of the founders. He used to count every time that every race the town went through, and when we came out with the rule that it has to be officially where they started, they ended up losing a lot of towns. So it has to be where the race starts and that's what counts, because some races, like Hartford Maritime, will run through three towns and the idea is to make it fair for someone who does short distance and someone who does a long distance will have the same opportunity to finish all 169 times, because there's no advantage if you do long distance, if you do short, short distance.
Speaker 1:That all makes sense. I understand and appreciate that. I'm curious. There have these 169 towns. They didn't all have a race when this started, did they? Every town had their own race, or did some of them have to be created in order to accomplish this activity?
Speaker 10:well, we still don't have races in all towns. Sometimes somebody will be like okay, we're gonna work on it.
Speaker 5:Could take a year, it could take a few months to just make a race in a random town and pretty much every 169er shows up to that race yeah and I think that's also what makes this challenge really hard sometimes to finish, because in the beginning there was about 12 times that didn't have a race, but now, almost every year, there are at least two or three times that has no races and you have to wait, oh yeah. So that's also what makes this challenge really not easy to do.
Speaker 6:Oh, frustrating.
Speaker 5:Yes.
Speaker 6:And then you have to be available on the weekend when that race is happening.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 6:It's like I remember last year getting invited to a couple of baby showers and I'm like oh no, this is the town day. I might be late, but I'll be there. So that's one thing I think we've all been through, where something's going on and it's a town you really need and you have to wait a whole other year to get it perhaps.
Speaker 1:Those are the ones you call the elusive towns, huh.
Speaker 8:Yep, and Canterbury is one of them. I don't remember before Was it December of 18, I think we had a race in Canterbury and it had been at least a year, if not longer, and how many people finished that day. It was a big number finished that day.
Speaker 11:It was like eight or nine. It's like an entire family finished in one day.
Speaker 6:Yes, I was there. I was at that Canterbury race, the gingerbread race, or something like that.
Speaker 5:That town is unique because there's only one race. Even the even a few years, I think 2018 was also a big crowd who was waiting for a long time and finish it all one time, and I just wanted to point out at that race there are one family that like set almost, uh, a record that probably will never be broken, but there's a family of four from Southington. They all finish at the same day all the 169th town, but what's more interesting is they have the youngest boy, the youngest person who ever finished it, the boy who was 12 when he finished it, and Deodora was only 10 years old.
Speaker 5:Oh wow, and I don't think that record is going to be broken.
Speaker 1:I don't think so.
Speaker 5:She was only 10 years old and she finished it all on 69 towns. Wow, that's impressive. Her brother was only 12 years at the time.
Speaker 8:With a broken leg, if I'm not mistaken.
Speaker 5:Yes, yes, exactly, oh come on, yeah, he crutched a 5K.
Speaker 9:He did several races on crutches.
Speaker 1:Now wait a minute. We're recording this on April 1st. You guys aren't messing with me, are you?
Speaker 9:Oh no, I think you underestimate our level of crazy. You thought Disney was crazy. You might have pictures.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 9:It's something and I also refer to towns that don't consistently have a race as being unstable, refer to towns that don't consistently have a race as being unstable, and so there are several that the races start and then they stop for whatever reason it is, and some race directors are happy to create different races. Hopefully it'll be longstanding, so they continue, but then there are some other races that will occur to try to fill the gap until that. But it also depends on how quickly you want to try to finish completing all your towns. It's very common for people to start and want to just zip right through, because it's a little bit of an adrenaline rush to get down there a couple in a day and it's.
Speaker 9:It's hard because once I know I finished all the towns, I felt kind of this lull, like a little like what do I do now? Like I finished it, what, what's next for me? And um, that's how I had the dog start doing the races because she had been running anyway, but it's all different, however. A person wants to go through it at their pace and time, and Adam was. He was purposely not finishing for a long time, even though he won't admit it. He was like how long can I be the only founder that's not finished? And then he finished without saying anything. I mean, just tricky people are so. I'll be darned.
Speaker 6:I will say that I think we raise a lot of 169, a lot of towns have races as fundraisers for things and I think I can say 169 has been so supportive of many of those small town PTO races. I mean parent, teacher, you know, organization races or races to benefit a fire station. If someone in this state has a race in an elusive town, everyone's going to be there and they're going to make a lot of money.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, now it's obvious. You mentioned it already. There's a central registration point somewhere for these races, because you've already alluded to that. Katie, I'm curious the dogs register for the 169?.
Speaker 9:Yes, there are several dogs, including Simba, who is Daniel and Jeff's dog. You said his name and he barks so yes, there have been.
Speaker 9:there's also been another dog finisher, happy who? He is? A labrador mix. I have a black lab, that's what quinn is, but you know it's.
Speaker 9:It's been nice working with adam over these past 10 years because because he and I see a lot of things similarly and we just try to have fun and enjoy it, and we said, hey, why not let the dogs register be part of the society as well? All about having a good time, and so a lot of people have done that. And so she started when she was a year and a half and she's super fast. She'll be 11 next month. So she slowed down a titch but she's still in excellent shape. But it's just been so fun to get everybody involved and have all their pets do it. And actually we were at a race this past Sunday helping the ledger's class graduating do it safely. And Danielle and Jeff and Danielle again, we were there and Danielle was kind enough to call my little Frenchie, frankie, to come cross the finish line so she can make a spectacular finish, you know, and just everyone helps other people out and it's just been a good vibe. So, yeah, but how many towns is Simba up to now?
Speaker 8:been a good vibe, so yeah, but how many towns is simba up to now? Oh, I should know this. Uh, 12, 12. I think I don't bring him to a lot of races, um, but he does pull me to some of my faster ones.
Speaker 11:All right the puppy is still learning runner etiquette.
Speaker 8:Yeah, he's three, he's three and a half. He started probably a year and a half ago yeah, about two years ago, I think, he started so when you get all 169 towns, do you guys do a medal for that hell?
Speaker 7:yeah is that what you have around your neck?
Speaker 8:I love that and a run disney friend made this for me for when I finished it I think that's amazing you need to describe it, jeff. Oh. It says uh, it's like the purple and red yeah um traffic signs at disney and it says finish line straight ahead I love that, jacks.
Speaker 10:We also celebrate the hundred. Danielle, pick up your thing. We can celebrate the hundred, so we make a video 100 and at 169.
Speaker 5:and you have and uh, tradition is you have to wear, not you have to to, but anyone who wants to wear it can wear a tutu. Okay, yes, so we have a lot of members who show up at 101 Celebrating and will wear the tutu, and that tradition has been going on since the beginning.
