Gettin' the Shirt Out In Germany

By Petra Kretschmann

On October 3rd, draped in my Wanderers shirt, I participated in a half-marathon in Welver, Germany, in the center of North-Rhine Westphalia.

The motto of the event was "5 am Tag" (five a day) and the idea was to get the whole family out in the fields around Welver and be aware of healthy, fresh and local food.

The family-oriented day offered a number of fun and informative events. The sports program included walking, nordic walking, inline skating, and, of course, running; the distances ranged from 10 K to 42.2 K. The course ran through 13 villages around Welver, and refreshments were provided by the locals in front of their houses and farms.

The owner of the shirt (me) had a hard time during the run. Getting passed by 3 female Kaffeeklatsch (talking!) runners during the last kilometer precluded my rightful place on the podium.

However, the time spent after the race talking to old friends, eating waffles with hot cherries, and trinking tea, compensated for the effort.