The Comeback Kid

Rob used to be just about the biggest name (or at least longest name) in Illinois and Indiana triathlons—until one fateful year when he posted a super-fast time at the Mardi Gras Half Marathon, and sadly, his knee was never the same after that. Biking didn’t seem to bother his knee like running did, so for several years, he contented himself by being strictly a cyclist. Recently he’s been coming back to running bit by bit, always cautious of the knee. He had been tentatively planning on making his comeback to the world of multi-sport at a duathlon (run and bike) this weekend in Marshall, Illinois.

Then of course came that whole car accident thing, and I thought for sure that the duathlon was out. Despite his injuries, Rob decided he wanted to try it. So on Friday after work, we packed our tent, sleeping bags, and Rob’s gear into Iris and took off for the Lincoln Trails State Park—where the duathlon was to begin.

We passed through Paris, Illinois on the way to the park. Nothing like its namesake, I can assure you.

As we got to the park and started setting up the tent, one of the tent poles snapped, which definitely complicated things. In the increasing darkness, Rob somehow managed to cobble the tent pole back together into a usable fashion, so disaster was avoided. I was impressed.

I had brought plenty of warm clothes with me, but no matter how many layers I piled on, it was still cold in our tiny little tent. When morning dawned I don’t think either Rob or me wanted to unzip the tent flaps and brave the even colder air outside.

Nonetheless, it had to be done. Rob got himself ready, and before I knew it, it was time for the race to begin.

I wandered briefly, trying to find a good place to stand. Apparently they were short on volunteers; I’d only been there a minute or so when somebody came and asked me if I could go stand over at the corner and direct the runners/cyclists as they came in. So I thought I might as well. It was pretty fun being an impromptu race volunteer, but unfortunately, it made it difficult for me to get any good pictures of Rob. Here’s the best I could do:



Rob did pretty darn good. He got 7th (or maybe 8th ?) overall and was the 1st finisher in the 25-29 age group. A pretty sweet comeback. They gave him some kind of swiss army knife thing for a prize; neat. Anyway, I am really happy for Rob.

After the race we drove around the park and took some photos of the beautiful fall foliage.

Well I’ve got tons of work to do this weekend, but I think its too beautiful to do any of it! I guess it will just have to wait until I get October out of my system. Thanks for reading!