Speaker 8:Yep, I finally started to live up to the expectation and at Bradley Road Race last weekend I got so many comments about my tutu.
Speaker 5:It started as a joke and at the beginning, when we started, there was not that many members and there was not money to celebrate. So finally we had a race. A doctor from Yale was finishing his 100th town in Brooklyn and one of the members made a joke and said you should wear a tutu. And he wrote a nice email. He said I love you guys and I love the celebration, everything, but I will not be wearing a tutu. So then everybody show up wearing a tutu and the tradition is just going forever.
Speaker 11:That's how that started. That's really cool. I actually did not know that was the back.
Speaker 5:Yeah dr snyder. You know he said I love this team and I love the id, everything.
Speaker 6:And he said but you will not see me wearing a tutu and smiling face and then, everybody show up wearing a tutu, that's great, I've got to get my tutu out of the closet. I got it at a hundred. My daughter made one, me one, so it's coming up. I'll need it again at my 169th.
Speaker 8:I couldn't find my tutu and I wore one of her mini skirts on one of my sparkle skirts.
Speaker 11:The sparkle skirts, that's what I was gonna say that's funny.
Speaker 1:So the the tutu is a tradition for the 100th and the 169th. Is that right?
Speaker 5:Yep.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay, good stuff as opposed to Disney, when a tutu can just show up at any time.
Speaker 9:I've done it, I've done it, it's all good and we also have a really wonderful awards committee who actually is helping with trying to create videos to celebrate milestones for individuals. They'll take pictures, they track things, they'll do some sort of secret networking to get the medals to people and they also fund the medals and I don't even know how they do that, but they're just wonderful and they're always so helpful and grateful that they're getting them to the right people at the right time and operating. We have a to the right people at the right time and operating. We have a lot of wonderful people that just step up and help without really much thought about it. We're a very multi-talented group and so we do come together well.
Speaker 5:Yeah, and I think that's what makes this society so great is that we don't have people with titles or officials. Everyone just see the skill that they have will do it. We have somebody who, you know, does the website for our races and updates that, which is one of the best race schedule in the country because we list every race in the state, and we have somebody who volunteered to do that. We have somebody volunteered like Katie say that does the awareness, the medals like these beautiful in the state, and we have somebody who volunteered to do that. We have somebody volunteer like katie say that does the awareness, the medals like these beautiful medals, you see. And we have somebody who makes a video. So you know it's all volunteers. No one has a title, official title, anything like that, and that's what makes this society so great is that everybody just jump in and do what they can do.
Speaker 11:I actually joined the awards committee about six months ago. I stepped up to that. I think one of our longstanding members asked for help and a few of us jumped in to increase the awards committee group because there's a lot of celebration days with our forever growing population in this running group, which is incredible. So it's been really cool having joined the awards committee because I get to have kind of an inside view like oh, who is coming up, who needs to be celebrated? How do we get medals places, how it is just so much fun celebrating everybody and it's, you know, it makes it's the way to give back to something that's brought so much to me and so yeah that's a really cool aspect of this that I didn't expect to do when I first joined, but I'm really glad that I do get to be a part of now.
Speaker 1:Well, again, I alluded to this earlier and it didn't take me long to realize. I saw a comment in your Facebook group talking about if you run in the Connecticut 169, you will never run a race alone, you'll always run with friends. Kind of reminds me of Run Disney, but it's a different scale, different level and you're well, you're closer in the.
Speaker 9:that group's a bit smaller than the run disney group, but it's the same idea and I know that's what means so much to me that the disney runs it's also interesting too, because correct me if I'm wrong, adam, but when the founders started out, they never thought that people would actually really join at this level and never thought that they have 200 plus people finish. To finish was a super huge deal and that's why it has been called a journey, because it's supposed to be a lifetime journey. Theoretically, how it started out, they used to do what were the runs when you all would get together and when there wasn't a race in that town. What were those called? I forgot.
Speaker 5:Yeah, so in the beginning, when we was very small and there was about 12 towns that had no race and we couldn't, we wasn't big as we are right now, where, right now, if you put a race a town that had no race, everybody would show up. What we did is at that time, once the person reaches 160 towns the last nine towns they could run elusive town as long as three members show up to run with them.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 5:But the idea was also, if an official race comes in in that town in the future, they have to redo it. But that was a way for people to finish the 169 towns because otherwise they're waiting forever.
Speaker 8:I think it took me like a year to get the last nine towns in oh, wow it's longer than that and sometimes you go like months between races where, like you could have probably would show up to other races yeah, I got you new towns I know there's I do know.
Speaker 11:There's a town that I don't think has I think it's scotland has not had a race in three years because of construction going on, like there's no bridges. There's something going on, so there's a bunch. There's a handful of members who are stuck at the very end because this one town has not had a raise. And yeah, katie or Adam. Please correct me if I'm wrong on my numbers I think it's been at least three years or since COVID they haven't had a raise, I think.
Speaker 3:I'm not sure if it's three or two.
Speaker 11:Is it two or three?
Speaker 9:We had some terrible flooding and so a lot of the bridges went out. Some terrible flooding and so a lot of the bridges went out. And then it, the race is put on in Scotland by one of the members who she it's her, her passion to do it and she is part of the Scotland rec committee and they are in an influx and trying to figure out how to offer it in addition to what's happening within the committee members and with the town and with the conditions that they're at. But it's definitely on the radar. And it is true. There are some towns like, I believe, volantown it's been two years since they had a race there so usually it perks up and somebody will try to help encourage a race to happen.
Speaker 9:But at the same time we don't want to be overwhelming as a society and bothering different charities and groups. And you know it should just be a natural flow of waiting for it to happen, or I don't know it's. We can get a little hyper in trying to make opportunities happen. I guess that's a nice way to say it. So you know, when it happens in Scotland, it will be how it's supposed to be, and the other towns as well too. So until that point. You know know, it's like what Sue said. You just enjoy the people, enjoy the town work on a goal and when it the the iron hot, the iron becomes hot, it will. I don't even know what.
Speaker 9:I'm saying I knew you were gonna get there poking somebody with something.
Speaker 5:Yes, yeah, I'll give you a little funny story about scotland. Uh, a few years back the town was having a financial difficulty and there was serious talk that the town might merge to another, merge with another town next to it and at that time we bought the domain name 168 because there was.
Speaker 5:I remember that it was all over the news. We were afraid that we might lose one time, and so we bought the domain and then we also talked about it in our data. If that happens in the future, you still got to do the 169 times.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay, hey, listen, this is fun. I've enjoyed hearing about 169. I want to hear from you personally now, though, and, sue, since you introduced me, I'm going to start with you. I know you're finishing soon. I want to know what you plan to do when you finish. Please, and maybe and this applies to everybody what's your favorite story from your 169 journey?
