RESOLVED TO RUN
The Herald-Sun | Christine T. Nguyen David Kaminski of Carrboro stretches before the New Year's Day Run on Tuesday, January 1, 2013. Kaminski, who has run in a half dozen half marathons, says that he takes part because "it's good training for ultimate frisbee."
Collie Fulford’s year got off to a running start Tuesday.
She and her partner, Becky Trumbull, joined more than 50 others beneath a sprinkling gray sky to run 4.9 miles around the cross country course at Duke School.
“Peer pressure,” answered Fulford with a laugh when asked what motivated her to participate in the Carolina Godiva Track Club’s New Year’s Day Run. “I figured it’s not going to kill me to come out and get myself moving.”
The race, part of the club’s winter series, drew a record crowd of about 125 runners in 2012. Patrick Bruer, race director, said the grim weather Tuesday may have kept the crowd lower, but he still appreciated the turnout.
“It’s a fun way to get together and start the new year,” Bruer said. “It’s a chance to do something healthy on a nice holiday.” He described the New Year’s Day run as “back to basics,” a departure from the bigger events that require road closures and have relatively high entry fees to help cover costs for food and entertainment. The simple cross-country junket on Tuesday didn’t offer a lot of amenities, but only cost $5 per entrant.
The next race scheduled in the winter series is the Eno Equalizer, set for 10 a.m. Jan. 20 at Eno State Park on Cole Mill Road.
Ken Soo, a Godiva Club member and a lawyer who works with Durham Public Schools, is a regular participant in the New Year’s run.
“Some people run it really hard,” Soo said . “Some just run to make up for the holidays.”
Twin brothers Carl and Fred Ward, 20, are Durham Academy alums visiting their parents from Harvard. Their former DA track coach, Eric Teagarden, urged them to participate in the Godiva run.
“I run a lot,” Fred Ward said. “It’s a good place to get my run in for the day. These trails are where I used to train in high school.”
Their mother, Gerty, teaches at DA. She and husband Eric, along with their rescue dog Simon, got suited up to run right alongside their sons.
“If you can’t beat ‘em, you join them,” Gerty Ward said with a smile.
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