The End of an Era

Monday, October 19, 2015 · Mike Davis

Good morning! This morning was a bittersweet time for me. Seven plus years ago on my way to the York Days 5K I was thinking about the excitement and even the camaraderie that comes with these local races. Having just been chosen as the 157th ARW Wing Fitness Program manager, I was interested in how I could possibly bring a similar excitement to those that served in the unit. As I made my way into the York high school parking lot I had a concept of what might bring all the wonderful aspects of a race environment to our unit. I sought out another member (and friend) who was also running the same race and told him of my very raw idea and asked if he would come see me the coming Monday to discuss it further. That meeting led to multiple meetings and after receiving the official approvals, the “Pease Relay Race” was born. Today marked our 7th Annual Pease Relay Race that is now held on the Sunday following Columbus Day weekend. From the start our race course became the center of this event as we were able come up with a 13 mile course that we decided to run twice. The course not only offered scenic fall running routes through Newington Village but, we are also able to run over the General Sullivan Bridge which is pretty cool! In all there were 8 legs with varied distances of 2 to 4.1 miles. Teams were comprised of 6 to 8 runners with the requirement of at least one female per team. That first year we were thrilled to have 9 teams and today we had 18 teams! The “bitter” part for me is that this year’s race was my final as the race director as I will be retiring next spring. While I am hopeful that I am leaving the race in capable hands, this race has been my baby and handing if off to someone else will not be easy. This event has always been a challenge that thankfully I had much help with but, the pride we all took in providing a first class showed and the results have been awesome. Growing a race that our military members and their families really appreciated really brings an enormous amount of gratification to all of us that worked so hard to make it happen. There truly has been nothing like it in my 33 years of military service. I am happy and relieved to move forward but, I will always worry about the success of this great race. Today marked the first time I have not participated in the Pease Relay Race and while I would have enjoyed running, I took the opportunity to move around and watch the event unfold. In the past I was part of a team and the race director and today I was able to focus on race directing and being a fan of everyone. Being able to be on the course and thank people for their selfless volunteering as well as cheering on all the runners was really cool. My wonderful wife and daughter both ran and that is enough Davis’s for me to be happy. Next year I am hopeful I can return as just another runner and enjoy that single aspect. Really a cool day for me and one that I was grateful for! Time to get moving. Have a great week ahead and I’ll see you on the roads! God Bless! Mike