Speaker 6:story from your 169 journey. I started in December of 2016 with my daughter, hannah, and running. Some of those early races with Hannah were great. Hannah has since had two children and has not returned to running yet because she's got little ones and she's running around after them, so I'm hoping she comes back to it. It's funny as I look at the folks here. I remember meeting them at different races Danielle and Jeff I met talking about Disney races because we showed up at a race and we all had Disney Run shirts on. It's like oh, do you run Disney? Do you run Disney Danielle? I remember meeting at a race up in Lark Campstead or something like that. It's funny. I remember just, and Katie and Adam are just always everything and I've seen them through the years.
Speaker 6:But, um, after I finish, I think my, uh, my, my thing that I'm going to do and I'm finished in April and I'm signing up for a race at like the hole in the wall gang camp Paul Newman's hole in the wall gang camp which is like the most awesome race, and I'm just looking at those races that I loved, that I want to go back to and that I haven't done because I was so focused on getting the towns that I needed, that I would run a race I love and say I can't go back there. I got to go on to the next town. So that's my goal this year is just to pick out those races I've enjoyed so much. So that's the next race I'm going to do after I finish, and I I am. I haven't signed up. I got to sign up for that today and then you know I love this race, chester four.
Speaker 6:On the fourth it's a 4th of July race and I love that town. It's so cute. So that's that's going to be. My goal is just do the things that I've really, really enjoyed. I um, the Harvard marathon Foundation in this area has a lot of races and I used to be very involved with them, and I haven't done a lot of the races lately because I've had all those towns. But I'll go back to doing some of those towns which are close to where I live. I'm very fortunate Newington is very centrally located in the state, so doing this challenge hasn't been as hard as folks that live in either of our four corners or far away.
Speaker 6:So, yeah, I'm just going to do those races I really like to do, but I won't stop. I just pick out my favorites now, but it's hard to pick one favorite. I've had so much fun, I've done so many fun races, met up with so many fun people. But running with my daughter early, I'm hoping I get her back in. I'm hoping we're back in when her kids are just a little bit bigger.
Speaker 1:I understand.
Speaker 6:Run with the kids oh well, I'm almost there, cause he, I have a four-year-old grandson and I'm like, oh, I can start signing him up for kids races. So, oh, yeah, believe me, I've got that in mind. I'm waiting for him to do his first like Disney 5k, because they come down with me to all the Disney stuff but, like I said, they're asleep. But I'm like, yeah, he can do a 5k in a year yeah, they can.
Speaker 1:Five years old they can do the 5k yeah, that's right.
Speaker 6:So anyway, that's sort of my journey um 2016. I thought I was going to finish before my 60th birthday, but then COVID hit and we didn't have quite as many races, so I was finishing um and I'm 61, so I'm happy with that.
Speaker 1:Good for you, Sue. Keep moving, girl. Yeah, that's the key.
Speaker 6:For sure.
Speaker 1:All right, who's got a? Who's got a 169 story they want to share with us? Katie, how about you?
Speaker 9:Well, definitely the most memorable one for me was when my dog Quinn finished in Hartford and I have to tell you, okay, how many people showed up for my dogs.
Speaker 9:One, 69 would blow your mind Like I'm an introvert. I like people, but you know, like I'm just, you know I was blown away by the kindness that people have extended to me and my family and my little furry friends too and Quinn is a lovely dog but I could not believe how many people showed up and to this day I am still just in shock. And I look at the video Adam was great to be there and to make a video log and documented everything. And I look at the video. Adam was great to be there and to make a video log and documented everything. And I look at the pictures. But so many people it's just along the way. I mean so much to you and it's like you know, I know Danielle and Jeff and Danielle, kay, you know, and Sue, just, I feel like, even though we're not necessarily like in the same circles, all the time I feel connected to them, and that's something that's big for the society.
Speaker 9:So they all showed up to Quinn's 169. She's actually down there snoring and she was wearing a little what's it called A royal cape that kings and queens wear, and she had a tiara on and she had a scepter in her mouth and her metal. It was just really touching, and mine as well too, was wonderful because they it was for a fire department in Avon and they let me go up in the fire truck bucket.
Speaker 9:All right All the way up, yes, all the way up, and then I could do a queen wave. It was beautiful. So it was very touching too. My husband finished in Clinton. So it was very touching too. My husband finished in clinton you know, people. We tend to go out afterwards and celebrate and posters are made, chalk on the sidewalk and all kinds of things. And adam would also go to kinko's or wherever xerox and make banners back in the day for people saying they celebrated 100 towns or 169 towns.
Speaker 9:So just, the community evolves together. But it just was.
Speaker 8:It was just touching and that is the biggest thing that will stick with me and still like blows me away at the kindness people have extended to my family, just so no, that's fantastic fantastic you know, joining in in 2015 and still being part of it now, and you know I took it kind of slow as my schedule permitted, and all I've seen the group change over time, grow right and people that I knew from the very beginning and years ago who I don't see as often. You know you get to see them now, but then you're also making a whole bunch of new friends.
Speaker 8:so it's like all these different circles and groups and like I think I met daniel k not long before um, dan daniel my daniel right point of society and it was like somehow we found out that she was also a disney runner, which I didn't know that about her and um, and it was like, oh, these like worlds sort of collide, and that's really cool.
Speaker 9:And that's one thing too that I want to mention. It's I love to hear that Sue is going to still continue to run, cause I always get so sad when I form these connections with people where it races every weekend and then they finish and then they kind of go away and life happens, which is fine, it's how life goes, goes. But I'm so grateful when people stick around because I I'm like you know it's it's hard for me, the sense of loss. I feel that we've had this path together and we because runners talk about everything together, you know, there's no holds barred, so it's nice people stick around it's interesting you say that, katie, because, um, I feel like you know Jeff was talking about the how you know people who were there previously.
Speaker 11:You know, I feel like there's a distinguishing between pre COVID and post COVID and I got in right before COVID so I kind of know a lot of people from the earlier years and I know so many of the newer members now and so, because I got in so early, I know a lot of people who started in 13, 14, 15, and I'm pretty good friends with them. So when you bring them, it's like, oh, you kind of feel that sense of loss. Like, katie, I have seen you a lot more in the last handful of months than I have in years and maybe just because we're at different races, and it's like it makes my heart happy to go. Hey, I get to see you more often and you know I get to see Danielle and you know seeing. I love when I get to see people that I either, you know, have formed connections with or I look up to as athletes and draw a lot of inspiration from to make me a better athlete, and it's just. It really is. I don't think I have a, you know.
