01 January 2005

On the morning of January 1 this year, 125 turned out for the Resolution Run 8k at Jeffers Hill neighborhood center. They resolved to run, without using any timing devices, the 8 kilometer so as to finish exactly at 11 am. Speed had no merit in this competition, only accuracy of pace.

Over half the field finished within one minute of the appointed hour, but those most precise runner of the day turned out to be Mike Fleming, who crossed the finish line a half second before 11 am. Mike and his son Brian ran the course together and paced themselves. “He was my son-dial,” Mike said. Brian and runner-up Jim Grover received CD carrying cases for both finishing within 2 seconds of 11 am, while Mike earned the grand prize of a gold-plated clock and a gift certificate from Feet First.

The Resolution Run is staged on New Year’s Day each year by Strider emeritii Dave and Judy Tripp. After the race, the prediction runners gathers in the Jeffers Hill Neighborhood Center for orange juice, cider, and donuts. Proceeds from the Resolution Run go to the Dave Tripp Scholarship Fund.

-- by Jim Carbary