Due to rain - I can't really say unforeseen, because 9 times of out 10 it rains on my birthday - I'm currently stuck inside. After yesterday's posts about upcoming races, I thought I would take a moment to reflect on past races.
Based on my limited understanding of the history of running in America, I've gathered that once upon a time you only ran if you kicked ass and felt you could win. You ran to win. There were no elite runners, there were only runners. While competition is the driving force for many runners still, I'm happy to be one of the recreational generation of runners, those who run races because it's a place where a group - anywhere from 100 to 15,000 people - come together together for a common goal, to cross a finish line. It's kind of like yoga - a communion of souls moving and breathing in concert.
Before I moved to North Carolina, I had only run two races, a Fall 2003 5K in Chicago and a Spring 2005 3.5 miler in Chicago. Since moving here to be with James, we've run 18 races.
03/21/09 Greenville Home Run 5K 27:32
04/04/09 Greater Goldsboro Road Race 10K 57.40
06/06/09 Run the Quay 5K 27:05
07/04/09 Great Raleigh Road Race 4M 35:56
10/11/09 Garris Chapel 5K 28:33
11/14/09 Richamond Half Marathon 2:10:44
02/27/10 Crystal Coast 5K 27:31
03/27/10 Raleigh Rocks Half Marathon 2:10:18
04/10/10 Greater Goldsboro Road Race 10K 57:12
04/24/10 Mt. Olive Cuke Patch 5K 24:42
05/01/10 Wounded Warrior 10K 60:05
10/09/10 Garrish Chapel 5K 26:34
10/30/10 Faison Market Day 5K 25:?
11/07/10 City of Oaks Half Marathon 2:09:33
12/05/10 Reindeer Dash 4 Cash 5K 28:47
03/05/11 Crystal Coast 5K 26:13
03/26/11 Kinston Run the River 8K 43:54
04/10/11 Go! St. Louis Half Marathon 2:28:44
Looking over this list, I can remember each race vividly. The lady at the 2009 GGRR 10K whose running skirt got sucked into the vortex of her butt crack; the delirious heat at the 2009 July 4th 4-Miler, running downhill to the finish line; stumbling through my last three miles of the 2010 Raleigh Rocks Half convinced I was going to finish a half an hour behind my previous time and then collapsing into James's arms a mess of tears and shock that I actually beat my previous time by 30 seconds; running back to get my friends at the 2010 Garris Chapel 5K (their first race) cheering them on.
Tonight at dinner, I'll drink to this - to many more years, many more races, and many more memories.
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