I just couldn’t chance it. It feels borderline irresponsible to be out and about in crowds, even with safety precautions and protocols in place by folks determined to keep us all safe. But running a marathon, or hell even visiting with people outside of my immediate pod, feels like playing Russian Roulette… or driving drunk. Sure, it may all work out okay… but what the hell are we doing taking this risk at all? It very easily could all go wrong.
And so it was that I opted to switch out my in person event at the Space Coast Marathon for the virtual option. I’ve had some pretty strong chip times at this even in years past… and some pretty terrible ones too. It’s a fun flattened figure 8 loop de loop course along the shoreline of the Space Coast… and if you look right you can see the NASA gantry over at Cape Canaveral as you run. The volunteers have in the past all been decked out in space themed costumes and the finish festival had a plethora of food options… and all the cans of Diet Coke I could drink (which if you know me is A LOT of cans).
But this year, I ran around my neighborhood, hitting loops of routes I do all the time. It’s gotten boring but it is what it is… and it’s what I think we all need to do to keep ourselves individually and other people safe.
I struggled, I cursed, and I endured.
I ran long and… prospered? At the very least, I ran long and perspired.
To boldly go where solo people should be going for now…
