DeZellar Catches the Inline Bug
As with so many crisp, mid-September mornings from years past, Mike Dezellar’s warm and welcoming smile was at the NSIM finish line in Duluth. He was congratulating many of you who finished, and saying hello to some of you he just knows as friends. He’s like that, and everyone loves seeing him there.
But this year was different for Mike, since he hadn’t laced a pair of skates on Saturday morning.
Mike’s day started earlier than most. While many of us were attempting to sleep away moth-sized butterflies by dreaming of anything but how we intended to be in the right line-position by the off ramp, Mike was awoken around 2:30 a.m. with a very different bug. In fact, Mike’s race began early on that Saturday as he dashed from his bed to the big white throne, which he hugged lovingly for the next several hours. Around 4:30 a.m. he knew he was out for the day. He resolved to stumble back and forth to bed where he lay uncomfortably for next few hours before forcing himself up so he could cheer the rest of the rest of us on.
By 8:15 he had dutifully placed a chair at the top of the I-35 on-ramp and watched as the pro’s went by, then picked up and did it again at the finish line, where his wife Jackie, son Luke and dog Ellie waited after driving up from the cities that morning to surprise him as he finished. Mike had trained hard this year and some of his friends considered him a contender in the Vets. After not finishing with the group, Jackie found that she had three missed calls from Mike. They were reunited following a short call explaining the night’s endeavors.
After the race, Mike had this to say: “I’m not really sure what happened. I was staying at a friend’s house here in Duluth. He’s an infectious disease doctor and suddenly I got sick out of no where. Weird, huh?”
According to sources, Mike has made a decision to not stay with the infectious disease doctor next year. Instead he has chosen to stay with a different friend who is Director of Toxic Waste Collection for the Duluth chapter of the Environmental Protection Agency. We all look forward to seeing Mike’s smile at the finish line again next year.
Reported by Phil Moen