#150 – Star Trek 50th Anniversary 5k

Yesterday was the Golden Anniversary of the premiere of Star Trek, and I could think of no better way to celebrate than running.

Trek was a huge part of my childhood.  I don’t remember watching it during it’s run on NBC, but by the time the animated series began in 1973, I was already a huge Star Trek fan.  This was due, in large part, to James Blish’s short story adaptations of the original series episodes.  I’d gobble those up as soon as they hit the spinning book stand at the 7-11 I’d walk to.

The first episodes of Star Trek that I can remember watching were in Florida.  My grandparents lived on a little island west of Ft. Myers, and when se’d visit, we’d turn the antenna toward Tampa, and watch Trek in syndication from there.  I even recorded the audio with a little cassette recorder, holding the microphone up to the speaker, so I could listen to a few episodes over and over.  Because of that, there were a few episodes I could almost quote, word for word.

When I was approaching my teens, WTVC in Chattanooga started showing the original episodes, and finally I was able to watch episodes on my own turf.  The rest, as they say, is history… multiple television series, movies and books later, and I’m still a fan.

So yesterday, on the Golden Anniversary of it’s first airing, I tackled the 50th Anniversary 5k.  It was a day filled with rain, keeping the temperatures down.  I went out shortly after work, and after the rain.  Despite the heavy clouds, the humidity started to really climb as the rainfall evaporated.  With temps in the low 70s, it was still pretty easy to run, so run I did, putting another 3¼ miles in the books.

This event benefitted the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Race Course