Mothers Against Guns 2 Mile Run

Last Sunday afternoon (after a morning 3.5 mile practice for the big swim race we're doing tomorrow), Dave, my mom, and I participated in a 2 mile walk/jog/run sponsored by Mothers Against Guns. The local chapter was founded by one of the Assistant U.S. Attorneys and his wife after their 18 year old son was shot on Main Street during the day, seven years ago. (Like a lot of the violent crimes committed here, it was not random.) The race we did raises money for a memorial scholarship to a graduating senior who attends UVI. The race is scheduled to begin at 4:00pm, so around 4:15, the participants gathered near the starting line. A prayer was said, and everyone was asked to recite a pledge to not use guns to solve disputes. Around 4:30, the race began under a tinsy bit of cloud cover. The 2 mile event is mostly along the waterfront road, but it loops through Frenchtown too. Frenchtown is where lots of the Frenchies live. As best I can describe, Frenchies are white people who have spent most or all of their lives on the island and they speak with the local native dialect. They don't speak French. Frenchtown has a nice collection of good restaurants, especially air-conditioned ones. Once we exited Frenchtown we turned back onto the main road that goes along the harbor (officially called Veterans Drive, though many refer to it as Waterfront), and headed back to the start, which was now the finish line.

About 200 people of all ages participated in the event. After the finish, we were moved over to Emancipation Garden across the street, where the program began. An actual paper program was handed out - it included the welcome speaker; the mistress of ceremonies; the names of the different youth groups that would be doing the pantomine, the rapping, and the singing; as well as the scholarship recipient from 2006 and 2007, both of whom gave speeches. After an hour or so, the awards were presented. It's a good thing we stuck around! They announced the winners by starting with third place in each age group and working up to first. In the 20-29 male group, we were told "there was no third place" - it was instantly apparent that a friend who clerks next door for the local court got second and Dave got first (15:34). In the 20-29 female group, I came in second. (It was not a close race - first was 16:56, I finished in 21:27, and third was 34:59. Goes to show you sometimes showing up is all it takes!) In the 60+ age group, my mom got first place (27:15)! She beat the 2nd place finisher by over 5 minutes. So all three of us came home with trophies, finisher medals, and our names were in the paper the next day! My trophy is the small one since I only came in second; mom and Dave have the big trophies. We've acquired quite the collection of trophies, medals, and newspaper clippings in our time here.

On Mother's Day, my friend Gaylin and I did the two mile fun run at Magen's Bay. The crowd was so small (9 total) that the race organizer made awards so that everyone won something. Gaylin got first in the "younger women" group, and I came in second. We received ribbons, and a mention in the paper. Other groups included the men (2 of them), and the "more serious women" group. There's another 2 mile fun run on June 3, so we can see if we've improved at all over the month with all the little races.