Last May, my mom and I ran the Providence Women's Heart and Sole 5 Miler.  (Well, she ran, and I mostly limped - I didn't know I'd hurt my toe until mile four or so.)  We always stay for the winners' announcements, partly because it's polite but mostly because my mom always comes in in the top three of her age group and wins a prize.  She's also always last in her age group - my dad and I make fun of her for her First Loser's medals.  There just aren't a lot of women 64-69 competing. 

Don't tell anybody, but she beats me every time.  My goal is to come in before my mother in a race before she turns 70 and it gets really humiliating.

Well, the woman who won the whole thing was 42 years old, and she did it in under 30 minutes.  Remember, it's five miles, it was hot as blazes and halfway through it you go up Gervais from the Publix to Marion.  Go run that - I'll wait.

Bit of an incline, is it?  I walked it, myself, and I'm not 42.  Of course, the only way I'll ever win my age group is if I live to be 120, and even then I'll probably have to whack my competitors in the knee with my cane.  So maybe I'm not the best judge.  I keep looking behind me because I'm terrified of being last - second to last is okay, but dead last would hurt my feelings.

So, who was the winner?  I'll confess, I had no idea, and my excuse is that I was four years old when Zola Budd collided with Mary Decker in the 3000 meter race at the 1984 Olympics.  A colleague had to fill me in - thanks, Jennifer!  Zola Budd Pieterse lives in Myrtle Beach now with her husband and three children, and she has recently started running again in races throughout the Carolinas. 

I've recently read two excellent articles on Zola Budd Pieterse.  The new October issue of Runner's World has a lengthy article focusing on her childhood in South Africa and controversial Olympic appearance.  Her rise was meteoric - she came out of nowhere to break world records in the 5000 meter at the age of 17.  Barefoot.  She ran for Great Britain, because apartheid-era South Africa was banned from the games, and was criticized for her decision.  Although her collision with Mary Decker was later judged to be an accident, public opinion at the Los Angeles games turned against Budd, and she received death threats and had to be whisked back to Britain by armed guards. 

An article recently in The State discusses her recent move to South Carolina and new found career on the masters' circuit.  She has learned to balance her family life with running and now runs for fun, not to set records. 

Despite all the controversy, Zola remains beloved in her home country of South Africa.  To this day, township taxis are called "Zola Budds" because of their speed.

There's a lot more about it in these articles - come take a look in Periodicals!

Friedman, Steve.  "After the Fall." Runner's World. Oct 2009, p. 80-90, 102, 104, 108.

Person, Joseph. "No Looking Back." The State. 8/23/09, 1A.