Flashes of Panic

We’ve taken my nieces to road races before, and they like seeing their relatives run by, but when they don’t recognize most of the runners, they get bored.

Yesterday, my brother brought them over to the NESCAC championships, where A was working and I was hanging out after discovering that it’s not possible for a visitor to get internet access on this particular campus. (Not quite true: I was online on a common machine in the library. But I can’t very well shell in to the University and hack on a programming project from a shared iMac next to the periodicals desk, can I?)

Now, the girls arrived pretty late in the day, so they only saw the end of the men’s 5,000m and a slew of relays. But here’s what we did show them, exclusive of incidentals like strange dogs and doing somersaults in the air while hanging on to Daddy and Uncle pjm’s hands:

• All the different teams. The girls currently have family connections to six of eleven schools in the conference, so like me, they just cheer for whoever seems to need it, or whoever’s going by at the moment.

• Hurdles, the high jump pit (and pole vault pit,) and the javelin sector. None of them active, unfortunately, but it’s true that I spent most of the morning at the meet watching throwers when I wasn’t watching runners. I’m actually beginning to develop an appreciation for the javelin. The lag time between events can be a killer if there are no field events going.

• Daddy’s coach from his three seasons of collegiate running, who shook hands with the girls and said “Pleased to meet you!” We got to congratulate him on his son—not just for his athletic performance, but for the character he displayed as the focus of attention before and after his event.

• One of my fellow grad students (with a leftover year of eligibility to use) getting ready to run the DMR for the University; I called him over to show the girls his spikes. “Like slippers with teeth,” I told them.

• The steeplechase barrier on the backstretch. I went over it once or twice—stepping, not hurdling, since I’m not fast enough to hurdle right now—but they found it easier to go under than over at the men’s height.

When we took them back home, the younger one, at least, was definitely interested in running laps around the driveway as fast as she could. I wonder if she’ll carry that up to junior high; assuming they stay in the same district, the high school program is one of the better ones in the state.

Now Playing: Stereotypes from The Great Escape by Blur