I had dropped off Nels at the start line for the Newport
marathon, parking a few blocks away with the goal of getting back in time to
see the race begin. The rain and wind
picked up as I trotted by a line of cars diverted from the course. A man rolled down his window and beckoned to
me.
“What’s it for?” he asked in a British accent. He had on a suit and so did the other man in the
car. It was a Sunday morning so I
assumed they were going to a church service.
“It’s a marathon and half-marathon,” I said.
“Yes, but what is it for?”
That brief exchange reminded me—again--that there are many
people who don’t get the “what is it for” question when it comes to running and
racing. There are as many reasons to run
as there are runners, but it doesn’t have to be “for” anything.
Just a few days before, I was in tears because there was no
time to fit in a long run that week. I
am planning on running a half-marathon on Nov. 6, and the half I ran a couple
of weeks ago was a reminder that I was not where I wanted to be. How could I improve my time if I couldn’t get
in some more long runs? I sought advice
from Nels, my partner in life and running.
“You’re not in PR shape,” he said. “So it doesn’t really matter.” Ohhhhh.
Ouch.
PR means “personal record.”
It’s one of the gold standards for mid-packers like myself who will
never win a race, much less my age group.
My PR for a half marathon was back in 2012, when I ran 1:59:58 at the
Shamrock race in Virginia Beach. That
was a 9:09 pace, fully a minute faster than where I am right now.
Nels provided me with some perspective. Nobody but me cares what my time is. But I care.
A lot. It is not just about ego. I can’t run a race without at least some
training, hoping for some feeling of accomplishment. Running distance races is just too damn hard
to do as a lark. I take running
seriously, but most of my runs are usually about being outside, observing
nature and talking politics, sports, music and gossip with Nels, as opposed to
preparing for a race.
On the other hand, I find it upsetting when some folks
treat running a marathon as simply an item to check off on a bucket list. To me, they are not respecting the
distance. Running a marathon is a huge
deal, especially for those of us who are not athletically gifted.
Runners do things that non-runners probably don’t get. For example, Nels was sick last Sunday, but
he had trained for running 26.2 miles, and damn it, he was going to at least
try it. He looked good at mile 13 when I
gave him a gel, not as good at mile 17 when I gave him some Gummy Bears, and by
mile 20 he was shivering and feverish. I
picked him up in the car, cranked up the heat, and we headed for home. He had to see what he could do, though. He had put in the miles, did his strength training,
tapered properly and was not about to let some sniffles get in his way. Until they did.
What is running for?
Running is for something and it is for nothing.
It is for expressing joy and dealing with grief.
It is for accepting your limits and testing your mettle.
It is for companionship and self-knowledge.
It is for discovery of the new and remembering what you already
knew.
It is for wondering if that raptor overhead is an eagle
or an osprey.
It is for bunnies in spring and egrets in the summer and
geese honking overhead in the fall.
It is for talking to Chris, our 95 year old friend, who
walks in Colt State Park every morning.
It is for acknowledging and enjoying good health.
In the words of Ray Wylie Hubbard, it is for keeping your gratitude higher than your expectations.
