Red Cross Walkathon

On Friday morning, I participated in the Palau Red Cross Walkathon. It is the 10th Anniversary of the Red Cross in Palau and each year they do a walkathon as a fundraiser. Besides a 7K walk, there is a 7K and 10K run. I arrived at 5:15 and registered for the 10K run. The registration fee was only a dollar so it wasn't that much of a fundraiser from the participants but they did raise money from local businesses. As people arrived, the announcer on the loudspeaker directed them where to sign up and pay. He announced that if anyone didn't have have the dollar they should sign up anyway because they who you are and would get it from you later. That's no joke, they really do know who you are.

The 10K run started from the PCC track and went to PPR and back to the track. We started at 6 am and I got off to a nice steady pace. I had not run 10K in over a year and I'm not really doing any distance running here so I knew I had to pace myself. All the runners were together at the start until a little past the causeway to Arakebesang when the 7K runners turned off. After that it was just the 10K runners which I estimated around 25. I made it through the hills and to the turn around at PPR and counted only six runners ahead of me. The hill coming back from PPR was tough, but after that it was all downhill. By the time I hit the causeway it was very hot and humid which is very draining. I kept going and made it to the track. When I was rounding the curve with only 150 meters left I heard a runner approaching. It was an 18 year old Palauan named Leon who often plays frisbee with us and he is the nation's best track and field athlete. I had only stayed ahead of him up until that point because distance is not his speciality; he is a great sprinter. When he caught me he said "Come on Tim, lets sprint" and I instantly knew I was toast. I took off with him but he easily pulled away and beat me by a good 30 meters. I still finished 6th overall at a decent 53:34. At the end of the race I was so thoroughly drenched in sweat I looked like I had just gone swimming. I was tired, but happy with the race. As a bonus, the Red Cross gave out donated prizes for the top finishers in each age group. I finished second in the 10K 19-30 age group and won a $25 gift certificate to a local restaurant called Sarah's Yum-Yum Bar and Grill. I also won a manicure and pedicure at a local beauty salon, which got a hearty laugh out of the crowd as I accepted the prize. A fun morning, but I had to get home and prepare for my big weekend plans: a trip to Angaur.