Singing in the Rain

I had the privilege of being one of 21 music acts scattered through Saratoga Spa State Park for Sunday's SPAC Rock & Run.

Normally as a sportswriter, I'd be hovering around the finish line waiting to see who won the race. But this time, I was stationed far from the finish line underneath a tent provided by my friend and bass player, Mike Guzzo. Turns out I needed it, too. It began misting around 10:15 in the morning, and the rain still hadn't let up by the time I was packing up my gear at 11:45.

The concept of playing music as people ran by me seemed like an act of futility on the surface. I'd be standing there singing my songs, and all that the runners might hear is a 5-second snippet. And while that part was true, at least some of the runners took a moment to look over and either say "thank you," applaud or give me a thumbs up. That made my morning.

Of course I have no idea who won the 5-kilometer and 10-kilometer races, but I'd like to think my music helped them in some small way.