Speaker 11:To tie back to Bob. Your question is that I don't think I have one particular story, it's just I can think back to oh, I love this race because I got to spend time with these people. I love this race because I got to celebrate my friend's milestone. I love this race because I got to watch my husband do something awesome. I love being at this race because I got to see somebody I haven't seen in three years like it's, it's the community aspect of this is the. I know our slogan is show. One of the slogans is show up and run. It's the you. You show up for the running, but you stay because of the people yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 6:I think I'd be remiss in not saying one of my other favorite things that I just thought of is the fact that when you hit 60, if you're're a woman runner in 169, you're considered one of the sizzlers.
Speaker 1:A sizzler.
Speaker 6:A sizzler, and there's a lot of women over 60 that are in 169, which for me it wasn't like oh no, I'm 60. I'm like, oh, I get to be a sizzler, and it's really inspirational. There's a lot of great runners 's, a really competitive group, but more than that, people just are in this group of all ages. Um, so it's, that's part, that's fun too.
Speaker 8:I'm a sizzler now and people like us like to photobomb your sizzler picture yes, you do.
Speaker 10:I am the leader of the photobombers, I started that whole mayhem I love. It all right, danielle, tell us about it um, they were doing sizzlers and I was like, all right, I'm just going to stand in the back. And I put my hands up in the back, me and my like what Middle thirties I don't know, and just started making a spectacle of myself. And then I invited other people to join and now we have a whole massive background group of A tradition was born.
Speaker 6:We always get our photograph taken together.
Speaker 10:So, yes, it is definitely someone will be behind us, danielle or others, and uh, but that's fun, that's the fun part nice um, I'll do mine next please my journey is actually very different than everybody else's, because mine actually started with disney before I was a one okay my husband goes to me right after COVID and goes did you know, disney puts on races.
Speaker 10:I was like, okay. He's like do you want to run a half marathon? I was like I can barely do three miles, what are you talking about? And he goes well, I'm going to go without you. Then I was like all right, sign me up.
Speaker 10:It was like a random race that just happened to, I guess, open up magically or something, because it was like three or four weeks prior and I've only run three miles. And I was like he's like okay, it's fine, you have three weeks to train, you'll get something done. Like okay, fine, I'm an athlete, I could do it and I loved every second of it. And then he found the 169ers and he's like well, you like kind of running with people, why don't you join this group? And that's actually my first weekend that Sue met me. That was my very first. It was actually my birthday. My birthday is my anniversary of my 169. So that's why I can know the date anytime, because I will. I just showed up and they were like hey, come run with us. And I was like okay, sure. Who are you people?
Speaker 10:uh, sheila, every like. I don't remember everybody's there, but I remember sue was there and sheila was there and they're like come, come, come, take the picture with us, come be in the picture. And I'm like, um, okay, and now I'm in, and now I use the 169 actually as my training runs for anything that I'm doing next, because I hate running alone.
Speaker 10:I will sign up. If there are five races in that day, I'll sign up for all of them, just so that I can just get my miles and that I need for the next thing. Is there a half? Sure, let's go do a half. I just use them as training because I love having fun, I love running with people, I love seeing the people, and if I don't know which race to do, I just check to see which race has the most people going, because we all just kind of say, hey, we're going here, where's the biggest party, that's where I'm going.
Speaker 1:Okay, adam, I'm going to let you bring it home here.
Speaker 5:All right. Well, I wish I could say one story, but actually say one story. But uh, I run so many races and I think for a long time. I didn't want to finish it because I was afraid I hear you. Now I have something to look for. So it took me over 10 years to finish it. But I love one of my favorite races. I run about maybe six, seven times times. I volunteered for three. It's called just a half marathon.
Speaker 5:Okay, it's in February, it's the coldest yeah in in in Connecticut yeah, and it was my second half marathon and I never forget when I was a mile 10, which has a big hill, the wind hit me and I was freezing and I'm thinking what am I doing here? But then at end that race has a big party and it's really entire running community come together. But I love just going to towns that I never heard of Before I started running. I mean, I lived in Connecticut most of my life. I had no idea there was 169 towns. But once you get to know all these towns, you also learn a little bit about every town.
Speaker 5:And the other great things I noticed is you become you collect more information for, like, for example, you read in a newspaper and you, you see a town of franklin. Before you start running you probably would just skip the article, like I don't know what franklin is. But now that you've been there, you run there, you're like, okay, well, let me what Franklin's. So, and you know, I met a lot of great friends and you know, anywhere, every time I go, I have friends with, uh, you know, I see people in local or you know, uh, just walking around or whatever, and then like, yeah, you go on six and niners, yeah, so it's just a community all supporting each other and all rooting for each other. And just the support is really amazing. And you know we have people who met through the group and got married. How?
Speaker 1:about that you know.
Speaker 5:So you know it's just a strong community and no matter what time you go like somebody I think mentioned it before you will always have a friend or somebody there, so you're not alone.
Speaker 1:Wonderful.
Speaker 2:With the 169 group. How do we join if we want to join this and start this, and is there a cost?
Speaker 10:Move to Connecticut.
Speaker 5:That's easy, does it?
Speaker 2:have to be in Connecticut.
Speaker 5:No, it's free, it costs nothing. Run 169. If you just Google Run 169, but it's run169.org or com, and there's one simple form that you put your name zip code and no, not zip code, just your name and your pound and how many times you have run. So we don't collect any personal information.
Speaker 6:It's free to join and then then after that, you can track everything through the website and we do have some out-of-staters, because I know there's some members in massachusetts and new york.
Speaker 11:We do have some I started this while I was living in florida, so that's ambitious I was dating jeff long distance okay in town for visiting for a weekend in a town he needed.
Speaker 11:When he was on his first round in a very, very a race. Came up in a town that was very hard to get and it's still very hard to get, and he's like, do you mind if we go run this race? I'm like sure, why not? So we ran, and that's when he explained 169 and met people that weekend. I was like, okay, I'm in. So I actually did my first few races living in florida and then I moved up and I've been, so you don't have to live in Connecticut to do it.
Speaker 1:John's in North Jersey. He's not that terribly far away. Nope, there you go. Well, friends, I think we're going to wrap it up. I knew it was going to be fun and I appreciate it so very much you spending your time with us. Good luck to you. It's great. Adam Danielle and Jeff Danielle, katie, sue, thanks for joining us.
Speaker 11:Thank you, Bob. Thank you Thanks so much A lot of fun.
