Payback can hurt

Kandi Hanson, 28, knows what the distinct "thud" of a deer feels like, and watched as they imitated Santa's flying reindeer since she has met a few of Bambi's friends with her cars. She totaled her first car, a Volkswagon Golf in a "close encounter of the deerish kind" and has damaged two others since then in accidents with deer.

On Saturday June 12 2007, while Hanson and 326 other participants were running in the Sour Grapes Half and Half 10-kilometer footrace at the Northland Arboretum MN, little did she know that "payback" was awaiting her. Hanson and her two friends, Lottie Oehrlein and Robin Warden were running along the trail about midpoint in the race when a spooked deer ran out in front of them and brushed close before hitting the other side of the trail. They continued their run cautiously, oblivious to the plans held by the second deer.

The second deer bypassed her two friends and headed straight for Hanson and with a "take no prisoners" attitude, slammed into the Pequot Lakes sixth-grade teacher. It made a direct hit on her chest and sent Hanson flying into the grass along the trail's edge before bounding into the woods.

"Somehow I flew, I don't know how because I shut my eyes," Hanson said

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Sour Grapes director Jeanne Larson said that they were well prepared for the common runners ailments but when she heard that there had been a deer-human collision, she said they had no Plan B. Larson considers herself lucky to see a deer when she is out running but to be hit by a deer, definately, unlucky.

Hanson's sister, Kara Brick was about a mile ahead of her sister Kandi and saw the deer running hellbent through the woods. She figured that they might hit someone at that speed but when she found out at the end of the race, it was Kandi hit,

"Of all the people, of course it had to be Kandi, she's goofy to begin with."

In true runners warrior creed, Kandi picked herself up after the hit, spit out the dirt in her mouth and continued running to the finish. I know that sounds better than saying that she ran like heck in case there were more aiming to take her down. Kandi finished 31st in the race and received a first-place plaque for "being airborne the longest." Not only was she airborne from the hit but she is now one of a select club of runners who can claim they have been hit by a deer while running.

With "goofy" and Bambi's friends running amock, it sounds like a very low budget Disney horror story to me........ or maybe just a small lesson in payback and how much it can hurt.