weather report

the myth surrounding the stanford invite is little known by those outside northern california's spring weather. college teams from across the country come to palo alto every spring and immediately discard their layers of clothes some midwest or east coast school as deemed mandatory by student health in favor of softly worn beach shorts and fresh bikini tops. in conjunction with this ill-advised manuever to soak up the glorious rays of sun athletes come to race fast. very fast. but first the myth:

it is always beautiful in california.

this is in part true. it is always beautiful the weekend of the stanford invite in california. leading up to the event the week was raining and dreary. last year the skies opened up the day before the race, flooding lane one on the track only to dry up by the next evening (race time) and provide perfect conditions (again). my hypothesis is the sun is reflected quite perfectly off the pale, gleaming white skin of all the non-californian runners, burning off the clouds and drying the rain before it hits the ground. so in that regard, i welcome the kids. i was one of them at a time.

the other possibility is a more popular one- the former stanford coach made a devilish deal back in the early 1990's to secure both perfect conditions and fast times for his athletes. as long as he continues to return to the track before the meet, the weather is secure. it's been said the count (a common psuedonym for the individual) has been seen climbing to the highest point west of campus and has actually parted the skies with one hand held to the heavens and a few pulls on his frost white beard. whatever the reason, the weather is perfect.

this is not just the beginning of track season for most athletes, it marks the beginning of summer for everyone involved. let the racing begin.