In a now-familiar pattern, the cat shattered all prior records of the condor, while finishing well behind the condor in the actual event. The Manassas Airport delivered the promised flat and fast runways and a personal best.

This modest show of alacrity was inspired not only by the increasingly distant tail of the condor, but also by a first and then second stroller-pusher. The first, bib #1449, was maintaining a prohibitive pace. While trying to keep up, the cat overheard another runner ask 1449 how fast he was without the stroller. “A little faster, but I donated a kidney recently, and since then it hasn’t been the same.”

A second stroller, possibly finishing the 5K, started creeping up from behind in the last mile. This, and a sudden flashback to the final scene in “Heat,” provided juice for a respectable finishing kick, leading to a minute of nausea after crossing the line. Time 47:47, pace 7:42 per mile.