No Shoes, No Clock, No Problem !

Though off by 2 minutes from his predicted time, Doug Landau was the best barefoot trial lawyer at the annual Hotchkiss Reunion Run in Lakeville, Connecticut

At last weekend’s annual Hotchkiss Reunion Run, several members of the Class of 1978 toed the line to uphold the honor of their unusual class.  Despite a jam-packed weekend of programming, education and fund-raising, the first fully co-ed class came back to Lakeville, Connecticut for its 35th reunion and to show that they could still compete with much younger graduates.  All of the racers had to submit predicted times and surrender their watches.  Math Department stalwart and track coach Charlie Bell plotted several courses of varying lengths and had formulae to correct for the distances chosen. All of the runners were wearing shoes at the start.

The Hotchkiss School campus is ringed by a well-maintained but hilly golf course, which is used for Fall cross country meets.  However heavy rains had made the turf wet and muddy.  In the past, some racers had shown up with their spikes.  Reunion Social Chair and Class Agent Doug Landau had been “running” non-stop since arriving on campus Friday morning, but for the first time, the Triathlon Trial Lawyer was not competing off campus in a New England road race or multi-sport event.  After filling out his predicted time and giving up his watch and heart rate monitor, Landau and his classmates took off at the gun down the fairway overlooking Lake Wononscopomac.

After the first lap, everyone’s shoes were soaked.  The second lap took runners up “cardiac hill,” and back to the fairway.  At this point, Landau used his Triathlon transition skills to doff his shoes and start the third lap barefoot.  With only a few patches of pavement, lawyer Landau was able to maintain his pace.  The winner was only 4 seconds off his predicted time, while the Virginia Trial Lawyer was nearly 2 minutes off his own despite being first across the line.  All of his classmates finished, several won prizes and it capped one of the most fun, nostalgic, educational and successful Reunions in anyone’s memory.