This was supposed to be a one-shot deal.
You know, one and done?
Yeah, right.
Ten years ago, that was the plan. Put my best foot - make that feet - forward, see what I'd been missing, satisfy my curiosity, savor the moment, and move on.
As it turned out, once wasn't enough.
Ten Utica Boilermaker 15K Road Races later and still hooked?
Run 9.3 miles, and actually fork over $40 to do it?
No, 10 years ago, that wasn't the plan. But this is the Boilermaker. Utica's Great Race. A habit a lot of us have obviously found harder than expected to break.
Running that 10th straight Boilermaker Sunday was a bit harder than expected, too. As usual, though, there were no regrets, just more reasons to rejoice and revel in the Boilermaker experience - from colleague Dave Dudajek's stirring rendition of the National Anthem to the post-race party flyover.
Forget racing it. I do. Experiencing can be more rewarding, even after all these years. It's never been a matter of time. Being a part of it always has been, and still is, enough.
I had to do the 25th Boilermaker. I had to do the 30th Boilermaker. I had to do it last year, my first as a 50-year-old. And I had to do it this year because it was my 10th straight.
By no means was Sunday's run “A Perfect 10,” the phrase my sister Laurie Smith chose as the theme for this year's “Good Luck Ron Moshier” Boilermaker poster, soon to be added to the others lining the walls of our garage. But that was my fault. I wasn't as prepared as I should've been.
Other than a bit of a struggle climbing Burrstone Road and that last mile, though, it was another Boilermaker to remember because I did it, and because my family and friends, as usual, helped.
My parents, Ron Sr. and Violet, cracked rib, bad back et al, sister Laurie and her husband, Tom Smith, and brother Randy Moshier were in their customary spot near the top of Burrstone Road, across from Utica College. It was a Boilermaker first for my brother, and that surprise, that show of support, was appreciated more than he will ever know.
Running the Boilermaker without my wife, Monica, by my side for the first time in nine years wasn't easy. She was sidelined with a bad toe, but her continued support helped pull me through another Boilermaker.
Those faces in the crowd - too many to mention without leaving somebody out - were a big help, too. You know who you are. I look for you every year, and every year, you come through for me.
Together, you all helped make for another memorable Boilermaker.
Amen, to number 10.
Ron Moshier is a sports reporter for the Observer-Dispatch
