Norman's Running Conquest

Time: 123:03
Distance: 18 miles

Scott D drove over to the Lodge this morning for an early morning long run. Two long runs in one week? Stupid? Perhaps. Committed? Definitely. The Norman Conquest was this morning which, more or less, involves 500 unfriendly bikers the chance to heckle runners in mass. After getting an early 6:45 am start, Scotty and I made our way to the corner of 48th and Franklin where OK Runner so graciously sponsored the first water stop. Craig was out there in a classic morning grumpy mood setting up the water. He was definitely surprised to see us after our 58 minutes of running.

Our route took us from the Lodge, out Lindsey, left on 36th, across Alameda, Robinson, Rock Creek, Tecumseh to Franklin where we turned right. With a little Gu for energy and water for hydration we waited for the lead group of riders to arrive. We need not wait long as the lead peloton of serious riders was soon to come tearing around the turn onto Franklin. The lead rider was up out of the saddle pressing the pace. We shouted to the riders we knew which inlcuded Jason Pratt, Stu Lisle and some others. As we continued up 48th we noticed that some of the riders had already shed the extra weight of their water bottles which were thankfully filled with Gatoradesque substances.

I was impressed with the number of riders that were out on the course. I recognized several OK Runner customers including Christian, Paul, Patti, Lori, Steve Bell and several others. It would be sweet if the runners in Norman could create such an event as casual as the Norman Conquest.

The rest of the run was fine. My hip loosened up about 70 minutes in and I never needed to take the second Gu that I was carrying. After getting back into town Scotty and I finished up the final 15 minutes at a quicker clip which took us past Irving Middle School in order to get in 2 hours of running.