If you’ve been reading my byline in the Leader, you know that I spell my first name differently than most people with the name Carson.
For a long time, I resented the spelling; I felt like it was a way for kids in school to tease me by drawing out the pronunciation and for others to call me by the wrong name. Over the years I’ve gotten several variations including Cameron, Connor, Carter and even Carlson by a confused substitute teacher in seventh-grade Spanish class.
Whenever I watch the “Seinfeld” episode where Elaine keeps getting confused for a woman named Suzie by her colleagues, I totally feel her pain. Sometimes if someone forgets the extra “r,” I don’t say anything. I think to myself, “Is one letter really worth correcting someone over?”
Carsons with the one “r” were also hard to come by growing up. There was only one other kid in my high school graduating class who was named Carson.
The name Carson hasn’t been the most popular baby name either.
According to the United States Social Security Administration, the name was most popular in 2018, when it was ranked No. 70 of the most popular boy names. The number of girls named Carson peaked in 1999 at No. 561.
Nowadays I have come to embrace the unique spelling of my name. It sets me apart from other people, and it’s a great conversation starter.
Battle of the Carsons
On Feb. 12, Carson Klein, a 21-year-old real estate agent from Edwardsville, Ill., posted a video on TikTok challenging all Carsons in the Greater St. Louis area to a footrace on March 6 at Plummer Family Park.
Since it was posted, the video has received more than 250,000 views. Four separate people in my life sent me the video, so I felt I had to rise to the occasion and sign up. How cool would it be to go and meet a bunch of people with the same name as me?
Before the race, I spoke with Klein about his motivations for creating the race.
Klein said he never thought the video would go viral and was inspired by a similar event in Kyle, Texas, where more than 700 people named Kyle gathered in one place to break a world record.
Klein’s original plan involved a group of Carsons meeting up at a Buffalo Wild Wings parking lot on March 27. However, once the video began to go viral, Klein realized that he needed a different and larger venue.
“It wasn’t like a master plan or publicity stunt to get my name out there at all…I was like you know it’d be funny to challenge all the Carsons to a race just for a couple people to see this and maybe we could make a fun video out of it,” he said.
Klein also said he has dealt with people mixing his name up too, which made me feel less alone.
After driving close to an hour up to the park on Friday afternoon, I came across an exciting but unexpected scene. More than 500 people were gathered on the soccer fields, ready to compete or cheer the Carsons on. It was completely overwhelming to see that amount of people in one place for one specific purpose.
More than 500 people gathered at Plummer Family Park to either participate in the race or cheer on their favorite Carson.
People of all ages were there, and made signs that said, “Carson will dominate this race” or “Run, Carson, Run!” It was like being at a high school football game in “The Twilight Zone.” Normally, I’m used to being the only Carson in a room, and when someone says my name, I know it’s for me. I had to get used to that everyone shouting Carson was not trying to talk to me, it was very disorienting.
I was also nervous that this number of people wouldn’t be feasible for a race and the event would be canceled before it even started. It was clear those behind it were also not expecting that level of turnout. Luckily, the show went on as scheduled.
Before the main event, a non-Carson race was held where the winner would become an honorary Carson to compete in the Carson race and win a special gift basket from Chick-fil-A. Alex Fessler won the title of honorary Carson.
Then came time for the main event, the battle of the Carsons. Myself and about 45 other Carsons gathered at the starting line. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not in the best shape of my life, so I wasn’t exactly prepared for the race. However, the task ended up being simple, we just had to run from one end of the field to the other.
Once the announcer yelled go, I ran as fast as I could. I don’t have enough time in my schedule to fit in a “Rocky” style training montage so I’m sorry to say I did not end up winning the race. The whole thing lasted about 30 seconds, which felt a little anticlimactic. It was like watching the buildup to the Kentucky Derby for hours with the actual horse racing only taking a few minutes. Carsen Rantanen was crowned the winner and received a silver dollar Carson City, Nev., coin worth $350.
In the days since the race, I’ve been reflecting on what it meant to participate. Even though I was the only Carson there with two r’s in my name, I felt like I was a part of something bigger than myself.
Social media is often criticized for tearing the fabric of society apart, and while those criticisms are certainly valid, it can also be a tool for good.
What started as a small joke on the internet soon turned into a viral video that brought hundreds of people together for one moment in time. Humans are social creatures, and without community we wouldn’t be able to survive.
In our increasingly divided world, it’s important that we all come together and cheer each other on.