~3.1 miles @ ~7.5 min/mi

Pushing hard, at the MCRRC Candy Cane 5k I finish in 23:15, 59th place, 47th of 190 men, 2nd of 11 in the 60-64 year male age-sex group, and more than a minute behind 8-year-old nemesis-rival Jason Parks.

Jim Rich reminisces and tells beard stories before the race. As we line up, Don Libes and Ken Swab taunt each other. Cindy Cohen and John Way discuss their recent long runs. Singlet and shorts are chilly to run in, with gloves forgotten in the rush to arrive on time after dawn conversation with DW. Runkeeper records the GPS trackfile.

(photos by Ken Trombatore, outbound hair halo in the rising sun and return-trip combing out the beard to look good for the camera at the Rock Creek trestle, mile ~3) | |

^z - 2014-12-05