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The Avalon Lions' Club always puts on a great race! The Avalon 50 Miler had perfect weather, a big, fast field, and an extremely unusual 100% finish rate: 150 starters and 150 finishers. The race started right at 5:00 AM, wound around most of the island for most of the day, with great aid stations and an enthusiastic finish line complete with lots of stunned locals (you'd think they'd be accustomed to it by now). Finishers from the Basin Blues included:

Finishers included Joe Nowakowski ( 9:04:25), Nancy Shura (10:46:34), Linda Hernandez (11:13:45), Pauline Freeland (11:18:29), and Greg Minter (11:54:40).

That was a P.R. for Nancy, and Pauline and Linda's first 50 miler! Even though I ran a little slow, I'm happy I was able to stick it out and finish my 40th marathon-or-longer event! Each entrant received a medal, gold-plated numbered buckle, and long-sleeved shirt. Oh, and here's a free tip: when you see a sign that says "Small Craft Warning," boat trips can be a little rough. Seems I learn something every time we go away for a race!