I’ve been thinking about Scott’s photo challenge – to photograph some kind of competition.  There are lots of things that come to mind; pie eating contests, lumberjack pole climbing contests, Renaissance jousting contests, dog shows, art fairs.  But none of these things seemed likely to occur somewhere that I might be.

So I fell back to a sport I used to participate in – running.  I found a small 5K race (that’s 3.1 miles) only a few miles away at a senior assisted living facility and on a Sunday morning I drove over there, feeling overdressed in my jeans and jacket, to watch a group of people head off on a beautiful run through the fall morning light. (Click on the photos to see them larger and with more detail.)

As at every race there was anticipation in the air as people prepared to run.

Volunteers were setting up a table with water and bagels for race finishers.

Soon everyone was getting last minute instructions.

And then they were off!

While the runners were out on the course, the residents of the assisted living facility did their own walk around the grounds and then crossed the finish line themselves…

…and many stayed to watch the runners come in.

The winner was a young man, who came in way ahead of the rest of the pack.

The first female was also young.

All the returning racers got a cheering welcome from residents and family alike.

It was a beautiful morning for a multi-generational run.

Makes me think I should put my running shoes on and get back into the competition!