Finding a Four Leaf Clover

My first 5k, I was so nervous I barely even thought to look around me.  For my second, I made sure I got there early enough to really take in the experience. I learned that very little of these races have to do with times and what place you come in, other than validation of all the hard work you put in to get there. The real action comes from the people themselves.

Since it was a St. Patrick's Day run, there were tons of runners dressed for the occasion.  I saw green tutus, green striped socks, green bead necklaces and even some green faces.  The atmosphere was jovial, and everyone acted like it was some huge barbecue cook out rather than a race.

The kids ran first, and standing at their finish line, I was able to see some of the most heart warming things I ever have.  They came in flashes, almost like pictures, brief snapshots of time where nothing else had relevance. There was the boy who ran so hard and was so focused that he actually ran out of his shoe and just kept going in his sock.  

The girl with a milder form of cerebral palsy, who used her walker to run the mile (and she did run) with her parents on either side of her.  She would look at her parents to see if they were paying attention, and if they weren't, she would take off faster, causing them to chase her.  All the while, she was laughing and smiling. Once she crossed the finish line, her siblings stood next to her, all of them beaming for the photo.

There was the four year old girl who ran as fast as she could with her father next to her, and when she crossed the finish line first, she screamed with glee that she had beaten her daddy at running. The little boy behind her finished, turned to the little girl, and asked her if she wanted to do it again.

There was the overweight girl who crossed the finish line, and into the arms of her mother. The mother, also overweight, was crying and told her daughter how proud she was and that things were going to be different, that they were all going to get healthy. 

Since it was close to time for the start of the 5k, I went in search of the starting line full of warm fuzzies from what I had seen.  But it didn't stop there.  I soon ran into a former co-worker of mine.  He had gotten into running and had lost more than 80 pounds.  He told me proudly he was going to do his first half Ironman in three weeks in Galveston.  When I had worked with him, we all feared for his health, and here he was, fit and trim. 

As the people crowded the start, the lady next to me chatted me up.  She was 72 years old, and she, along with a group of Winter Texans from her park ran as many of these races as possible. When the younger boys next to her stripped off their shirts, she leaned in next to me and whispered that she was part of a nudist colony and that they often trained naked. Not exactly the visual that I would want in my head, but she seemed so proud of it I couldn't help but laugh with her. Bright eyed and full of laughter, she wished me well on my race, and said she would be chugging along somewhere behind me.

As the race started, I began to think about what I had seen. For some of the people there, this race was a pivotal moment in their lives that would bring them to a better, healthier life. For others, this race was the chance to create some wonderful memories for their families. And for those special few, it was a complete validation of their thought that anything could be possible if they only tried.

Right after I finished, I ran into some good friends of mine who were cheering on their daughter. Fifteen minutes later, who should come jogging up behind me but my new 72 year old nudist friend, with as much vim and vigor as she had started with. My former co-worker also came by, who was making his way back out onto the course to run with the people he had brought with him so they could start losing weight.

In some ways, I feel like I finished the race a different person than the one who came out to run it. I now see running as something other than times and placements.  It is the story of all of us who come together to take part. Whoever you are and whatever your story, the race is your time to shine for simply putting your foot on the starting line. It is a celebration of every time you went running whether you felt like it or not. It is a reward for a healthier choice, and for all the benefits that choice brings.

I felt today like I had found a four leaf clover - discovered something rare and precious.  And I will never look at running the same way again.

What's that?  

How did my race go? 

Oh, well, I cut over a minute off my previous race time, and have a new PR for 5k of 27:08. Color me happy! :)