Who's the Best Ringer You've Ever Seen Show Up at an Obscure Local Race??

At the freshpond weekly race (once around for the 2.5, twice for the 5) Charlie Spedding showed up. I kept up with him for the first 400 yards. He kept the pace for 5 miles and a CR (23 something) I set a PR for 2.5.

On another day at freshpond an exhausted looking Patti catalano showed up. I passed her at 4 miles and she yelled curses at me, but came up after the race and apologized.

I used to go to a road race in Clare, Michigan during my high school years in the early 80's. Herb Lindsay showed up @ least twice and as I remember it he ran low 29's or even just under 29 for 10K. Second place was typically way behind! A couple years later..........I won the race in 34:00...I'm just glad he didn't show up that year.

calsnailer wrote:

I showed up at a 10K back in 1986 - a small 10K in San Mateo, CA. Rod Dixon showed up - actually finished second in just over 31 minutes behind Jeff Adkins (if I remember right).

I ran a PR of 32:52 that day, after running my first sub-5 minute mile ever (including track races!) trying to stay close to him the first mile.

Jeff Atkinson, former 1500m Olympian. The guy who inspired me to look into 100 mile weeks!

At a local Grand Rapids Track Club 5 miler about 16 years ago.... as the gun went off and Greg Meyer drove his car into the parking lot...... about a 8 minutes into the race, I heard the sound of a rushing wind..... and Greg flew by me like I was going backward... I think he spotted everyone 5 minutes and still won.

DeHaven showed up to the Belle Fourche Rodeo Days 10K last July 4th. I think there were maybe 20 runners total. He ran right around 34 flat I think. It's a tough little course, but I think he was going pretty easy. I didn't feel so bad about my 37 from a couple of years earlier after that.

My oldest daughter had 4th grade Field Day a few years ago, and the longest run was the "marathon", which was probably 0.4 miles long at most. I ran with them to encourage them and outkicked them at the end.

So I guess I was the ringer that day.

In my surrounding area, I'd gotten a bunch of seconds and third and finally thought I was going to get a win until Anthony Smith, who had the Van Cortlandt Park 5k record for many years until it was recently broken, showed up. I got second.

kilp wrote:Running a 5K behind Courtney Babcock -- I can think of less enjoyable ways to spend 15 or so minutes.

True dat.

You didn't hear me complain, did you? :-)

Mark Croghan when was still flying. He ran mid 18's...

...for 4 miles.

yeah dude, robin williams lives up here(I think he lives in noma or st. helena, not sure)

I remember in 8th or 9th grade my friends met robin williams while paintballing in vallejo.

A few of my friends and I showed up at one of the OMSI Turkey Trot races in Portland in the early 80s, and one of my buddies, who was the top guy on our high school cross country team, thought he might have a chance to win. But Alberto Salazar showed up and won the race by several minutes. It was some kind of odd distance so I don't remember the time, but the pace was well under 5:00.

Early 80s at Berry College

They had a 5K and 10K. John Tuttle won the 5K running for Kangaroo.

Frank Shorter ran the 10K but got beat by Tony Bateman.

I also ran a little 10K in Germany once and Triathelete star Lotar Leder showed up. Must have been using it for a training race because I was 6th o/a and I think he was 8th.

It was 1988 I believe and the Race Sponsor of "Run for the Buds 5K and 10K" offered a car to whoever set the 10K course record. John Tracey and Lisa Wiedenbach show up, and run 28:20 and 34:?? respectively. Needless to say, the cars weren't given away anymore. The races winning times the year before and after 88 were in the 32's and 39's.

Small world Johnny Rotten, I ran the Berry meet that year too. If you were in college then I am a couple of years younger than you but I think Dugger was still coaching Berry then. Who did you run for?

A small local road race I had always done well in began offering substantial cash prizes. The year I helped the director Christian Goy, NCAA Indoor Mile Champ, and Amy Yoder-Begley showed up. They dominated.

Here's to Bill Brasky!!

Carnivore 69 wrote:

My oldest daughter had 4th grade Field Day a few years ago, and the longest run was the "marathon", which was probably 0.4 miles long at most. I ran with them to encourage them and outkicked them at the end.

So I guess I was the ringer that day.

This is lame ... but have any of the rest of you ever BEEN the ringer? I showed up at a little 5k in the late 80s when I was a 14:50 5k type. Race had 100 people or so and I ran 15:25 and 2nd was 18:40. 1st place was a year's membership at the Gold Club health club. Didn't use it because it was 20 miles away. I'm a noob, but the story is true.

Last year a road race was won in 17:49 for 100 bucks, so I decided to try it this year. At the start line, Jacob Rotich (Harding, 13:58 / 28:55) walks up. He won.

got a good one... wrote:

At a tiny (105 runners) local race a couple towns over from me, who shows up but Khalid Khannouchi? He apparently lives in the area...I think he ran with his wife (?) most of the way and finished in 18:04, but I got an autographed copy of the runner's world when he broke the marathon record bc I was the only person there who knew his record time.

http://www.runner.org/ncnresults2003.htm

That's definitely a stunner, if you come on it unprepared:

All Sex Age Time Pace Time Place Pct

1 1 0 Paul Mwangi, 36 14:47 4:46 14:38 1 88.68

2 2 0 Francis Burdett, 38 15:49 5:06 15:26 2 84.05

3 3 0 Phil Warton, 35 16:00 5:09 15:56 4 81.39

4 4 1 Joe Lemay, 36 16:11 5:13 16:01 5 81.01

5 5 1 Adam Sisler, 19 16:16 5:14 16:09 6 79.75

6 6 2 Joshua Perks, 28 16:59 5:28 16:59 10 76.39

7 7 1 Rob Puff, 17 17:12 5:32 16:49 9 76.55

8 8 2 Greg Swiatocha, 18 17:27 5:37 17:13 14 74.78

9 9 1 Kieran Stack, 40 17:42 5:42 17:02 11 76.16

10 10 2 Tom Piazza, 33 18:00 5:48 18:00 24 72.07

11 11 3 Khalid Khannouchi, 32 18:04 5:49 18:04 25 71.81