The past four years I’ve had the pleasure of serving as the ‘pacer’ for Run 4 Change, a 1, 5, and 10 km noncompetitive run/walk to raise awareness of society’s attitudes about drinking and driving. Tom and Arlene Deutcher, who lost four family members to a drunk driver in 2012, have courageously forged ahead to not only organize an event that has raised thousands of dollars to support programs that prevent drunk driving, but have worked with local politicians to impose stricter penalties and oversight on those who drink and drive in North Dakota. Accordingly, context for the event provides an opportunity for reflection about one’s own family and friends, and the choices we all make to keep ourselves and others safe on the roads.
As the 10 km pacer, I've been following the same route along shared-use paths near the Missouri River in Bismarck. The route begins in Sertoma Park and heads north just past the I-94 overpass before returning to Sertoma Park via an extended loop past the Dakota Zoo, softball diamonds, and amusement park. It’s a mostly flat route with pleasant scenery and limited traffic.
My role is to stay ahead of the lead runner by 15-20 yards and inform other path users about the runner and (more broadly) the event. The interactions are often an exercise in path-use diplomacy… ..a smile and ‘Good morning’ often helps. Most folks are amenable to adjusting to the right side of the path when requested.
My task is easy for the first three miles, as there’s typically only a handful of other path users to contend with. The more challenging part of my role begins when we overtake the 5 km runners/walkers, who start after the 10 km race. During this part of the pacing, I’m thankful I have a good bell to alert participants of the forthcoming lead runner.
This year Jennifer Eggert emerged quickly from the pack of 25 runners and maintained her lead through the entire 10 km race. She ran impressively, averaging a little over seven minutes a mile. Well done!
Here’s a few photos from this year’s event…
(Tom shares the mission of Run 4 Change)
(10 km runners at the starting line)
(One eye on the path, one eye on the mirror)
(An ice-free Missouri River)
(Lead runner near the three mile mark)
(BNSF Bridge from afar)
(BNSF Bridge up close)
(5 km runners/walkers ahead... ...no more opportunities for photos from this point forward)
(Finished!)
