Over the past few weeks I have been lecturing in my courses on Hopi long distance runners. At some point in the semester, I threw out the idea to my students that if they ran the Rattlesnake Master 10K (Urbana, IL) with me on November 6, I would give them 10 points of “extra credit.”
At most, I thought 1 or 2 students would agree to this proposal. Boy was I surprised when 18 students showed up on the day of the race!
Kudos to my students for waking up early on a Sunday morning, spending their money on race entry fees, and bracing the wind and cold. They made their professor proud.
Some ran the 10K race, while others opted for the 5K event. We had a great time, and today I made good on my promise and gave them each 10 well-deserved points of extra credit.
Beyond the Mesas 
I had fun! I wish I could get as good of a time as I did back in high school, but at least the anticipation of this run got me out of my 6-month period of inactivity after the half marathon. Maybe I’ll reach my prime when I’m 50 like the Hopi runners (one can only hope…)
Julie, you did GREAT! After the 1st mile, I lost sight of you. You were so far ahead of me! Thanks again for taking part in the race. Glad to hear that it motivated you to start running again. Yes, let’s hope for better race times in our 50s!