Speaker 1:Fun group. Fun group the Connecticut 169ers. You can tell, I think, just from listening to that interview. I believe they could have gone another hour or so if we didn't reign them in. But I say that with love. I think it's a wonderful thing, so a lot of fun. Hey, look, if you're in the New England area, if it's something you can do, I would recommend you look into it. All right, let's get back to the March march madness and let's find our champion yes, we need to have our one shining moment coming up here.
Speaker 3:So let's power through these last three but short rounds here. So we are now in the elite eight. Our final matchup here in the plastic cheese region the five seed beer garden versus the seven seed lasalle jack. Which epcot restaurant are you picking? Uh, you know, no, that's easy beer garden all right, I'm gonna go beer garden as well too what's it?
Speaker 7:t?
Speaker 3:tacky, ticky, tacky, yeah or yeah so I mean the fact that it's a buffet, it's decorated beautifully, you have all the entertainment. That's that's what sends us over the top for me. So 20 beer garden, john, how about?
Speaker 2:you pulling back for a three and sealing the game.
Speaker 1:Beer garden sealing the game, yeah you guys all got this one wrong. Really, this is Le Cellier, one of the better places on Disney, I think. Le Cellier, wonderful steaks. When you go there, don't forget the cheese soup. It's great. But I must bid au revoir to our Canadian restaurant.
Speaker 7:It is good, I will admit, will admit, oh a thousand percent.
Speaker 3:You know, like bob said last week, a lot, a lot of good restaurants are going to fall by the wayside here. All right. So the five seed beer garden moves on to the final four. All right. Moving down to the banana region, again another tough one here the the 8-seed Whispering Canyon versus the 11-seed Ohana. Bob, we'll start with you.
Speaker 1:Oh, tough one. Tough one because I'm not really all that familiar with either one. I think I've only eaten once in each place, and I know I have no. No, I've eaten twice in Whispering Canyon a breakfast and a dinner meal.
Speaker 3:Oh, yes, you and I had dinner. We had dinner. We sure did During the. What was that? That was the canceled marathon weekend in 21. We did that.
Speaker 1:Was that the Skyliner 15K?
Speaker 3:Yes, that was the weekend that we did that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's fun. And then Ohana only once that I recall for a dinner meal. I think that was just Becky and me. Oh man, I got to pick one. I'm going to pick Ohana.
Speaker 2:I'm going with Ohana. You know the bread pudding at dinner, the pineapple bread, all that stuff at breakfast and all that other stuff. That's the way to go, Ohana's.
Speaker 3:All right, and I will go Ohana as well. So, just like George Mason or VCU, of all those yesteryear Cinderella teams, an 11 seed makes it to the final four family we do not endorse drinking games here at the podcast. Thanks, jack. All right, anyway, we'll move. We'll move over to the sports bean region, our finalup the one seed Boma versus the three seed Sebastian's Bistro. Jack, I'll start with you again.
Speaker 7:Oh, this one might be the hardest one, I think, Because I know how much Dave and I both love it. Boma.
Speaker 3:Okay, 1-0 Boma John.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm thinking about this one still.
Speaker 3:All right, we can come back, bob. What do you think Boma? All right, we can come back, bob. What do you think Boma? Boma, you know what. John, I'm going to make it easy on you. Boma All right, I was going to say Boma as well too. All right, so we have our first one seed to crack into the final four. All right, and our last Elite Eight matchup here down in the Cliffs Block region, the four-seed Via Napoli versus the seven-seed California Grill. And John, I'll go to you first Via Napoli, okay.
Speaker 1:Bob. This one is easy for me Again. We talked about it already Via. Napoli is good pizza, pizza and that's it. California Grill is just a superb restaurant, california Grill.
Speaker 3:All right, so we are tied at one Jack.
Speaker 7:Vianapoli.
Speaker 3:Okay, we're going to have to get into argument time because I'm going to go California Grill as well. So we got two-two. So can we figure out a way to change someone's mind here?
Speaker 1:Well, jack's leaving, so no sorry.
Speaker 7:I thought I saw a bug on one of my medals up above and I was like what is that?
Speaker 2:That was a tough-to-be-a-bug medal.
Speaker 7:No, it was my figment one.
Speaker 1:Oh, here's my thinking yes, price California Grill's expensive. Here's my thinking yes, price california grills expensive, but the food there is just first rate, what?
Speaker 7:what have you had at vietnam? Besides the pizza, I've had the pasta what'd you think? I liked it, especially because it was easier on my stomach.
Speaker 1:Was it better than the Olive Garden?
Speaker 7:Yes.
Speaker 1:Really, I didn't think so.
Speaker 7:Yeah, I can't. Unfortunately I can't eat Olive Garden that much anymore. It really like the IBS really starts to be bad.
Speaker 3:Well, I'm going to throw this out here. Hey, Jack and John, can you watch the fireworks from Via Napoli?
Speaker 7:Depends. Are we talking about epcot? You can watch it from the windows I'm I'm just talking fireworks in general.
Speaker 1:Now, even then you really couldn't, I think if you, I guess you could see it if you stood in the front door. That'd be about it. Oh, no, no, no one's budging.
Speaker 3:Interesting, although I find it very interesting, uh, bob, that we've presented arguments and the Via Napoli crowd can't throw it back in our face yet.
Speaker 7:Okay, here, here I got the best way. Everybody put out their hand, Put it in like a rock formation. We'll do rock paper scissors and we'll do it four ways.
Speaker 2:The only thing right now is we're going with California Grill. With your past experiences, it's a price-fixed menu right now again. So you're, I don't know if that makes a difference to you guys.
Speaker 1:We're not going to any of these restaurants with our future experiences. All of them are with our past experiences.
Speaker 2:No, but you mean, like with the, there's a price-fixed menu now, so you don't have the choice. You've got to get a slimmer choice of food to pick from. I think where before you had, I think, a bigger option when we planned to go there that one time.
Speaker 3:Are we at a point where we're going to have to flip a coin here?
Speaker 7:I feel like this is like Monopoly, when you're trying to barter for someone else's card because you need it so you can start putting houses on it, so that you can just take everybody's money like no one's budget. That's why I don't play monopoly with lexi. They refuse. Okay, oh, I got it. I got it. This is how we're gonna. Which restaurant is the most accessible to everybody? Budget like booking it.
Speaker 1:Well, the fact that a restaurant is easier to get a reservation at doesn't tell me it's a better restaurant.
Speaker 7:It's a bigger restaurant, but like price-wise too A lot of people. I mean California Grill. I've never been, but it is, from my understanding, pretty expensive.
Speaker 1:It's expensive, yeah All right.
Speaker 3:Well, since we can't come to a consensus here, it's kind of fun. I just learned out that, built into Google search you can flip a coin, so we'll try this out. So, since Via Napoli is the higher seed, via Napoli will get heads and California Grill will get tails. I'm going to flip it. Here we go. It's turning, it's turning and it is tails, so California Grill moves on.
