Crazylegs=Crazy fun!

It wasn't the best day for the 27th annual Crazylegs Classic, with overcast skies and blustery wind. I finished 4,963rd, which was good for second place in our group. Unfortunately, it was 4,962 places short of finishing our quest for the perfect baby name; Jana and I made a deal that if I won the whole ball of wax, we'd name our son Elroy Hirsch Tappa. No dice.

For those of you who know us, the our quintet's finish was: 1. Tim Toohey (great race dude!), 2. me, 3. Matt Schwalbach, 4. Jim Polzin, 5. Andy Tappa. Andy and Jim crossed the finish line at the same time (sadly, not holding hands), but Jim crossed the start line a second before Andy.

A good time. Someone suggested I did some hits and misses for the day, so here goes:

Hits
-Here's who greeted us at the starting line: Morris Cain, Lance Kendricks, O'Brien Schofield, Kevin Gullikson, Brett Valentyn, Greg Stiemsma, Joe Krabbenhoft. Saw Brian Butch, wearing a big black hoodie, on Breese Terrace near the stadium entrance.

-The wave start was done better than ever, meaning less running in place and a less congested first half-mile of running.

-Ron Dayne, talkative as ever, told the crowd he planned to play two more years in the NFL before retiring to work with the program. Apparently he's also spending a lot of time in Madison working with schoolkids. Nice to see a strong alumni connection to the current team.

-Free beer at the end is a really good thing about Crazylegs.

-Didn't miss any of the NFL Draft, which started later this year. Really enjoying the new 10 minutes between picks first round, kudos Roger Goodell.

-Always a great feeling to run onto the field at Camp Randall.

Misses
-The guy with the lip piercing who enforced the double-letter waves way at the end, who made kids move from BB to CC. Come on dude, lighten up.

-The folks with really bad leg tattoos who dressed up in full Joe Thomas UW uniforms for at least the second time. I appreciate the school spirit, but the tattoos are just creepy.

-Did not hear the theme song from Rocky once. Very disappointing.

-People who are walking on the running course should move to the right side and let us run through!

-Some dude was wearing an Adam Haluska Iowa jersey. I subtly pushed him into Lake Mendota.

-The course got kind of narrow on the lakeshore after the dorms.

-George Johnson, sports director of Channel 3 in Madison and the MC at the finish line, is a bit much for my tastes.

Already looking forward to next year. Will is asking to run with me next year. I'm not sure that's such a good idea, although there were some 6-year-olds who seemed to be finishing ahead of me this year.