Next weekend, I’ll be in San Francisco for the United States Track and Field Club National Club Cross Country Championships. I’ll be lining up on Saturday at 10:45am against a field of masters runners for a 10K that is considered by many to be the most competitive masters field of any race in the U.S. all year.

This year,  I am among the favorites in my race, which is for men 40+.  And by favorite, I mean favorite to finish last.  Seriously.  I’m not exaggerating.  At last year’s Club Nats, in my hometown of Bethlehem, PA, I came in 513 out of 598, and of of the 85 guys I finished ahead of, only 17 were under 60.  Runners over 60+ will be in a separate race this year, so if my fellow back-of-the-packer 50somethings don’t make the long trip across country to this race, I may be the 2015 Club Nats Mr. Irrelevant.

So why in the world would I plunk down $1,000 for a plane and hotel room to run somewhere around 50 minutes for the privilege of finishing last in a race?

Here’s why. Click on the link below to see my article in the September 2015 edition of Runners’ World.  Hint: the article is called Cross Country Romance.