Manchester Road Race: "The Charlie Robbins Barefoot Warmup"

I hope you'll join me for a lowkey--he wouldn't have done it any other way--"Charlie Robbins Memorial Barefoot Warmup" at about 9 am on Manchester Road Race morning in Manchester. We'll gather at the south end of Main Street (at the corner of Main and Charter Oak Street) and jog barefoot up toward the start area and back.

This unofficial Memorial Warmup has been approved by the Manchester Road Race Committee. They've even volunteered to have special crews sweep the street clean for us. They ask only that we start at the south end of Main Street, and that we're finished early enough (like 9:20 am) for everyone to make their way to the Start (10 am) in an orderly fashion.

I'd suggest carrying your race shoes and socks in your hands as we do this Warmup. That's what I'm planning to do. I'm also thinking of wearing old torn khakis and a Navy CPO jacket of some kind. And maybe thick, black framed glasses such as those Charlie wore. But I'm blind and lousy at costumes, so I'm not sure I'll be able to pull this off.

As you can tell, I believe this Memorial Warmup should be a fun remembrance. We don't need any speeches. Doc wasn't a big talker, after all. He let his feet do the talking, and we should do the same.

I'm sure several members of Doc's family will join us. I haven't talked to Bill Rodgers yet, but I will. And I'm hoping he'll be there too.

See you Thanksgiving morning.