Reflecting on running, pancakes, coffee and donuts, not exactly in that order

Blake Russell: When an Olympic athlete’s focus turns to food
Lessons learned when reflecting on running, pancakes, coffee and donuts, not exactly in that order.
Dave Kellogg here, Blake’s ‘writing coach.’ An interesting aspect of Blake’s personality came out as we were working on her first column. Reflecting back on being the official starter for the Big Sur Half Marathon, she emphasised how, although she would have liked to run the race, it was really nice to eat pancakes with young Quin while Daddy was huffing and puffing on the course along Monterey Bay.
I didn’t fully appreciate that until later in the conversation when we were talking about the best way for people to cheer you on when you’re running a marathon.
“I remember running the Chicago Marathon and my husband and coach kept popping up on the course,” Blake said. “It was kind of fun, I never knew where they’d show up. Apparently they were hopping on and off the subway.
“It was great . . . until I noticed they were eating donuts and drinking coffee they had gotten from my favorite shop. I was a little ticked off. I mean, if you’re going to do that, you better make sure and have donuts and coffee waiting for me at the finish.”
Ah, well, OK then, duly noted ; )