Canyon to Canyon

This weekend Kati and I signed up for the Canyon to Canyon 10k race. What might not be totally obvious about Kati is her incredibly competitive spirit. She works hard and she wants to win. Her pace is quite faster than mine, so I really don't try to keep up with her. As the gunshot went off I said, "I'll see you in at the finish line" and off she went. For the better part of the race I could see Kati in front of me (of this I was proud since she is usually several minutes ahead). Because there was a half marathon at the same time as the 10K (we were 10k participants), there was a turn around point for the 10k runners, and the 1/2 marathoners were to continue up the course. I got to the 10k turn-around point and noticed that Kati had run right by without turning around. She was far enough in front of me, not to mention jamming out with her iPod, that it would have been impossible for me to yell for her to turn around. So, I turned around and silently wished her the best. For a split second I thought she had changed her mind and was going to run the 1/2 marathon. What could she have possibly been thinking?

I casually made my way to the finish line and hoped that every footstep I heard behind me was Kate running to win. It never was. I crossed the finish line and Rachel asked me where Kati was. "I don't know. She didn't turn around." Just a few minutes later, here comes Kati, sprinting as fast and furious as she could possibly move her feet. She had realized at some point that she had gone too far and turned around, having run close to a mile out of her way. Even so, she was still only about three minutes behind me. This race course was mostly a rugged, dirt trail with many hill climbs throughout. I was so impressed to see her cross the finish line so fast after enduring a longer distance on a crazy course. It was a good race.