I'm number 1813

Out of 2300 runners who took part in the 10-miler, I came in 1813th place -- far from last, even farther from first. But, I had two goals for the race -- finishing and beating last place.

I accomplished both.

I loved the race. It was a blast from beginning to end. The crowd was loud and wild and devoted enough to stay around even for the slowest of runners.

Each part of town had great representation. Going through fraternity row, frat guys handed out cans of cheap beer instead of water. On Wine Street, residents hung a "Doing fine at Wine" sign across the street. A gospel choir greeted runners at the top of Grady. On the longest hill of the race, a guy had an old record player playing the Chariots of Fire theme.

There were also random folks, like the people handing out homemade donuts and the lone guy sitting on his Volvo with a boom box playing loud music and cheering on runners by their numbers, that made the race a ton of fun. Their excitement made me excited. I didn't get tired and I think I had a smile on my face the whole race.

The only downside to the day was right before the race, I stepped off a side walk and popped my bad knee out of place. I hobbled around for a minute, but decided to run anyway.

I'm glad I did.