Speaker 7:Fair play.
Speaker 3:I can't share my screen, but I hope my friends can trust me here.
Speaker 7:I can see from the reflection of your glasses you're good.
Speaker 3:Okay, there we go, All right. So imagine now we're in San Antonio for the final four, on our left side of the bracket, our first matchup a five seed beer garden versus the 11 seed. Ohana John, where are you going?
Speaker 7:Look at that face. He's not sure.
Speaker 2:I think I'll have to go with Ohana.
Speaker 11:What.
Speaker 2:Okay, what Okay?
Speaker 3:Jack.
Speaker 7:I love me some Bavarian cheesecake. So what is it? Taki, taki, taki, taki, oi, oi, oi, or tiki-taki, there we go.
Speaker 3:All right, Bob, what do you think? One to one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, At this point I'm looking for the again. I'd go to either one. I like them both. Yeah, but I'm going to the one that has the better food overall, and in my opinion, that's Ohana.
Speaker 3:Okay, I think we might have to go to the coin flip again, because, as much as I love Ohana and all of those appetizers and all those meats I love Ohana and all of those appetizers and all those meats I think, if you're looking for a quintessential Walt Disney world meal, I think beer garden is tops because it again it's a, it's a cool ambiance, it has very good food and you know, and the fact, with the entertainment and you know, and the one thing that, like I realized, is like the last time I think I went there during, I went there during marathon weekend two years ago and I now have this core memory of going out to the dance floor and dancing with my daughter and that will forever be, ingrained and I really can't really get that.
Speaker 3:Ohana, again I'm trying to hit on Ohana. I love it, but for me I'm going to go beer garden, so we're two, two. Do we want to try the arguments, or are?
Speaker 7:we just going to flip a coin.
Speaker 2:I would love to hear it you can't get a lapu lapu at a beer garden what's a lapu lapu?
Speaker 3:the drink and the pineapple oh yeah, the quint, the drink and the pineapple oh.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the quintessential drink and the pineapple. You can't get a cocktail at all, I don't think at Beer Garden you can get a beer.
Speaker 3:Well, you can get a stein of beer if you want to.
Speaker 1:You can get several.
Speaker 7:I mean, when I go to Beer Garden I eat to the max. I probably won't even eat for the rest of the day because I stuffed myself like a bear, like going into hibernation like I. The food to me is just so good, especially the bavarian cheesecake. I will literally go there just for the bavarian cheesecake because I get like six or seven of those slices. Um, yeah, it's just so good. And like again, the pretzel with the soup is really good, I mean they put a limit on the slices you get now no, they don't.
Speaker 7:They don't have a camera, john, I know it's april fools, but you can't play me again no, you know what? That was good johnny, props to you for that trying that I was gonna say no one's ever told me that if anything, I sneak like four or five slices on one plate and then I like she puts three or four in her pocketbook.
Speaker 2:Takes them out with her I try.
Speaker 7:I think I one time I think I might have put it on in like in a napkin and try to take it out and bring it home, but like.
Speaker 7:No, that was with a cookie, sorry now you're on the radar I know, but like it's the one place that I feel like every time I go, like I, I get excited because when I talk to the servers they get excited because I'm practicing german with them and they get. We always have such a lovely conversation in german and it's fun. So sentimental, I guess for me as well.
Speaker 3:But I guess if we're going to toss, a coin in the spirit, so we don't have a toss a coin you are not switching over. I will be willing to switch my vote to Ohana, because there's one thing that I realized that can make Ohana very special, and that is, if you time it right and you have the right table, you can watch the magic kingdom fireworks from ohana and they do pump in the music and you can do that and that's and that's and that's pretty legit and the water show.
Speaker 7:I once walked out of Beer Garden and the fireworks were going off.
Speaker 3:Okay, yeah, but you had to leave the restaurant though.
Speaker 7:I had a clear view.
Speaker 2:I walked out the bathroom and saw the fireworks one time, too, at Epcot. All right.
Speaker 3:So we come to a quasi-consensus there.
Speaker 7:Oh, I thought Beer garden was going to win. Ohana makes it to the national championship game.
Speaker 3:All right On the other side of the bracket, a one seed Boma versus the seven seed California grill.
Speaker 7:I can't Sorry.
Speaker 3:Jack. Since you can't Jack, I'll go to you first.
Speaker 7:No, because all the ones I like go away.
Speaker 2:I'll go to Bama, I'll take it.
Speaker 3:I'll steal. I'll go to Bama. All right, john's going to Boma, jack.
Speaker 7:Zebra Dome Boma.
Speaker 1:Boma Bob. They're both great, but I think it's pretty obvious from what I've been talking about. I think, of the restaurants that are left, california Grill's my favorite.
Speaker 3:All right, Well, unfortunately, we're going to have to say goodbye to the 15-layered chocolate cake. I'm going, boma as well, so Boma moves on on. So here we go. The championship game ohana versus boma.
Speaker 1:Bob, what it's, one takes the prize for you yeah, okay, this is where we are and for me, I have enjoyed Boma many times and I like the breakfast and the dinner at Boma, and we'll be there later this evening. So Boma it is.
Speaker 3:All right, so it's 1-0. Boma Jack, what are you going to go with here?
Speaker 7:Hey Bob, I think we're aligned. Boma, fist bump, are you going to go with here? Hey Bob, I think we're aligned Boma Fist bump. Fist bump yeah.
Speaker 3:John, he's contemplating.
Speaker 2:I know I would like to see the Cinderella team win, but yeah, I'm going to go with Boma.
Speaker 3:Well, that puts it over the top, but my vote would make it a clean sweep as well, too. Uh, I, I cannot wait to have the soups tonight. I just I, I dream of soups and I dream of zebra domes, and it's an awesome meal. So there we go shoot off the confetti, grab the ladder, climb on up, grab your scissors, cut down the nets. Congratulations, boma. You are the winner of the 2025 Rise and Run March Madness Competition.
Speaker 1:Well, it's always fun doing these. It really is, and we're going to agree on some, disagree on others, but I I hope that in doing it we shared some knowledge of the restaurants for our friends who are contemplating where they want to go at the disney resorts and even if, even if one you heard about didn't win, you may go. I think maybe I will go to morimoto's.
Speaker 7:No, I'm only kidding, I would love to go with you, Bob, sometime. Just let me know.
Speaker 1:You know, I think if I filled up my bracket all by myself, I think California Grill for me. Really. Yeah, yeah, but that's it. But look, we had fun. Bone was it this year. I don't know what we'll do next year. Fast food, maybe, quick service, quick service, quick service.
