Saturday, September 19, 2009

Pre lives

Seriously. 

If you were in Coos Bay for the 30th Annual Prefontaine Memorial Run, then you'd know it, too. Nearly 1400 people raced, with Great Britain and Australia represented. The guy from Australia won, sporting a rocking mustache/sideburn combo a la Steve Prefontaine. His long lost twin, I swear.

Coos Bay isn't big. At all. And people gather here from all over the world, no matter how old they are, just to pay homage to this great runner. That amazes me. Half those people out there weren't even alive while he was alive!

It's humbling, really. I don't like running. In fact, I hate it. But the dedication and love shown today as I saw Bradley Cooper cross that finish line, barely breathing heavy and completely capable of giving me a full interview directly after he finished, was just too much. All for the love of running. All for the love of one man, a man that none of these people knew personally, although I think his sister ran, and his mother was there.

It's unreal. I'll never understand the sport of running, but I will always respect it.

Pre lived again today — I could feel it.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Yay football!

Right now, we're sitting on the couch watching college football being played on a bright blue field. I'm preparing for the Civil War game on Friday night, the first of many football games for the season, and my career. NFL games starts soon.

But fall is a bit different here. It's still hot in Ohio this time of year. I'll probably wear a sweatshirt over my dress clothes to the game. The leaves aren't quite changing yet, but the air is still crisp. Mostly because the air is crisp all summer here in Coos Bay.

I was introduced at the who's who of Coos Bay/North Bend athletics luncheon today, and kind of felt like a celebrity, which John (the sports editor) basically is. Everyone loves him here, and people were so excited to meet me, for whatever reason. It seems I'm the first female full-time sports writer. Take that, glass ceiling!

Both coaches are hilarious, nice and fun. They're absolutely NOTHING like the coaches I dealt with at the Advocate. I think these guys actually like their job. And North Bend just won the league last year. Odd how that works out, when you have a coach who's fun. Rick Taylor may be my new favorite person in this town. Either way, I'm enjoying this full-time sports writer thing, where coaches and players know who I am when I walk up, and I don't have to introduce myself as 'Rachel Finney, sports writer with The World,' every time I call them.

Plus, I got free pizza topped with sausage and mushrooms.