Southeast Messenger - December 15th, 2019

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December 15, 2019 - SOUTHEAST MESSENGER - PAGE 13
A merry run turns into pain and then a triumph
Under most circumstances, a painful
injury is not something to share, boast or
brag about, but when it is your first sportsrelated
after 63 years of existence, I think
I’ve earned a little leeway.
Let me set the stage.
I love the “A Christmas Story” house in
Cleveland. They conduct an annual
5K/10K run the first weekend in December
from the former Higbees site in downtown
three miles to the actual house used in the
movie.
Last year was my first run (actually I
walk very fast and jog just a tiny bit) and I
completed the full 10K in under two hours.
(Note to actual runners: Don’t shame me
on the time. Remember, the ox is slow but
the earth is patient. Yes, that is a line from
a movie–“High Road to China.”)
I routinely spend three days a week in
the pool swimming and water jogging and
go on three-mile walks with the dog, so I
was prepared. While I still went to the pool,
this year weather prevented me from many
of my regular walks. But I still felt in shape
and planned to do the 10K on race day.
The morning of Dec. 7, my daughter–
who is a marathon runner and did not
shame me on my 2018 time–and I suited
Places
up in our best “A
Christmas Story”
costume finery, tied
on our running shoes
and headed out to
join thousands of
other like-minded
costumed participants.
The starting line
was a sea of pink
bunny costumes with
a few burglars,
Santas, elves and old
man and mom teams
thrown in for good
measure. Real life
Linda
Dillman
Bumpas hounds
waited along with their owners for the 9
a.m. start.
A countdown of scenes from the movie
played on a giant video screen and then we
were off. My daughter left me in the dust
after the first block–I expected that, and
started a slow jog that lasted about three
blocks before slowing to a fast walk.
The route goes through the city, past the
Cleveland Indians’ baseball stadium and
then heads out across a bridge before turning
into the Tremont neighborhood–
undergoing a much needed renaissance–
and on to the house where a leg lamp glows
perpetually in the window.
If you run the full 10K, you make a turn
at the 5K finish line and go back downtown,
which was my plan.
Ignoring my husband’s starting line
advice of, “Don’t be stupid,” and feeling
kind of frisky in the ideal running conditions
of bright blue skies and 35-degree
temperatures, I picked up my pace at 1.5
miles as I started downhill on the bridge.
My weekend warrior glee was immediately
rewarded with an audible “snap” and
a sudden buckling pain in my right knee.
Surrounded by hundreds of people, I could
either go back or continue the same distance
to the 5K finish line.
Helpful hubby, who is much more of an
athlete than I ever was or will be, said I
should have stopped, minimized the damage
and got a lift back.
Me, stop? I’m too headstrong and,
thankfully have a high pain threshold, so I
Coyotes are valuable member of wild Ohio
By Christine Bryant
Staff Writer
It’s been 100 years since the first coyote in Ohio was recorded.
A century later, Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park recently celebrated
this milestone with a special program at the Battelle
Darby Creek Nature Center in Galloway, “100 Years of Coyotes,”
that allowed visitors to get an up close look at coyote habitat and
learn why they’re a valuable member of the wild.
When spotted in 1919, wolves had been absent from Ohio for
more than 50 years, Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park Naturalist
Craig Biegler said.
“Since then, they have spread to every county in the state, but
nobody is sure exactly how many live in Ohio,” he said.
Although the sounds and sightings of coyotes are common,
especially in more rural areas, Biegler says there are many misconceptions
about these animals.
“For example, many people think that coyotes hunt in packs,
but this is a major difference between the two canines,” he said.
“Though they will share the same territory with close family members
and exhibit a social structure, coyotes find food on their own,
preferring to eat small animals like rabbits and rodents.”
Coyotes also provide valuable pest control, he said.
“A single coyote will eat around 10 small mammals a day,”
Biegler said. “They are fascinating to observe and seem infinitely
adaptable, thriving in deserts, forests, prairies and urban environments.”
At the program, naturalists attempted to clear up some of these
misconceptions, he said.
“For better or worse, coyotes are the last large predator that
can be found throughout Ohio,” Biegler said.
Program attendees came to the nature center to see and touch
a real coyote pelt and skull, Biegler said.
“After an introductory talk, we headed out onto the trail and
Photo courtesy of Metro Parks
A lone coyote is pictured here howling. Coyotes have lived
throughout Ohio for 100 years, with the first recorded sighting
in 1919.
walked for about half a mile. When we reached a good coyote habitat,
we played some of their calls and tried to get a response,” he
said. “I hope that people came away from the program with a new
appreciation for coyotes and with the knowledge of how to manage
interactions with them.”
gamely limped the last 1.5 miles, finished
the 5K race and got a bright, shiny medal
with Ralphie on it, sucking on a bar of
soap.
Endorphin-fueled, I even managed not
to grimace as I stepped across the finish
line.
The bus ride back to the starting point
was painful. We were transported in school
buses with seats so close; my knees were
pressed against the seat in front of me. I
was silently chanting, “Ouch,” the whole
trip. But I was wearing that medal around
my neck!
Two days later, I went to my doctor,
proudly showing him the medal while outlining
the reason behind it and why my
knee was swollen and painful. The diagnosis?
No ligament damage, but trauma to
my kneecap.
I looked up patellae tendinitis and found
it is also called runners or jumpers knee.
I suffered an injury named for athletes
while doing something athletic! It made me
smile…and proud. And the pain of limping
around on a busted knee was a little easier
to take.
Linda Dillman is a Messenger staff writer.
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