Runners at Runnymede

The first-ever Chasin' for Chalfin 10K run on July 21 brought 165 athletes to the magnificent Runnymede estate west of Unionville.
The beneficiary is Jake Chalfin, who suffered a spinal cord injury when he came off his horse while competing in a steeplechase last year. Jake told me he was very pleased with the turnout and said the weather "couldn't have been more perfect," as it was 65 degrees when the runners set out at 8:30 a.m.
The cross-country course took them through hay fields and woods and over fences, and they had to make six creek crossings. On Saturday evening I saw a family who ran in the race and asked them how they were feeling. "Exhausted!" they chorused.
The money raised, a net of $3,000, will go toward Jake's daily caregiving expenses. He has helpers looking after him three or four hours a day now, down from the 24/7 care he needed when he first returned home. He's also having the kitchen in his Springdell home renovated so he can do his own cooking, and he'll be participating in a new therapy program called Project Walk (www.projectwalk.org).
A pregnant friend of mine (so exciting!) posted a photo of herself at the run, revealing her distinctly "showing" belly: "Afterward, I declared myself the unofficial winner of the 1.5-person division."