Fantastic Frigid 5k #2 - Concord Park
February 3, 2007
Picture Page 1     Race Results
Click to enlarge...

SORRY, NO PICTURES
BUT LET ME GIVE YOU A VISUAL.
The camera battery froze. No joke. There I was, standing as the first runners crested the small hill and headed in my direction. I attempted to turn on the camera. Nothing but a blink on the back screen, then darkness. 'Like, OMG!' I said to myself. The crunching of snow grew louder as the snake of runners drew near. I slid the battery out, freshly charged from night before, and put it in my ninety-eight degree mouth to try and gain some heat. I glanced up and to my excitement noticed the first runner pass by to my right. "Good work," I tried to say. However my words were jumbled as the battery came rattling out of my mouth and onto the ice and snow below. At that moment the second and third place runners were huffing their way past my prime photo post. 'I'll get 'em the next time around,' I thought to myself. For a few minutes I stood and cheered the fine souls trudging through the snow and dancing around the ice. Soon it was time to move to my next position at the finish, and I bent over to grab the fallen battery. As I stood back up and looked at the battery parts of it glistened in the sunlight. My saliva had bonded with the snow and within seconds had frozen over. The iced battery wasn't meant to be in the camera on this fine day. I hung my head in sorrow and made my way to the finish to record those who crossed the line. One by one, they crossed the spray-painted line over snow marked "GOOD", otherwise known as the CRC Fantastic Frigid 5k finish line. It's then I began to notice things. I noticed white and yellow snot frozen to cheeks. I noticed steam coming off hats and billowing from mouths as they bent over in the finish chute to catch their breath. I noticed Ralph O'Neil's mustache frozen into two ice chunks. I noticed the man who nearly ran into me because his glasses fogged up. That was the least of his problems, his face mask looked frozen to his head. I noticed that many people looked like the Stay-Puff Marshmallow man from Ghostbusters with all their layers of clothes. Just then I began thinking about calling Bill Murray to shoot me with his proton stream so I'd catch on fire and warm up. Just then Steve Wolf crossed the line and blurted out "Wow, that was awesome!". Then it hit me. This was awesome. This was the Fantastic Frigid 5k's. Perhaps the coldest on record. Just then a gust of wind blew some snow that needled into my face. I smile came to my face. "I'm going to remember this one," someone said as they began to walk towards the hot chocolate.
That's right. If you were there, you know what it was like. You don't need pictures to remember this one. It'll stick with you like saliva on a battery.

See you next year....

(For all those wondering, the camera works fine now)

Picture Page 1    Race Results

Columbus Running Company 6465 Perimeter Dr.  Dublin, OH 43016 (614)764-0855

Columbus Running Company 1250 Hill Rd. North Pickerington, OH 43147 (614)863-4073