Pinerodeo 5K Race - September 2001

By September, we were walking three miles Tuesday and Thursday evenings and four to six miles on Saturday and Sunday. Katie signed us up for the Cambria Pinerodeo 5K race. She told me it was a "5K"; she did not mention it was a race. As we pulled into the parking lot and saw all the people stretching for the event, I asked, "Didn't you say this was a walk, these people look like they are getting ready for a race?" This is when Katie told me it was a "race" but walkers were welcome. We went to the sign in booth and asked about walkers and were told no-problem. We told them it would take them about an hour to walk the 5K (5K is about 3 mile and we walk about 3 mile an hour).

Everyone lined up for the start, the gun was fired and the pack took off. The initial group was off on a run; to our relief there was a small group of walkers at the back of the pack. It only took a few hundred yards and the other walks were leaving us in the Dust! It was kind of fun being the clean up walkers, as we passed the people helping along the route we would tell them "We are the end, your job here is finished, thanks for waiting." As we approached the loading shoot at the finish line all the other participants were cheering, they had all been resting for some time now. Just by chance, I stepped in front of Katie as we entered the shoot, Katie finished DEAD LAST, and I was one step in front of her. With the adrenalin, of the event we walked our best time, the walk was hard but we finished. You would think we had just finished back to back marathons! We gave each other high fives. Good thing we were able to finish, they did not have a sweeper van.

It was then time for the closing ceremonies and the awarding of medals. They had many age groups for both men and women. They were working their way down through the groups person by person and everyone was clapping and cheering. As they reached the Women 20 to 29, they called the third place name, Katie Schrempp, Katie was off in her own little world thinking about her sore body when I jabbed her. She asked "What?" and I said, "They just called your name, you got a medal". Dead last, but third for the 20 to 29 women, third of three, but THIRD. Check out her medal in the picture.

Bob