Speaker 7:Yeah, quick service will be a good one.
Speaker 1:There's lots of great places. Have to narrow that down. Yeah, yeah, all right. Well, there you are, friends. That's it for 2025. Boy, I hope you had fun and when you see us here wandering around the park or at the expo, tell us what we got right and what we got wrong. There you go, there you go. There's an icebreaker for you. You can come up and tell John which ones he got wrong, or you can tell Jack that you were secretly rooting for her choices all the way.
Speaker 7:Thank you, Bob.
Speaker 1:There you go. All right, friends. Next week we answer some listener questions. Two weeks from now we will be back to wrap up our season recap for Springtime Surprise.
Speaker 3:And we'll get out of the way now, Brandy. Yes, it is my fault that we're doing it that way.
Speaker 1:All right, my friends, it's time for the race report. The race report brought to you by Thomas Stokes, stoked Metabolic Training, stokesfit, slash, rise and run coaching. Don't forget what Tom told us about last week is scholarship offer. I don't know if that's pinned to the featured section of our page yet or not, but it will be soon. Hey, look around. Hey, tom's down. Tom is down there. Say hi, tell him. You heard him on the podcast. All right, let's start. On Saturday in Louisville, kentucky, the Louisville Triple Crown of Running. Ashley and Sarah were there. Ashley said courses out and back starts at Churchill Downs. You know that's the home of the Kentucky Derby. It runs through a hilly Iroquois Park. Finishes on the 50-yard line at LNN Credit Union Stadium, home of the Louisville Cardinals. They used to have a pretty decent quarterback there, john, didn't they? A couple years ago. That's where Lamar came from. He's playing in Baltimore now.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:He was a University of Louisville guy.
Speaker 2:Yes, you're right now.
Speaker 1:Anyway, six-minute PR for Ashley. Sarah was there too. She loved running at Cardinal Stadium. Her husband and kiddos enjoyed the airplane views. Louisville Airport's right behind there. Now this one, Louisville Airport, is a hub, I think, for FedEx Might be UPS, but I think it's FedEx. A lot of big airplanes going in and out of there. They're waiting for the finish line. Problem with the hills, but a nice challenge, great run. That's up in Louisville in Temple Terrace, Florida.
Speaker 1:Andrea was there for the 44th annual Strawberry Distance Classic 10K, 10K, 5K challenge medal. If you do both events Everybody gets a finisher's medal. Fresh strawberries at the finish line. It's strawberry season here in Florida. In fact. The Strawberry Festival just ended a couple of weeks ago. A lot of local vendors, samples and raffles With the benefit of customized training. Andrea had a great improvement over her time from last year.
Speaker 1:Still in Florida, Holly's at Riviera Beach for the Singer Island Half Marathon. Holly's had a medical condition that's been flaring up on her and it kept her from finishing this race, but I'm glad she reported on it anyway. Her cousin was also running. She gave it a shot but by around mile five of this half marathon knew she wasn't going to be able to finish. Told her cousin to take off. Holly still made it to mile eight, mostly because that was the first chance she really had to stop. Race was kind disorganized, so if you're planning on being in riviera beach this time of year, be aware of it. Poorly marked a poorly marked turn point left the 10 milers there was a 10 mile race here also not turning around and ended up running a half.
Speaker 1:I'm sure they were excited about that, not good no in stone Mountain, georgia, the inaugural Stone Mountain Music Dash 5K. Amanda and Jimmy were there. Amanda says beautiful, fun, pollen-laden race Made a quick stop by Stone Mountain Park, taking the history and the beauty of spring in the Atlanta area. Next week off to Lynchburg for the Whiskey Hill to conquer Whis whiskey Hill at the Oak barrel half. That looks like a fun one. Also, amanda, john Pollan's, you're not getting the pollen yet up. Oh yeah, we're getting it.
Speaker 2:Are you already?
Speaker 1:Yeah, the car was yellow, so the worst place I've ever been for pollen was Southeast Alabama. I mean, we get it bad here. It gets bad all over. Worst place I've ever been for pollen was southeast Alabama. I mean, we get it bad here. It gets bad all over. And I'm not saying Alabama is the worst in the country, but it's the worst I ever saw. And the big thing is it's a rural area with nothing but pine trees all over the place.
Speaker 1:Ooh, that's the worst pollen too it is, and the daggum blacktop would be yellow. Pretty impressive. Anyway, I'm one of the lucky guys. It doesn't bother me.
Speaker 2:Well.
Speaker 1:I'm not. So I'm sorry for you. Both parents both my parents and my brother have allergy problems. My sister and I do not. We're just lucky. All right, let's see. Enough rambling. Jimmy was also at this race. He said they ran around Wade-Walter Park but had to head to the mountain afterwards for a photo op. A couple of kinks to work out on this run. He'll probably give it a try again in a couple of years.
Speaker 1:Up in Albany, new York, mary ran the the ice breaker 5k along the Hudson River. She says it was cold. I looked at the pictures. The pictures made it look like it was cold. Mary says she's looking forward to springtime. Surprise 10k this. Well, now Mary is going to be mighty warm. Take care of yourself, just protect yourself and slow down. Hydrate, pour the water on your head, you'll be okay.
Speaker 1:In Chicago, tiffany ran the inaugural Lucky 7-kilometer race. Never did a 7K race before, so PR. She got a new plant for this one, some kind of cypress for being one of the top finishers. Good job, tiffany. Speaking of top finishers, over in London Rob ran the Regents Park 5K and dag gum. If Rob didn't win the thing Flat out first finisher Got a first place lanyard for his medal, a 40 pound voucher towards another race. Rob, being the humble bloke that he is, said he thought everyone was running the 10K but he didn't care. He won that 5K. Rob's a good runner. Good job, rob. Congratulations. Job, rob. Congratulations. Robbie was in Doral, florida, for the From Waste to Race 5K.
Speaker 1:Dina I hope it's Dina and not Dinah. I think it's Dina. Calverton, new York. Andrew's top run. I need to talk about this just a little bit. In September of 2018, a Boy Scout troop was hiking along the trail when a drunk driver crashed into them. Several Scouts were severely injured and Andrew Andrew McMorris passed away. Young Boy Scout passed away as a result of his injuries. So this 5k is a celebration for Andrew, his love of aviation and scouting.
Speaker 1:This first time Dina actually raced a 5K. She's done them before. Usually treats them as training runs. Didn't meet her goal pace, but did get a 5K PR.
