KEEPING PACE

Page 2

"The Beast Called Marathon "

What is this beast called Marathon,
That causes mortal men to run?
And his partners Excitement and The Wall
That have caused even the proudest to fall?
They bring the mighty to their knees
As they woefully chase their vanities.
With naiveté, the training starts
Hope rises in the quickened hearts.
With anticipation the day draws near
To test the meat and challenge fear.
So many miles have sojourned by
With courage gained one steps up to try.
At last, the gun, the race begins
Where not only the fastest, but each finisher wins.
One must keep his head in the early mile
For Excitement strikes with cunning guile
And makes the strongest lose his edge
While The Wall await behind the next hedge.
An ease is felt, a pace is found.
Feet seem to float above the ground.
The goal gets closer with every stride
And chests puff out with foolish pride.
But then it hits - The Wall. What pain!
An oath is muttered, "Never again."
With the goal in sight, you lumber on.
Until you have finished the beast called Marathon.

The Pacers wish to express their sympathy to Linda Whitaker and Elaine Westberry, who recently lost their mothers. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this time of loss.

The Cancer Society's Relay for Life is scheduled for May 18-19 at the Ag Center in Perry. So far the team looks like this:

Charlene Earles
Jose Valencia
Nancy and Steve Rosenberg
Janice and Johnny Westmoreland
Marvin Champion
Mike and Caryl Deems
Glen and Annette McCardle
Al Freitag
John Hunter

We still have room for more. Let me know.

I'll bring the schedule to the next Pacer meeting (March 6^th) so you can sign up for your running/walking times. Each person will have two 30-minutes slots. You can split them up or take an hour at a time.

If you can't make the meeting, e-mail or call your preference in to me, and I'll let you know if it's available. Caryl_Deems@pap.state.ga.us or 956-2534.