Look What I Found For Free!

Tuesday morning I was walking the dogs near Macalester College.  We had turned off Snelling near Grand Avenue in the Mac Groveland area of St. Paul when I saw three runners coming toward us in the middle of the street.  One was on a bike, the other two were running, but one had a large, multicolored ball in his hand.  He had his fingers stuck in it, so it appeared to be a bowling ball.

Curious I sent off an email to Macalester men's cross country coach Matt Haugen asking if what I saw was what I thought it was.  He replied: "It was (part of) the annual, 'LOOK WHAT I FOUND FOR FREE RUN.'  The guys have an hour to search the neighborhood to bring back funny and unique items. One team found a four-foot tall copying/fax machine! And you did see a bowling ball."

This isn't the only ball oriented training the Mac runners do, Haugen said.  "The MAC PACK ran the annual 'MED BALL MILE' on Labor Day (of course).  It's four laps on the track, carrying an eight-pound med ball. Ben Mayhew, a junior from Highland Park HS, shattered the school record, (which was) set by a 3:50 1500M runner three years ago, by 20 seconds!  Ben's time:  4:51 ! Andy Keefe, a senior from Minneapolis  South, ran 5:02 to set the second fastest time in school history."

Who said running is a boring sport!