HYPERLOCAL NEWS HUB BY THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS DEPARTMENT OF JOURNALISM
Memphis Native Won't Let the 4-Miler Pass Her By Again
Friends compare race atmosphere to running down Bourbon St.
September 12, 2011
Lindsey Lowry /MicroMemphis Reporter
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Catherine Montesi, 23-year-old Memphis native, is participating in the Cooper Young 4-miler after hearing about it only last year.
"I’m looking forward to the excitement. There’s going to be a lot of people and from what I have been told the Cooper Young 4 miler is the most fun race you’ll ever run. People compare it to running down Bourbon Street in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. There will be people cheering, people decorating their houses, and they point their sprinklers toward the street so the runners can cool off. There will just be lots of excitement so I’m excited about it!” She says she signed up for the race because, “Last year I lived in the CY neighborhood and I think I was the only resident who did not know that there was a festival going on that weekend. But apparently hundreds of other people know about it. Somehow I missed the memo. I was going on a walk that Friday night and there were cars lined up on my old street, Cox. |
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People were getting out of their cars with jogging shorts and numbers on their shirts. I thought, “I’ve missed something. I want to know what’s going on. So I followed the people and apparently there was a big gathering in Cooper Young and people were lining up for looked like the start of the race. I was caught off guard when I saw my cousin Felix run by and he yelled, 'Hey sweetie your other cousins are sitting over there. The race is about to start- got to run!' They were sitting outside of Tsunami so they could eat calamari, drink wine, and watch everyone run past. I joined them and sat there for about two hours. When Felix was done running he sat down with us and we had a lovely evening. And I thought to myself, 'I’m doing this next year.'"
Though she does not I know know many details about the race. She says, "I know it’s 4 miles. And I assume it goes through Cooper Young. And I’ll get a t-shirt with my $25 mail-in entry fee." She is participating in the race to boost her self-confidence. The race in fact does weave throughout the Cooper Young neighborhood and proceeds benefit the Cooper Young Community Association.
Montesi says she wanted to run again, "After a recent break up. I was angry and I needed an outlet for my feelings. I also wanted to look really hot; I felt that was the best revenge. If I can feel the best about myself than I’ve ever felt, then I win. So my time in the race and how fast I’m going, which is very slow, don't matter. The point is if I haven’t quit, then I win."
She says, "To prepare for the race, I’ve been running a couple of times a week since June, although school starting has sort of thrown a wrench in my training. I like to play with hand weights. I do yoga at Midtown Yoga, also. It makes my hips loosen up and my hamstrings get a good stretch. Running is such a mental sport and yoga teaches you focus, so I think the two are perfect complements to one another.”
The 4miler is not Catherine's first race. She says, "When I was little running was one of the things me and my dad did together. I always wanted to run 5ks with him. They always looked so much fun. There was face painting and pony rides and I wanted in on some of that fun." Montesi also ran cross country during the first two years of high school “for something to do and stay in shape. I was never serious about it. Then I got involved with other things so I stopped running.”
She says, "Running is draining. For the rest of the day I feel like I’ve been hit my a car. But the next day, my body feels a little tighter and I sleep really well the night before. I have terrible insomnia. I found that when I exercise, I’m tired around bedtime. What do you know? I feel like anything that guarantees you a good nights sleep is worth doing."
If you'd like to volunteer for the race, call Kristan at (901) 272-2922.
For more information:
http://cooperyoung4miler.racesonline.com/http://cooperyoung.org/2011/09/september-lamplighter-2011/
http://www.racesonline.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=public.race_detail&race_id=6518
To register for the race:
http://cooperyoung4miler.racesonline.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=site.display&page_id=2108
Though she does not I know know many details about the race. She says, "I know it’s 4 miles. And I assume it goes through Cooper Young. And I’ll get a t-shirt with my $25 mail-in entry fee." She is participating in the race to boost her self-confidence. The race in fact does weave throughout the Cooper Young neighborhood and proceeds benefit the Cooper Young Community Association.
Montesi says she wanted to run again, "After a recent break up. I was angry and I needed an outlet for my feelings. I also wanted to look really hot; I felt that was the best revenge. If I can feel the best about myself than I’ve ever felt, then I win. So my time in the race and how fast I’m going, which is very slow, don't matter. The point is if I haven’t quit, then I win."
She says, "To prepare for the race, I’ve been running a couple of times a week since June, although school starting has sort of thrown a wrench in my training. I like to play with hand weights. I do yoga at Midtown Yoga, also. It makes my hips loosen up and my hamstrings get a good stretch. Running is such a mental sport and yoga teaches you focus, so I think the two are perfect complements to one another.”
The 4miler is not Catherine's first race. She says, "When I was little running was one of the things me and my dad did together. I always wanted to run 5ks with him. They always looked so much fun. There was face painting and pony rides and I wanted in on some of that fun." Montesi also ran cross country during the first two years of high school “for something to do and stay in shape. I was never serious about it. Then I got involved with other things so I stopped running.”
She says, "Running is draining. For the rest of the day I feel like I’ve been hit my a car. But the next day, my body feels a little tighter and I sleep really well the night before. I have terrible insomnia. I found that when I exercise, I’m tired around bedtime. What do you know? I feel like anything that guarantees you a good nights sleep is worth doing."
If you'd like to volunteer for the race, call Kristan at (901) 272-2922.
For more information:
http://cooperyoung4miler.racesonline.com/http://cooperyoung.org/2011/09/september-lamplighter-2011/
http://www.racesonline.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=public.race_detail&race_id=6518
To register for the race:
http://cooperyoung4miler.racesonline.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=site.display&page_id=2108
Lindsey Lowry/MicroMemphis Reporter
Lindsey is a senior news major at the University of Memphis Department of Journalism.
Click here to contact Lindsey. Follow her on Twitter.