The Reverend & The Hurdler: An Interview

We are now in the final training days before our first race. The team is anxiously excited. Since we've already pestered The Newbie with questions, we thought it was only fair to have a little chat with the other members of our team as well.

The Reverend: Mark has been running on and off for quite some time and already has 2 races under his belt. He has the advantage of having legs that end somewhere above the height of my eyebrows, giving him a stride that is approximately 14.5 feet long. Really. When he's not running, he likes to rock the pulpit and nurture the baseball obsession of his 3 sons.

The Hurdler: Chris embarked on a determined crusade to get fit last summer. Since then he has completed P90X twice, competed in a canoe race, and two 5K races. He has the advantage of being just a teensy bit crazy. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his sons, tormenting fish fishing, and listening to music that is loud and heavy enough to peel paint.

When did you start running?
Mark: I started training at the end of April.
Chris: This morning.

Do you have any goals for the races or for any race in particular?
Mark: I want to get to the end of each race and know that my body could not have done any more. In the David Hutton 5K, I would like to improve on my time from last year by at least 1 minute.
Chris: Don't die.

What scares you the most about these races?
Mark:The hills and not knowing what 4 of the 5 courses are like.
Chris: The beginning.

What are you most excited about?
Mark: Being part of bringing an orphan from Ethiopia into their "Forever Family!"
Chris: The end.

Do you have any pre-race rituals?
Mark: Stretch, stretch, stretch!
Chris: Breathe.

Estimate the number of girls that will beat you per race:
Mark: None, because technically speaking, I believe there are Men's and Women's Divisions. So, there will not be one girl who will beat me because I'm not racing against them, only against the men. (That is such a cop out sir!) Unfortunately, though, there will probably be more girls crossing the finish line before me than I would like. (But I can guarantee it won't be me or Kristen.)
Chris: All of them.

What currently comes on your mp3 player that always makes you kick it up a gear?
Mark:"Be Lifted High" and "Furious" from the new Bethel Live CD
Chris: As I Lay Dying

Any guesses as to whether we're getting a boy or a girl and do you have any name suggestions?
Mark: Boy ~ Ezekiel
Chris: Boy ~ Xanadu (Which was also the name he was really pushing when his own sons were born.)

Race #1 in T-Minus 9 days.