Human fly paper — prestidigitation
By MATT CARPENTER The Summer Sun Youth Run is over and while the kids were running around Prospect Lake, it offered me a chance to reflect (get it?) on why we all run — it is fun! Sure we hurt a little and we may even get tired but watching those kids take off on their run brought it all back home. If you have ever seen a kid’s run, you know what I am talking about. When the gun goes off it is pedal-to-the-metal-all-out-pure-fun. About 100 yards later reality sets in and the drudgery begins. Kids are smart — they know what is fun and what is not. We grown-ups with our superior intellect do not. We keep on going past the fun point, past the drudgery point, right into the stupid zone. Some of the really smart grown-ups even have so much “fun” they get injured. We could all take a few lessons from the kids. After the race there were the obligatory, albeit parent pushed, kids who wanted to know their times, but the rest were more interested in sticking there hands all over the double-sided tape that holds the pull tags. At one point six kids, seven if you include myself, were stuck to the results board. It kind of reminded me of fly-paper but the flies were having a good time — seeing who could leave the biggest dirty hand print. One of the kids thought sticking his head on the board and getting his hair pulled out was the cat’s pajamas. Meanwhile, in the background one of the parent pushed kids deposited his breakfast all over the place while his parent was telling him he was only X-many seconds behind so-and-so... You are probably thinking “That’s great Matt but you no doubt go past the fun point yourself.” While true, a primary goal of my running is keeping it fun. I run 13 times a week and only 3 of those runs take me past the fun point. I have been known to stop and climb rocks in Palmer Park or pick up some rocks and practice my juggling. Most of my runs are relaxing and help me recover from those times when I go beyond the fun point. This months Magic Rocks trail award (see last months article) goes to the entire Palmer Park system. While this may seem obvious to some of you, I have a feeling that there are a lot of runners out there who do not realize that right in the middle of this mini-metropolis is a trail runners dream. You want magic rocks you got’em. And talk about surprises — psycho mountain bikers are looming at every corner and there is horse poop galore. Run real early or late and you might be the one offering a surprise to the individuals parked in their “secret” place. Palmer Park offers loop after loop of fun, fun and more fun. Keep an eye out for the magic rocks and take a spin through the park. If things are going right and you are having fun, you just might want to climb a rock or practice your prestidigitation.
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