Speaker 1:In Nashville, tennessee, amy ran the Richland Creek Greenway 5-miler. Couldn't have been more perfect Always her favorite race to kick off the pre-summer season Temps of 68. Cloudy made it pretty comfortable. Only finished four seconds slower than her goal pace. That's great. Had a co-worker join her. She's feeding her co-worker the Galloway Kool-Aid. Good job, says Holler.
Speaker 1:Hype wasn't connecting at first, and then when they hit the four-mile mark, they all came flooding in. I've experienced that too. It's kind of fun. I finish up on Saturday. I'm going to take a little time on this one. Our friend Debbie and her son Kay ran in Greater Goldsboro I'm sorry, the Greater Goldsboro Road Run in Goldsboro, north Carolina run for a child. Now Debbie's an experienced runner. We see Debbie all the time at Disney World. Quite often she's there with her daughter Meredith.
Speaker 1:She set out to get a proof of time for the 10K and she was on pace for the first couple miles, but she never got to the finish line and she ended up being found about a mile off course south of the finish line when a passerby called 911 to report that she was on the side of the road. Here's the scary part she doesn't remember anything past mile four, but if you look at her Garmin data, she kept running for nearly six miles. Yeah, she got transported to the local hospital. She was bleeding, abrasions, shattered sunglasses, but no one saw what happened. She was admitted overnight.
Speaker 1:Thankfully, testing showed no injury. She's going to be okay. Another important thing is that Blake and Kirby had her on Life 360, and they were en route to where she was when the EMS on bicycle stopped them and said we've got her to go to the ambulance and meet her there. The moral of the story, and gosh, we're really glad you're okay, debbie. This is really scary, but we're really glad you're okay. The big thing is friends. When you're out running, even in an organized race, make sure someone knows where you are and where and when to expect you, so if something just totally unusual like this happens, you can get help as quickly as possible.
Speaker 2:And something else. I know I don't know how many people do it at Disney On the back of your bibs, there's a space to put in all your emergency contact information. Yeah, there is. Put it in, or also carry one of those road IDs or something on you so they know who you are if they find you on the side of a road like that.
Speaker 1:I have a road ID. I'm not wearing it right now. I have two different watches and I'm going to be honest, John, I don't fill that in, but it's a very, very good idea.
Speaker 2:I have the road ID too on my watch, so I haven't filled it in lately either, but I have a road ID and you know, on my phone I have an ice contact.
Speaker 1:It's important. It is very important, as Debbie's travails point out. It's especially important if you go out on training runs by yourself, which I know a lot of you do. So just keep it in mind, Just keep it in mind and once again, Debbie, we're so glad you're okay. We did have a weekend-long event Saturday and Sunday. The Run Irving in Texas race weekend had multiple distances. First ever Run Irving event.
Speaker 1:Tyler did the 10K on Saturday and the half on Sunday. Tyler hasn't posted in a while but he's real happy with times in both of these races. He really hasn't been able to train like he wanted to. Finished running faster than normal on a very warm day. No event photos, Tyler says, but he's sure the ones of him tripping and falling 30 feet from the finish line will be memorable. Tyler, we look forward to seeing those. Ellie was there also. Ellie ran the 10K on Saturday. First her goal was to run her first sub-60 10K. First two miles went great. Then humidity and wind started doing their thing. She stuck with it. She finished in 50 minutes and 22 seconds. That's great. That's a PR. Well done, Ellie.
Speaker 2:That's a good proof of time for Disney.
Speaker 1:Crushed it, yeah, good job. On Sunday now in Ashburn, virginia, jennifer ran the Spring Classic 10K. A little warmer than expected but she executed the plan she had for herself of doing the first 5k at half marathon pace, second 5k at marathon pace and then she continued her training and finished 10 miles, did very well. She finished age group second, sixth overall at 46 minutes for this 10k. Jennifer's one of our faster runners. Jennifer just does a super job. Sharon was also there. She ran it with her 11-year-old son. We had a couple people at the Love Run Philly Half Marathon. Julia got a shiny new half marathon PR of just under a minute 51 seconds. Another great time there. First few miles were downtown, around some of the famous sites in Philadelphia, before an out-and-back section along the river, most rolling hills with a big climb just after mile 10, but again knocked out a PR. Sean was there. Sean also PR'd and locked up a time good enough, a proof of time. Good enough for a corral at Disneyland Disney World, not a corral, corral A. I mean, we all get into a corral, but he's getting into corral A. So that's good stuff. Good stuff, sean.
Speaker 1:Cambridge, massachusetts. Jake did the spring classic 5K, set a goal of trying to knock this one out in under 30 minutes, which and I love this I would have considered impossible just one year ago. I love reading about the improvements and the results of training. That's fantastic. Race was well organized, roads were wet but the rain held off. Weather was a cool 40 degrees up in Massachusetts and oh oh yeah. Jake finished in just under 27 minutes a five-and-a-half-minute PR. Rob was there also, noting that it was a chilly morning, loved the conditions. Rob knocked out a 26-minute 5K. Rob and Jake finished very close to the same time. Great post-race activities made for a terrific event In Tallahassee, florida, the springtime races one mile, 5k, 10k.
Speaker 1:Kim and Anthony were both there. They both ran the 10k. Kim says the club does a great job of organizing their events. This one was no exception, even with the record number of participants. They had about 2,000 runners. They did very well. Nice medals, shirts, post-race goodies made it worthwhile Already looking forward to next year. Great running, weather and another PR, other PR. Good job, kim. A four minute 10K PR for Kim Anthony. Anthony said I finished my annual pollen run. Well, there you go. We're talking pollen again In Massillon, ohio. I think I'm saying that right Could be wrong.
Speaker 1:Lori ran the Maiden Ohio 10K, said the towpath was flooded but her soul felt good running in mud. Her goal was an hour and a half. She came in at an hour 20 and 42 seconds, ran 20, 30 intervals the whole race. First one she was able to run intervals through all the way since her total knee replacement. Lori's making terrific progress. Let's wrap up the race report in Naples, florida, where Rob ran the time to Patty 10K. He had some travel plans for the weekend but they fell through so he signed up at the last minute. So this one was too hot for his dogs. They're not happy about it, but he had a nice run anyway, raced on a beautiful course at one of his favorite parks in Naples. All right, my friends, since we're all together, there's no Zoom tonight. There will be a Zoom next week. That'll be fun. We can relive springtime surprise, we can talk about what we're going to be doing over the summer and until we meet again, which hopefully will be very, very soon, happy running.
Speaker 3:The Rise and Run podcast discusses general information about Run Disney and is in no way affiliated with Run Disney or the Walt Disney Company. Any information or advice discussed on this podcast should not be considered medical advice and should always consult with your healthcare provider or event organizer. Bye.
