An open letter to those involved in the Manitoba Marathon:
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To the organizers of the 2009 Manitoba Marathon: WOW! This is FUN!! There must be details to look |
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To the drummers, bell ringers, clappers, and sleepy headed parents holding babies at the side of the road of Manitoba Marathon: Thanx for making us all feel like celebrities today. We love feeling the love! |
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To the thousands of runners, wheelers and walkers: A big part of the energy of the day is the good naturedness of people, the desire to be helpful and supportive to strangers, watching family and friends support and take care of each other. It is an experience of community that doesn’t happen like this very often in a big city. We need to experience the fundamental goodness of humanity sometimes.
To the team of women that is pregnant and featured in the Free Press yesterday: Thank you for your inspiration and the lessons you teach us about health and the way our bodies are far more capable that we would imagine. Thanx to the 8-month-pregnant-woman for your friendliness on route as we had our short conversation. But as for leaving me in the dust as you continued on and I couldn’t keep up–well, I’ll get over it. I tried to take a picture of the back of your shirt–but you ran faster than I could get my camera out!
To the guy in Wildwood pointing his garden hose to the sky at the side of the road: Bless you. A thousand times, bless you. Who knew that cold water could feel SO GOOD!! Even early in the morning at the first part of the race, this blast of cold was amongst the most startlingly refreshing moments I’ve had in a very long time. You, and your cast of thousands, make the day a wonderful experience.
To the woman supporting us from the roadside in Wildwood that said, “The next water station is just up ahead”: Praytell, maam, what is your version of “just up ahead”? Did you know that it was not around that corner, or the next or the next! Honestly…you had me believing that if I postponed my scheduled one minute walk just a tiny bit, it would be rewarded with a wet sponge and a cup of water. NOT!! I do thank you, though…because in having me think, “Well, it must be the next corner (or the next or the next)”, I actually ran farther and faster than I would have otherwise. You helped remind me that there is more capacity inside of me than I sometimes realize in the moment.
To the lady on the bus bench on Pembina Highway: Thanx for taking care of the young runner beside you. You were so nurturing and kind, supportive, offering her bus fare, money for a drink, and willing to sit beside her for as long as it took. You had me convinced you were her mother…until you said to her, “It was nice to meet you ” when you left. You are the reason why I couldn’t miss being a part of the marathon today.
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To the woman walking behind the “Closing-The-Race” official Manitoba Marathon van on Wellington |
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To me: Good on me! My runs have been shorter and farther between and have only started in the last 3 weeks or so–my sprained toe took a lot longer time to recover than I would have thought, and is still not nearly all the way there. But I still found a way to take part–the relay. And though I wasn’t fast, I was steady, and did run about a minute/mile faster than I had hoped. I didn’t give up, and I found a different way to be a part of the day that I had intended, but I was there. |
One of the songs played at the starting line was the theme to “Chariots of Fire”, and I was reminded of Eric Liddel’s infamous line:
“God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.”
One didn’t even have to be fast to feel His pleasure today.
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