Thursday, May 31, 2012

Club Northwest All-Comers Track Meet: Firefighter Runs World Record


On Wednesday night athletes of all different levels and ages showed up to participate in the 2nd Club Northwest All-Comers Track & Field Series meet of the season. Most of the athletes wore colorful racing singlets, athletic shorts and some form of fancy footwear on their feet, but not Tony Robinson. Robinson, who is an Edmonds Firefighter, showed up in what could very well be the most gear you could wear to race a mile; he wore a helmet, a heavy firefighter jacket, thick firefighter pants and some very, very, very big boots.

In an attempt to raise awareness and funds for Camp Eyabsut-a camp that benefits burn-injured youth, Robinson chose Shoreline Stadium on Wednesday to take a shot at breaking the Firefighter Mile Record. In order to break the record, he would have to run under 10 minutes for a full mile with his firefighter gear on. As he took to the starting line, Robinson was cheered on by a very enthusiastic crowd which included participating athletes, meet officials, staff and campers from Eyabsut, a few dozen firefighters from the Shoreline Department and some family members.
  
Unfazed by the cheering and the announcement of his forthcoming attempt that trumpeted throughout the stadium, Robinson looked extremely focused and set off like a man on a mission at the crack of the starters pistol. Running beneath the weight of his cumbersome gear, he clicked off laps well ahead of the pace need to break 10 minutes. With each passing lap, the 10 minute mark fell away and the only question would be how much he would break the record by. Part of the fundraising effort for the evening was for donors to put forth $1.00 for every second he ran under the record. Though any donation would be accepted, Tony was certainly maximizing his effort to insure a successful fundraising event.

As the final lap sounded, the man in the firefighter gear started to pick up his heavy boots at a faster rate: he dug deep and pumped his arms powerfully from within his bulky jacket while making an urgent rush towards the finish line. When Tony crossed the line people were cheering, a woman was crying, kids were smiling and the only thing that stood unmoved was the clock, at 8 minutes and 4 seconds. The record was his.







In the end, Tony’s time was just a series of numbers that would fail to capture the effort, heart and good will that a firefighter displayed last night for 1609 meters. Each week the Club Northwest meet officials choose an Athlete of the Meet, I've got a feeling it might have been the guy in the very, very, very big boots.

No comments:

Post a Comment