I'm a disgrace

“You’ve disgraced our country.”

A military general says to me.

I’m not sure what happened but I am standing at the finish line of a race with thousands of runners yelling at me.

The timing system must have broken down. Or maybe I just messed up. I’m not sure, but now there is no way to know who won the race and who should receive an award. Even worse, everyone who ran the 5K won’t receive a time. And it is all my fault.

I failed at my one job and now I was being told that I had disgraced our country.

The general glares at me as he explains that everybody who died in the 9/11 attacks would be horrified if they understood what I had just done. Thousands of people murmur in agreement.

Finally, the general puts me out of my misery.

“I have no choice,” he says says, motioning to a sniper on the roof, “but to put your head on a stick.”

I wake up in a cold sweat.

It takes me a moment to realize where I am. I grab my phone to see what day it is. September 11. My stomach drops. Was this a premonition?

Then I remember - the 9/11 Memorial 5K Race was last weekend. I breath a sigh of relief.

I can’t help but check the results from Saturday. Everything is there. The memory of last weekend’s smooth race returns.

It was just a bad dream.

-Ian

We work to make organizing a 5K race as easy as pressing the easy button.

Thank you Josh and Arlington 9/11 5K team!!!