Houska Houska!

Memorial Day in Fort Collins would not be complete without the Houska Houska 5k, the best Memorial Day running event ever.

Down the road is the Bolder Boulder 10K, but 50,000 people don't know what they're missing. You can't get root beer floats, bloody marys, poker hands, popcorn, cotton candy, face painting and petting zoos for the kids, or costume contests and live music for everyone in Boulder on Memorial Day. And you would miss out on an opportunity to raise money for PVH Cancer Center and the Bone Marrow Donor Program.




The Houska Houska starts on Riverside Ave. in the grassy area next to the railroad tracks, across the street from Houska Automotive, owned by Dennis & Noreen Houska, who started this event. Dennis Houska is a bone marrow donor, among his many other contributions to the bone marrow program, the PVH Foundation, and the community.

It's a low-key event and every year there is a slightly different theme, this year's was "Full House" where runners were dealt a poker hand at five different points during the race, and the runner with the best hand won the event.



The race is attended by runners, walkers, dogs, people on roller blades, scooters, baby joggers, and some other creative modes of transportation.















I am two weeks beyond my Keys 100 race and I felt pretty good in the 5K. I didn't push hard but I do feel recovered. I'm looking forward to summer.











I'm signed up to run the Estes Park Marathon in 2 weeks, I'm running the Leadville Marathon which goes up to 13,000 feet on July 3, and the following week I go out to Badwater to be a medical volunteer at the race again this year, with a visit to Phoenix to see my dad and stepmom on the way out to Las Vegas. At the end of August I plan to run the Lean Horse Hundred.

An occasional 5K or short race is good for a little speedwork and fun, to re-connect with the local running community. Members of the local running clubs also attend the Houska Houska. This year I saw Jance and Tom from the Fort Collins Running Club, Morgan and Melinda finishing together, Steve Cathcart from Runner's Roost, Dave Cranor, local physician and runner.










































Dennis was there too, but he couldn't run because he has a calf injury, so he had a Bloody Mary instead. The Bloody Marys at Houska Houska are rumored to be the best. I don't drink them, but that's what I've heard. I had the root beer float instead.













The girls are getting re-adjusted to us being back from the Keys. We got a sea
turtle for Isabelle and she uses it as a pillow. Iris has a leopard shark and a gator that squeaks.






After the Houska Houska Dennis and I went out to get a new pool for the girls, so they can cool off after their morning run.





















It seemed like it was never going to happen this year, but summer is finally here. It was 109 in Death Valley on Memorial Day! Only 6 weeks until I get to go out to Badwater again!