The Race “Buzz”

Up to this point, running has been a solitary adventure for me. I have squeezed in my runs in the morning, after bedtime, at Cornerstone’s indoor track late at night…but never managed to run with anyone else. Mostly a logistical issue, partly a self-confidence worry of holding someone back.

So when I walked into Cornerstone’s athletic center last Saturday to check in for my very first race, I was a little taken aback by how noisy it was. The whole cross country team was there stretching and joking around, along with little groups of runners huddled everywhere, pinning on their numbers and layering on warm clothes.

I started to wish that I had dragged someone with me, but then I saw a few people that I knew which distracted me from the butterflies that were starting to beat a staccato rhythm in my stomach. It was kind of cool to hear all the different reasons why people were there. One professor had ran every year for the last 15 years, except for last year when he went to the Michigan – Notre Dame game, and wished he hadn’t…one of my former students was walking the race to get extra credit for her Jogging class…our babysitter was there, planning on “yogging” just for the fun of it…a girl that I went to college with was running her second 5K ever…everyone had their unique stories.

Then, we headed out to the starting line, eighty people strong, all with the same destination. The gun went off, and I watched all the speedy runners disappear into the distance as I settled into my pace. I kind of wished that there was someone else right around me…I passed a few people, but that’s it. It may have helped me to push a little harder right around mile two when I misread the clock in the middle of campus, thinking that it had been a half an hour already…whoops…

I finally rounded the last corner and headed towards the finish line. In the distance, I see a person standing there with a red coat. Odd…I think…it looks like Amanda’s red coat (a good friend of mine that we had dinner with the night before). As I got closer, I realized that it actually was Amanda, standing there with her daughter, Rori! She cheered wildly as I crossed the finish line, and took my picture as I stood there all sweaty. Come to find out that she skipped the 5K that she was plannng on running to come and cheer me on…how cool is that?

Such a great energy…and as I leaned over to catch my breath, I started to understand this whole running thing. See, I really just decided to train to run a 5K because it was something tangible to work towards…a goal to accomplish. I underestimated the excitement and frankly, the “buzz” that would go along with it. It was a great experience…and I am ready for the next one!