1999 Revlon 5K

Report by: Eric Barron

As Jeff Atkinson (winner of the 1984 U.S. Olympic 1500m trial) cheerfully proclaimed while waiting for the 1999 Revlon 5K to start, "This is not a road race; this is a fundraiser." Nevertheless, one suspects that when people think back on this "fundraiser," it will be remembered not for the $3.5 million raised for cancer research, but for the thirty-minute delay that kept 50,000 runners and walkers penned up at the start line.

Nevertheless, after speeches from doctors, celebrities, and one courageous emcee who managed to keep smiling in the face of boos and hisses, the race finally did start. Precisely when the race started, however, is beyond determination. The "VIP's," who were placed about twenty yards ahead of the start line, started running when the countdown reached fifteen seconds. The rest of the crowd started running when the Marines cleared the course with about ten seconds remaining, and the gun went off with about five seconds left in the countdown.

Times reported below, however, are clock times (all that standing around had to have been worth a few seconds). Terence ran sub-six-minute pace for an 18:26. Having raced for over five hours the previous weekend, he must have been relieved at the distance of this competition, and his complaints about having to chase another TCLA'er who finished in 17:20 will be disregarded. Following in a nice cluster behind him were Jacinda, in 18:33, and Brian, in 18:40. Brian's performance is particularly impressive given that he had run a hard 17 miles the previous weekend, and had done a lot of track and weight work during the week. A p.r. was had by Kim, who ran 20:56, twenty seconds ahead of Peggy. If Kim had any sense, she treated Peggy a little more kindly the following day (that being Mother's Day). Sneaking in between the two was Deanna with a 21:05. Finally, Paul ran 19:36, slower than he wanted, but understandable given his distraction over barely surviving the ride on King St. in search of a parking place.