Two Streak Races in One Day

There are several races that I run every year and I call them my streak races. Two of them are the Ramp Romp and the Rocky Raccoon Trail Run and both were scheduled for today. The Ramp Romp 5K in College Station did not start until 10 a.m. and the Rocky Raccoon 25K at the Huntsville State Park started at 7 a.m. Thanks to Paul Stone, the Rocky Raccoon race director, I was able to run the Ramp Romp and then come back to Huntsville and start the Rocky Raccoon about noon. The Ramp Romp starts at Kyle Field on the Texas A&M campus, runs one-mile around campus and then 2.1 miles up and down all three sets of ramps at the stadium. Even if you are use to running hills in Huntsville, the ramps are a challenge. It is something different and I always find it fun. I finished in 32:11. I left the finish chute, grabbed two bottles of water and headed back to Huntsville. When I got to the park about noon, when most of the 25K and 50K runners had already finished. Paul let me start and keep my own time. I finished the 25K course in 3:57:11, which is proof that I did not take any shortcuts. It was the first ime that I had ever run a race all alone. No aid station, other runners to run with and no one at the finish line. I carried a water bottle and some GU and Marilynn left me a bottle of water at the aid station on the back side of the park. It was relatively hot this afternoon and I don't think I would have made it without the bottle that she left for me. I was really dehydrated by the time I finished. I headed straight for a vending machine in the park for a large diet Coke. Then, I drove out to the aid station in the back of the park and took down the club's pop-up canopy and then went back to the lodge and pick up the race clock.