Running for pig socks

I did it! Last night I let loose of the manuscript I’m calling Still Running? I’m not at all sure that it was ready to pay a visit to a prospective publisher, but I was ready to say goodbye to it for a while. I had massaged it to the point where I had to stop. A few kind friends had read it and shared some extremely helpful suggestions for which I am grateful.

The publisher I sent it to said that it gets so many submissions that I should be prepared to wait for eight to ten weeks. Then, if they have an interest in it, they will let me know. If they are not interested, well I’m on my own to check the calendar and then move on to the next step.

From the day when I started this project I have been planning to go the self-publishing route. I’ve done it four times in the past and it works well for me. But just on a whim, I decided to send it out into the big bad world and see what might happen.

It consists of sixty short pieces covering many aspects of running from the people I’ve met, the places running has taken me, the role it has played in my life and reflections about the sport as it has grown and changed over time.

Last Sunday, I made the Still Running? title true by running in the Flying Pig 5k, a fundraiser for Foothills Gateway, an organization that serves those with disabilities in Fort Collins. The wind was blowing like crazy, as it usually does during this mid-April race. Four hundred souls turned out to walk or run and support FG. They all went home with a T-shirt, zippered bag containing some goodies and an evergreen tree, ready for planting. Afterwards they were treated to hot drinks and bacon bagels.

I was lucky enough to walk away with a pair of socks covered with flying pigs that have already taken their place as favorites.

Stayed tuned. I’m looking forward to seeing my thoughts about my favorite sport see the light of day. Meanwhile, I’ll keep on running.