And the results are in.....

Last Wednesday, the Blue Dawgs got together from the summer recess. I saw people off and on over the summer but it was good to get everyone back together again and do some hills in Chalfont.

Joe and Diski were there. Diski is training to walk the Philadelphia half marathon in November. She has had injuries off and on for the past few years that have prevented her from running. So, she has turn to walking instead and Joe is joining her in her training. They are nice people so I'm glad Di has found a way to join us on Wednesday nights. Wouldn't be the same without them.

Eric was there. He is also training for the Philadelphia half marathon but will be running it. We look forward to seeing Eric on the front page of the newspaper the next day as he has a habit of showing up in newspapers, magazines, you name it. Must be his dashing good looks. :-)

Mark was there as well. He walked with Joe and Diski. I think I heard he ran that morning so didn't want to run again that day. I didn't see Mark over the summer as I did last year. Last year, we run with the TZ Sports group on Thursday nights and would run past his house along the course. We would always yell out for Mark to come out and play with us. Most times he did. Mark's wife would come out as we were heading for home and offer us a drink of water from their driveway. A welcome reprieve indeed.

Mike was there. Mike was telling us his theory on training. He was wondering how much training was really needed? He was giving us examples of how he would just show up at races with little training and do really well. Oh, sure. If I was skinny with talent, I could probably do the same thing. Mike is a good guy. He doesn't always have the chance to come out on Wednesdays with us so it's always great to see him when he can.

Kelly 'I hate !@#$%$ hills' was there as well. Kelly just recently did the Wineglass marathon. She almost, almost qualified for Boston. Only if she was a year older. And, to think that last year I thought I could run with her in the Harrisburg marathon. She swore this was her last marathon. But, I don't think so. If you are THAT close to qualifying for Boston, you have to go for it. She will. She just needs to forget about the pain of the marathon.

Among the missing that night was Boyd, Joan, Mitch, Chief and Melissa. Melissa had a good excuse. Just a few weeks ago, her and her husband welcomed their new son into this world. (Congratulations!). I expect to see little Perry training for the 2032 Olympics in a few years time.

After the run, we headed down to our namesake, the Blue Dog Tavern. Watched the Philies, quaffed a few adult beverages, ate like we were carbo-loading, talked about our summers, had a few laughs. Really enjoyed myself.

As we were leaving, we forgot to do one thing. Elect our new president. To qualify for the election, it is best NOT to show up for the first meeting. At least, that is the tradition we follow. My unanimous consent, Chief White was elected the Blue Dawg president for the year. Heavy is the burden of this elected office. The president is responsible for collecting all the dues for the group. Since there are no dues for the group, we felt Chief could handle collecting them. The president is responsible for ordering the first round. OK, I made this up but he should be.

Last year, I spoke about losing my mojo. Not wanting to run. This year should be different. I'm looking forward to hangin' with the Dawgs again this winter.

(Notes: Most of you, after looking at Steve Runner's time at the Valley Harvest Half marathon, thought that he ran like a grandpa. (I did too). Well, you were close. Congratulations goes out to my friend Steve as he recently found out that his stepson will be having a child so Steve will indeed be a grandpa. Soon, he will yelling at kids to stay off his lawn to complete the picture.)