Midnight Madness
By: Lance Lenard
Running through the middle of Wabaunsee country in the dead of night, by yourself, surrounded by snakes, bobcats, coyotes, and the rumored mountain lion, with only the light of the full moon to guide you, sounds like a scary proposition to most people. But covering yourself with glow sticks, possibly mixing in a miner’s helmet, and bringing along a few dozen friends, makes it so much more fun.
The 4th annual “Midnight Madness” run, hosted by the Greg Barron family, took place on Saturday night (into Sunday morning), July 12th/13th. Greg dedicates this run to legendary Topeka West coach; Joe Schrag, who as Greg puts it; “always made running fun”, he added; “this run was one of the many ways that Schrag rewarded his Topeka West athletes, and helped to help them deal with the mental stress of those long summer training runs. The legend himself was on hand to not only participate, but also to encourage the other runners. The field, consist of current middle school, high school and collegiate runners, along with youth and adult runners of many levels. Greg sticks with the theme of “No entry fees, no souvenir shirts, no awards, and all fun”. The course begins on Boot Hill Road, works north to Scenic Drive, where it jogs (pun intended) west to the turn-around point, and works it’s way back through the start, before finishing with an 800 meter downhill to the finish line, a few yards from the Barron’s driveway. Athletes are handed a wooden stick with their order of finish written on it, and are directed to the living room, to write their name in the slot matching that number. The “meet management” fills in the corresponding time, while the runners, spectators, workers, and family pet enjoy refreshments including homemade ice cream.
Next year’s run will be held Friday, July 3rd, 2015. For more information contact Karen Barron at klbarron@hughes.net