The O-town Scene

Scene the O-Town Vol. 1, No. 50 www.otownscene.com 102 Chestnut St., P.O. Box 250, Oneonta, NY 13820 (607) 432-1000, ext. 255, editor@otownscene.com EDITOR Cassandra Miller ASSOCIATE MANAGING EDITOR OF THE DAILY STAR Adrienne Wise PUBLISHER Armand Nardi CONTRIBUTORS Mark Boshnack, John Champlin, Simona David, Terry Ludwig, EDITOR OF THE DAILY STAR Sam Pollak Dunstan McNutt, Genevieve Pedulla, Emily Popek, James Derek Sapienza and Mark Simonson. ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Sean Lewis The O-Town Scene is published Thursdays by The Daily Star Inc. Free copies are distributed throughout Oneonta, as well as parts of Otsego, Delaware and Schoharie counties. Member of The Associated Press and CNHI News Service EDITOR'S NOTE This weekend, more than 1,000 people will participate in the 18th annual Pit Run _ elite runners, entire school sports teams, senior citizens, and people like me, a non- runner who has never been in a race before. I'm not a novice at moving; I freestyle dance at every social occasion where there's music, and I played three sports in high school, the kind that involved kicking, hitting and yelling, and running only when my coach told me to or when I was trying to get to a ball before an opponent. And I've always considered myself slightly athletic _ the kind of player that makes the area second team and wins awards for "team spirit." But long-distance running and training for races has never been a part of my life. I'm a little nervous for this Sunday's race. (I'm signed 2 O-Town Scene Sept. 29, 2011 up for the 5K.) A friend and I have been jogging semi- regularly, but we haven't followed any sort of "plan." The online "Couch to 5K" plan is a popular choice that I considered incorporating into our morning tours of Oneonta's Center City, but we just never got around to being disciplined about do- ing anything more involved than jogging until we need to walk, and then jogging again. I'm excited for the novel experience of being in a race, and for the T-shirt and post-race Brooks' chicken that are included in the Pit Run registration fee. The event _ which includes a 10K, 5K, 2-mile stroll and kids "fun run" _ commemo- rates the life of Ricky J. "Pit" Parisian, a state trooper from Oneonta who was gunned down off-duty in 1994 while trying to stop a robbery at a local grocery store. I was a little girl when it happened, but I remember the tragedy, and I remember how whole- heartedly the community garnered support for the Pit Run when Parisian's family first started it. I remember cheering on my dad, who participated in the 10K for years, walking the six-mile course in a Hawaiian shirt and grass skirt. As a racer, my goal is to jog the entire three miles, most likely at a pace akin to a Golden Girl's. I won't be in any sort of costume, but I'm looking forward to finally being an active part of this community event that has grown significantly since it started, now attracting run- ners from a large geographi- cal area. If you're feeling up to it, you can register until the day of the race. For information, visit pitrun.org. � Cassandra Miller Cassandra Miller is the founding editor of the O-Town Scene. She can be reached at editor@ otown- scene.com.

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