Cowbell.
You can never have enough cowbell.
It grabs your attention and rattles right through you, like Sunday morning during Santa Barbara’s very own international marathon – it was everywhere!
There was cowbell behind Costco….cowbell on Cathedral Oaks…on Cliff Drive… and certainly cowbell down to the finish line near our spectacular Santa Barbara City College on the coast.
Cindy Holoien at Transition #2 on Turnpike.
Cowbell — as in wild, enthusiastic support for the 3,000-plus runners from across the nation. From around the world. From here in town. All to run on a pristine Santa Barbara running day. All got a special greeting from local folks. Thousands lined the streets, the staging, start and transition areas in an overwhelming welcome to our community. Civic pride was everywhere!
Amongst the runners were many familiar faces – local favorites like John Nelson and Joe Howell and many incredible women from the Momentum 4 Life and Moms in Motion training groups. And, in the crowds, even more familiar faces and lots of new ones – many with smiles and passing good cheer, hugs, handshakes and high fives.
Trust me, I know.
I got a chance to hear and see it all while shuttling friends on a Momentum 4 Life relay team. And what a ride it was! Using the back roads as best we could, we bypassed any traffic congestion – not that there was any. The real exception apparently resulted from an early morning accident that delayed the race start by about 30 minutes.
But once Goleta City Councilman Roger Aceves helped get the race underway, there was nothing but fun, wild cheering and, of course, cowbell. The Santa Barbara International Marathon surely rings success – something for which we “locals” can all be proud…
Randy Weiss Weiss with, from left, Cyntia Wee Yee, Heather Somerton, Cindy Holoien and Roberta Issaris
Randy Weiss’ “WeissCrax” appears regularly on Presidiosports.com
