Heart O' Dixie Race Report

We left Greenwood a little before 2:00 p.m. headed for Noxapater, Mississippi. If you have never been to Noxapater, plan a day trip. What's in Noxapater you say? Not much more than a cool name. And my aunt. My last surviving aunt, my dad's baby sister, lives there alone, uncle Paul having passed during the past year. 

The Heart O' Dixie Triathlon passes through the town, which covers a whopping one square mile and has a population of 472 471. Louisville is the town a few miles away and Louisville and Noxapater are like Greenwood and Itta Bena. They are about the same distance apart and the size difference is similar but both of the former towns are much smaller than their delta twins.

Penny dropped me off at the shop (my cousins' tire service) and then she went on to Aunt Mary's. The plan was for me to visit with my cousins, John and Paul, and then walk to Mary's after they closed. But it was raining cows and goats. Not to worry, John gave me a ride.

Lisa and Paul came over as did John so we got to visit with cousins before supper. I had asked Aunt Mary if we could take her out somewhere for supper, but she said no. Now I understand. It was just easier to stay home and we had more time to visit and a more relaxed atmosphere to do it in. We ate sandwiches and chips. It was good, yeah. Then Penny and I retired to bed early. The race starts at 6:30 a.m.

If my arithmetic is right, this was my 20th HOD. I did the first one on August 2, 1980. It was the first triathlon I had ever heard of. After doing the first six, I retired to go into the ministry and raise a family. I started back in 2004 and have done all but the one that was cancelled and two others since. One year Penny was in the hospital, and one year my right arm fell off.

Not only was this my 20th, but it was my first relay team there. Shay and I were signed up as a team in 2018, but my arm fell off. We had talked about 2019, but Shay and Shelly were building a house. Then we planned to team up in 2020, but COVID cancelled that race. So our fourth attempt had me nervous. Would we make it to the starting line or would something else happen? 

We did make the start. Despite getting to the lake at 6:00 a.m., I did not really get to warm up. I swam maybe two minutes before I saw someone waving at me and yelling that the race was starting. The first swimmer was in the water before I got out. We were number 25, so I did not have long to climb out and find my place. The staggered start has a swimmer leaving every five seconds.

My GPS watch did not catch the signal before it was my time to go, so when I got out of the water, I did not know my swim time. I just knew that I had swum hard, had passed a few swimmers, and had not been passed by any. When I got out, Shay was there and grabbed that chip so fast that he didn't waste a tenth of a second.

Shay is a strong rider, and I knew he would turn in a good cycle leg. Penny and I got into her truck and headed out for T 2. We passed Shay on the way. He was way up towards the front and grinding a big gear when we drove past. At T 2, I met out runner, Anthony Steele from Philadelphia, Mississippi. I got out of the truck and found someone who looked like a runner standing around looking back up the cycle course. Someone asked him who swam for them. Seeing the number 25 on his arm, I answered before he could: "This guy did," I said pointing to myself. So that is how Anthony and I met. 

Shay was in within minutes of me getting there. He laid his bicycle on its side and fought to get the chip off and to Anthony as fast as possible. Wow. His competitiveness was amazing. In nothing flat, Anthony was on that hot, hilly road running for our victory.

Penny and I then drove on it to the fair. At the grandstands, for the first time every I got to watch the winner and the top finishers come in. Amazingly, one of the most impressive things I saw that day was a twelve year old runner for a relay team. He came in looking like an Olympian. He averaged a 6:41 pace per mile and believe you me, that is a hot, hard, hilly course. I looked up the results later. That boy had the fastest run of anyone in the relays and the fourth fastest run of the entire race. I did get to speak to him after he finished. I encouraged him to stick with his running.

Me coming out of the water.

To make a short story long, our team won the relay division. Out of fifteen teams, we were number one at an even 2:22:00. Surprisingly, the second team was only 1:55 behind us. It was all I could do to keep from crying when they called our names, and we ascended the stage to receive our award. After twenty attempts  and forty-two years, thanks to my cousin Shay Darby and the runner he recruited, I won something at the Heart O' Dixie. Even Penny was a little moved by it all.

Above is the winning team. That is our runner on the left, Anthony Steele. Shay, our champion cyclist, is in the center, and yours truly, the old man swimmer is on the right. Notice that red mud we are standing on. That is typical of Winston and Neshoba Counties.

It was a nice experience. We got to visit with family, see some sacred geography, and Shay and I finally did our team, and with Anthony, we made a good one. Thank you, Jesus.