Hull of a Race Tid Bits for the Sake of Having a Historical Background
How do you spell Hull? H U L L. Where’s that? Oh, it’s a little spot in the road just off of interstate 72 coming from the west--the 1st exit is Hull. And why would anyone want to start 5K or 10K races there?
Way back in 2006, Lori, a physical therapist, was working with 2 ladies from Hull who had Parkinson’s Disease. Add 2 husbands and you have the most unlikely group to establish a race, a 5k race. Lori had participated in some, the rest of us had never even been to one and we didn’t have a clue as to what we were supposed to do.
One year under our belts and we became experts. We were ready for 2007. We moved up the ladder of progress and hung up our stop watch and put the clip boards down. We went for professional help—Alan Avery, a professional timer, rescued us. We were headed for 2008. We then went into the field of amenities for our competitors—we had Scottie Potties brought in. But a dark cloud moved in—our leader, Lori, was leaving us. She returns each year and is an MC and our official starter. So Jim and I took over as co-directors in 2008. But then 2009 brought us a wonderful surprise—an unintended “crashing” of a West Pike class reunion produced 6 new people to help put on this event on a yearly basis. Hats off for the class of 1999 from West Pike. We also picked up several older West Pike alumni so we have about 16 in the group.
We lost 1 of our original founders, Sam in 2010. We carry on—that’s what he would have wanted. We brought the world of technology into the picture, we started using the internet to pre-register.
2011 finds us turning our web site over to a web master. The bright spot for this race is we sent a check for $10,000 Another loss was endured—we lost another founder, Mable. We celebrated their passing by stating Sam and Mable have crossed their finish line. We were getting the “hang” of this project and we were tired of just being called “the committee”—we wanted some identity. Races need a “pit crew”—so in 2012 we became the “PD Pit Crew.” We added a food court for the racers at the finish line, sent in another check for $10,000—just the same old “ho-hum.”
We did some rearranging around the registration area which helped with some of the confusion. And Walmart had better be on their toes—we had our version of the “Hull of a Race” greeter working the crowd. But the best thing that happened in 2013 was when we sent in another check for $10,000—3 years in a row.
Then 2014 rolled in (or should we say “rained” in.) It poured all through the night and was still raining during the race. We didn’t have room for people to take shelter. It was very difficult to register people, hand out their bags—it hurt us financially as many people didn’t come. Look at the bright side—only 1 bad weather year out of 11 years. The check was sent but it was for only $9,000. “Mother Nature” is permanently in charge and don’t you forget it. We had several displays ready but we had to yield to our new member of the competitors and “Mother Nature” won the 2014 Hull of a Race. But, in reality, 10 out of 11—good weather. As we approach this 12th year of “Hull of a Race”—Come rain or shine, the race will be run. Only lightning will cancel the race. No refunds—we’ll trust “Mother Nature.”
Let’s see if we can make this 12th year something special—let’s hope for world peace, for cures and help for those who are in poor health and safety for all people. Let 2017-2018 be the best that it can be. (And let’s hope that it doesn’t rain!!!!!)
P.S. All the proceeds go for research—just Parkinson research ONLY!!!!!
Copyright 2017 Mark Twain Area Parkinsons Support Group