Doughboy's Delight

When a road race features a happening mascot or theme, it automatically becomes cooler. It means a good T-shirt, good door prizes and cool finishing trophies (for people much faster than myself).

When I saw "Doughboy Challenge" was sponsored by General Mills, I knew a pimpin' Pillsbury Doughboy shirt lied in the offing. Now, I've always have a soft spot for the ole Doughboy and that inimitable laugh of his, and my own less-than-robust physique seemed a perfect fit for such a race.

The blistering heat of June in Middle Tennessee reared its head, even at the 7:30 a.m. start time. I should have known; the first appearance of summer brutality usually strikes as the region hosts both Bonnaroo and the CMA Music Festival. It came with a specialty ferocity today, a melding of humidity and sunshine that made it uncomfortable by 5:30 a.m.

Luckily, the race fell in Murfreesboro, the relatively flat sight of my best half-marathon time. So a quick jaunt through the public square of the 'Boro, a turnaround at the Oaklands Historic House Museum, an Italianate mansion that once quartered both Confederate and Union troops (not at the same time) and Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

To put it gently, I sweated, even as a cooling breeze occasionally swept through the blocks of downtown. At times, my mouth brimmed with salt, and even taking whatever the water stations offered, I couldn't catch up. I have discovered that about myself in Nashville; no matter how well I hydrate, I cannot keep up once the heat kicks in. The running only augments it.


I slogged back toward the finish, my 33-minute time a far cry from the 27-minute beauties I posted in Columbus 3 years ago. But I felt fine for all the fluid I lost, and felt even better when I saw the bounty at the finish line. Volunteers handed out little finisher medals with an embossed Doughboy on them. After rumbling through a half-dozen bottles of water, that tiny reward for a so small a race felt so much larger.