Race Report: Sally Meyerhoff 5k-inaugural

I had several friends come from out of town to participate in Ironman Arizona. While walking around the expo area and observing people riding and running the course, I was asked many times, "What's with all the guys wearing pink knee high socks?" 

Like any big city it's cultures are sometimes defined by its localized tragedies. In our case, we had a fast rising star in endurance sports, a rarity to be sure, a female to boot, whose life was cut short in a cycling accident. Her name was Sally Meyerhoff. For those that saw photos of Sally or saw her in action, or knew her as a person, you were affect first by  her penchant for wearing bright pink accessories and second an infectious positive attitude. You could not help but like her. 

After her passing, family members and closest friends created a foundation to celebrate her life and create the opportunity to help young women achieve in athletics. Immediately local, national and international endurance superstars agreed to help. Along with a 5k to be run later in the year, it was announced that to support the memory of Sally buy her trademark pink compression socks at a local vendor or buy a pink bracelet sold by the foundation and wear it proudly. Thus in Phoenix, pink became the new LiveStong yellow bracelet. 

I am friends with the face of the Sally foundation, Steve Rink, who was Sally's mentor and close personal friend. We communicated many times while he created the run event. He expected 400 people to attend. He wanted 500 which would be an amazing attendance for any inaugural 5k. As that goal was expressed there came an outpouring of support from Sally's friends from around the world. There started to become an amazing swag bag for the first 500, which I was, and for the award winners, which I was not. As I stood in the start chute race morning, I was surrounded by over 1,000 people. Two times a amazing attendance. 

The run itself was very fast, you could not help but run fast. The sun barely peaking over the range to the east. Some of the fastest runners in the country coming to pay respects for a woman who accomplished much but had so much more to do and give. 

I ran so fast I was immediately torn from my group of personal friends and was sucked into a great draft created by amazingly fleet people.  I ran as fast as I could I think simply because sometimes to run fast with reckless abandon reminds you of what living is all about. So I ran, faster than I expected, faster than I wanted, but I did not stop when it hurt. I stayed in the moment and enjoyed a blessedly beautiful morning running with people like me who just wanted to feel alive and keep the pink torch burning for a flame that burned out much too quickly. Instead of one bright pink flame representing Phoenix, there  is now Phoenix representing one bright pink flame, thousands of times over.