The Race

When can you refer to yourself as a runner?

I run. But I don't know if I can tell people I'm a runner. Like ... when you play those "getting to know you games" I want to know if I can say: "I'm short. I really like deep fried food and musicals. And, I'm a runner."

At the advice of other runners - real runners - I entered myself in a couple of 5K races last year (I use the phrase "last year" loosely). The first race I ever ran was HORRIBLE. I can't even come up with a comparison. It was just awful.

I was cold. Very cold. So I was slower than I might have been on any normal daily run. But still. It was so awful having so many people pass me.

What is that about???

I didn't feel the companionship and love and overwhelming sense of community I had heard about. I didn't feel encouraged or inspired. I felt large. And slow. And like everyone within a ten mile radius could hear me breathing. Not even my playlist that I'd spent the better part of three days putting together was effective in drowning out my labored gasps for air.

As I was running - cursing the day I'd ever decided that running with a thousand other people was a good idea - I thought back to the day I'd watched my sister-in-law run in her first half-marathon.

She was awesome. There was so much energy in the air that day. People on the sidelines were cheering and jumping up and down and encouraging people by name as they ran by ... which seemed odd. My first thought was that the spectators around me must watch a lot of half-marathons to know all these runners by name. My second thought was that the runners all had a LOT of the same friends. Then I realized that first names were printed on the bibs ... clever.

It was really cool watching the race unfold in front of me.

And as the runners passed me by I noticed that they were sometimes alone and sometimes in groups of two or three or more.

And sometimes, right in front of me, a runner struggling alone would suddenly be joined by another runner, a stronger runner, who would run up alongside and grab onto the runner and shout something encouraging and pull them along until they found the strength to keep going.

And as I stood there, watching from the sidelines, tears started streaming down my face.

It was such a beautiful illustration of how life could be. How life should be.

Shouldn't we try our best to grab on to those who are struggling and pull them along? Even if it makes it a little harder for us in that moment ...

Shouldn't we want everyone to finish the race and finish it well?

I don't know if can really say I'm a runner or not. But I do know that there was a time in my life when I didn't think I could keep going. I had a lot of strong "runners" come along side during that season and pull me along and encourage me until I found the strength to keep going.

And I know that when I see someone struggling in the race that really matters I will try to pull them along with me as best I can.