In two weeks from yesterday, our usual group of running idiots will ascend on Vancouver to attempt another half or full marathon. I think that this is our forth or fifth year together doing this great international running event. On Saturday night we will be dining together and encouraging each other for the upcoming run and otherwise enjoying our camaraderie.
This year our hearts are saddened by the Boston Marathon tragedy and I am sure that each of us are going to be running with this in mind on Sunday, May 5th.
During the reporting of the Boston Marathon, the news stations provided extensive coverage of the blast and the events. I was struck by several things. Firstly, the time that the blasts went off was at the 4:09 hour mark on the clock. Had I qualified for Boston this year, this would have been the time I would have been arriving at the finish line. My blood runs cold thinking about this.
Secondly, I won’t be sad if I don’t make a qualifying time for next year’s Boston Marathon. I will have to turn in a 3:30 time in order to qualify, but I am not sure I am up to it. I will be happy to just finish happy and injury free!
The last thing that sticks in my memory are the commentators on the Boston Marathon stating that it was the marathon “plodders” who were coming in at the time the blasts went off; not the “runners”. I just looked up plodder and the dictionary states, “to walk heavily or trudge laboriously in a tediously slow manner“. I can tell you that anyone who can make the 26 mile 385 yard distance of a marathon is not a plodder, but a superstar. Whether it takes you 2:20 or 10 hours, you still have to cover that daunting distance. I am certain that the commentators making these statements are indeed not runners, but “couch potatoes”.
On Sunday, May 5th in Vancouver at 7:00 am I will be standing with my fellow marathon superstars remembering the superstars who were at the Boston Marathon this year. When the starting horn goes off, I will be trudging towards that 26 mile 385 yard finish line.
Seize the day!
-jim
I agree with you Jim. Marathoners are superstars. I admire your ambition, as well as of those who are running with you. Wishing you all an amazing experience!