August 24, 2014
The first time I heard about the annual Yard Day here at Madison I was told that there would be three separate racing events, a 1 mile, 2 mile and a 3 mile race. Now the rumor around the compound is that there will be only one race and it’s a 4 mile event. There is a sign posted on our unit bulletin board for yard day, but there’s no mentioning of the race, I only hope it’s not all a rumor and they at least have one race for the inmates. I’ve been pushing myself all year to run farther and faster each day, I’m just anxious to put all my training to an official test. The yard day flyer says that they’ll be having a special meal, which is a big treat for every inmate, having to eat the same boring; tasteless meals everyday gets very old very quick. Okay so I just went downstairs to the dayroom to read the flyer and see what food they’re serving us; 1 hot dog, 1 hamburger, macaroni cheese, baked beans, two slices of watermelon and a can of Pepsi. That sounds like the best meal I’ll have ate in years. But what’s more interesting is that I discovered they posted more information on the yard day activities and was relieved to see that they are in fact hosting a 4 mile run. The yard day events also include 100m dash, a big man race of inmates 300lb. +, 400m sprint, long jump contest, pull up contest, chess tournament, corn hole tournament, volleyball tournament, horseshoes tournament, quarterback challenge, three point basketball contest, ping pong tournament, and a softball homerun derby. This sounds like quite an eventful day, a huge break from the regular monotony of day to day prison life. I look forward to taking a break from the norm, participating in some of the events, but most importantly giving everything I’ve got to give in the 4 mile race.
