Hometown pride

Growing up in Wisconsin, I know a thing or two about local pride. Our pro football team, the Green Bay Packers, are the only non-profit, community-owned major league professional sports team in the United States.  This is a fact we "cheeseheads" are all quite proud of.  Our's is one of the highest rated football teams in terms of popularity and we represent one of the most active groups of fans in pro sports.  And even when you find a Wisconsin native living in "foreign" lands (like me, in CA), you will often hear them excitedly declare, "once a Packer fan, always a Packer fan!"

So when I heard that my new hometown, Oakland, was going to be holding a running festival (the first in 25 years) and running through our neighborhood...it was natural to want to be a part of the excitement!

The festival was created in the spirit of marathons like New York and Baltimore...where the running trails are designed to hit as many neighborhoods as possible...giving the entire city something to participate and take pride in.  Oakland responded to the call enthusiastically.  Streets were filled across the city with people cheering on the runners, handing out water, dancing in the streets and celebrating their home town.  

For our part, John and I spent time hootin' and hollerin' at two marathon stops in our neighborhood: the amazing soul food kitchen, Brown Sugar Kitchen and fire arts organization, The Crucible.  Here's a shot of The Crucible's ring of fire (there's a better shot in The New York Times article below).  Runners passing through the ring received stickers that read, 'I ran through fire today."

If you're interested in reading more, here is some great coverage by The New York Times, the Oakland Tribune and the San Francisco Chronicle, as well as my favorite recap with photos by a local blogger, Oaktown Art.