I’m not quite sure what happened to 2009, finishing graduate
school and completing my National Board Certification seemed to leave little
time for running (if you ask one of my friends, they may even tell a story
about how I almost missed my own surprise birthday dinner to work on writing). With those 2 accomplishments out of the
way, I laced up my running shoes once again for a race close to home.
The Tobacco Road Marathon runs a great trail between Apex
and Durham, North Carolina. In
addition to being an old railroad bed (meaning flat), a good portion of the
course is on packed sand (my knees loved it). This was the first time I had a chance to train on the
course prior to the race and I truly appreciated knowing what I was getting
into and what to expect. I found
the perfect combination of water, Gatorade, and Shot Blocks to get me through
my training and had a great plan for the race.
Even though it was close to home, I didn’t tell many of my
friends the details, I have never been one to need spectators. Less than a mile into the race I was
surprised to see a familiar face, one of our student teachers and her
husband. Earlier that day I had
spotted a group of runners running in honor of a friend going through cancer
treatment and I then put the two together and realized it was her husband. Periodically through the race I saw the
two of them stopped to cheer everyone as they passed. I even had the chance to run a few miles with some of the
runners and hear about why they were running and the man they were running for.
He passed away 8 months later. Reflecting on this race has made me realize how running
brings people together for reasons other than to get back in shape or lose a
few pounds. It’s also a chance to
come together with a common goal or purpose, to celebrate or support those we
are close to. I sometimes think of
this race as my second marathon, the feeling of getting my nutrition right, and
having energy through the last mile.
While those were great benchmarks, I more clearly remember it as the
race where a group of people came together to run and honor their friend in his
fight.
