| Ledger correspondent
Local runners John Scimone and Kandy Spangler married on April 28 and went on a honeymoon race the next morning. Maybe it’s not the most common morning after, but it was almost perfect for this couple.
Their current acquaintance began five years earlier. They met at the Red Door Pub Run. And running together developed into a real affection between them.
The decision to race was made a week before the wedding.
“John always looks for races when we go camping,” said Kandy. “On every trip he will always check to see if there is a race nearby. It is one of its standard protocols. “
“We were going to Daytona for a few days and I just googled races in the area and found the Rotary River Run 6 miles in DeBary, which was only a 45-minute drive from where we were,” said John. “It was through a park where we had stayed before. So we knew the area because we had just run a half marathon there on April 3rd.
The wedding had been at 2 p.m. and the festivities lasted around 6 p.m. They arrived in Daytona around 8:15 a.m., ate and slept for about seven hours before leaving for DeBary.
The race started at 8 a.m. John, usually a late comer to races, was there at 7:15 a.m.
“We had a lot of time to pick up our racing packages, but I couldn’t use the portlets because the line was too long,” he said. “There was a toilet at the turnaround and I took advantage of that.”
The course left Gemini Springs State Park and headed to Lake Monroe County Park.
“It was all covered and it was really nice,” Kandy offered.
“I knew when I stopped it wasn’t going to be a fast 10km for me, so I decided to wait for Kandy and try to finish together and get a target picture holding hands,” John continued.
“I hadn’t stopped,” said Kandy. “I ran the whole run. There was a girl in front of me. I walked past her and wondered if she was my age group.
“She passed me again and then started walking. So we did it back and forth.
“After about 4 miles I see John coming the other way. I said let’s just run. So I ran until there was about a mile left.
“There was a lot of lightning and a lot of big raindrops.”
“There was a thunder that made me run faster at this point,” said John. “We finished together and I wanted to make the target picture of us holding hands. The wind blew the inflatable finish line over 50 meters before we reached the finish line. “
“It came like cats and dogs,” said Kandy. “We were about 3 or 4 pounds heavier with all that water. It was like a gully washing machine. I felt like we were baptized. “
“They put the dinghy up in time for us to get under it,” said John. “Most of the people were already done and were in their cars by that time. Unfortunately, there was no photographer who captured this magical moment. We just stood in the rain for a while. We were soaked. We wanted to cool off because we wouldn’t get any wetter than we already were. “
“I finished, I got my medal, then I got some bananas,” said Kandy. “Then I turned around and here comes the girl over the finish line.
“I looked at her and said, ‘Thank you for motivating me. ‘She said, “No problem.” But she seemed a little discouraged. “
“The wind blew your tent,” said John. “We left before the awards. We had no idea what Kandy had placed until we were on our way back to Daytona and checked the results on the smartphone. She had beaten the other girl by 30 seconds and was in her age group. Kandy came in first and the other girl came second.
“I’m glad I was able to find a Sunday race because I don’t think she would have agreed to a race on our wedding day.”
