There will be no day 8.
This was the end of the Blue Ridge Series, the inaugural event for the Road To 50 Races. We all looked a bit haggard… though there weren’t many of us left on this final day.
I suppose there’s just no pleasing some people. Yesterday the rain soaked me through and through and I grumble and mumbled about it. Today the humidity was at 99.999% with nary a rain drop… it just felt like I was breathing through a wet sponge the whole time.
Speaking of pleasing folks, yesterday was the first day we didn’t have 10 marathoners finishing. Whether it was the rain or just registration fatigue who can say. But George was apologizing to folks on the course that he only had 9 including those at the early or normal start times. There’s arbitrary rules for Mega groups or 50 State Clubs or various other running organizations that state the marathon can only count for the club if there are at least 10 finishers. I assume it’ was a kneejerk reaction to claims of people having run marathons that didn’t exist. I know I’m in a privileged perspective because I’ve already notched 50 states and continents and various other bucket list goals for runners. Which maybe adds to my arrogance and waving off of such things as those rules. I know some folks seemed bummed that these last two days of the series wouldn’t “count” as marathons for their purposes. Me? I know what we did — we ran a freakin’ marathon. It happened. It was real. I have the blisters, the tired muscles, the jostled bones, and the mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion to prove it. It counts. It counts to me and to us. And no club is going to tell me that 26.2 miles clocked round and round, through the rain or dark of night or air that felt more like molasses, that that experience doesn’t count or wasn’t real.
Again, I can say that because I already had my official validation from those clubs and I’m not chasing an achievement with them anymore. But I would like to think that gives the statement a little bit of weight. A marathon is a marathon however long it takes you. It’s a real thing. And it’s not to be taken lightly.
One final note before the now-standard slew of photos from the day — I had a lot of time to contemplate my life choices today as I was sucking in the humid air and slowly making my way round. Skeletons in the closet rattled about, dead bodies buried in the dark backyard of the mind were reanimated. Some choices were good, some bad. But it’s the nature of the run that in the past week, I’ve spent more than a full day running. I started the week wondering how mentally focused I’d be. Caught at times in my own head for too long, it can be a challenge. At the same time, thoughts of long ago can help push away the present struggles of trying to breathe and move through the soupy air thick with moisture. I often share too much about the struggles and hardships of running and it seems like I’m always grumbling and griping on this blog. But that’s life — the ups and downs, the setbacks and the victories. There’s a famous and perhaps all-too-often cited quote from long distance runner and three-time gold medalist Emil Zatopek:
If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon.
Maybe this week was about experiencing something else. I did get to see the World’s Largest Fire Hydrant (it’s in Columbia, SC near the corner of Bull and Taylor.
But back to the running shots:
Thanks, Kate and George. It was a great first series and I wish you many miles of success going forward!
