Yesterday I spent a good deal of my time paying attention to the 122nd running of the Boston Marathon. It was a great day for USA, with 7 of the top 8 women (12 of the top 15!) being Americans, including Desiree Linden being the first US woman to win in 33 years. Ten of the top 15 men were Americans.
That was pretty fun to watch. Plus watching Yuki Kawauchi from Japan win his FOURTH marathon of the year. I like this guy. He's like a lot of my friends. Except a lot faster. (Most elite runners will do at most 2 marathons a year!)
The other thing I found that got me going was the 122nd Boston Marathon on the medals. My first Boston medal said 100. It's been 22 years since then, when I got in because they had a special lottery for the100th marathon and I entered and got in. I was still training for my first marathon when I sent in the entry.
What a 22 years it's been. That Boston was my 3rd marathon. This weekend I'll be running marathon #323. In the years in between, I've seen all the states multiple times, run marathons in 32 countries, on all seven continents. I've met thousands of people, and many have become good friends. I've watched while people tested their limits and found out that they didn't actually HAVE limits.
If you went to school with me, you know I was never athletic. I had asthma as a kid and couldn't play sports for crap anyway. I was frequently picked last for the teams in gym class. I got a varsity letter by being on the debate team.
But running. I found out I could do that quite a while later. It changed my life. In the running world, you can be fast or slow and still find lots of people to hang with. You can help other people reach their goals. You can pretty much do anything you want. It doesn't matter if you're fat or skinny, young or old, or most anywhere on the continuum of humanity. Runners will welcome you.
I've been a marathon runner for over 22 years now. It's an amazing life. I hope I'm around to watch the 200th Boston Marathon.
That was pretty fun to watch. Plus watching Yuki Kawauchi from Japan win his FOURTH marathon of the year. I like this guy. He's like a lot of my friends. Except a lot faster. (Most elite runners will do at most 2 marathons a year!)
The other thing I found that got me going was the 122nd Boston Marathon on the medals. My first Boston medal said 100. It's been 22 years since then, when I got in because they had a special lottery for the100th marathon and I entered and got in. I was still training for my first marathon when I sent in the entry.
What a 22 years it's been. That Boston was my 3rd marathon. This weekend I'll be running marathon #323. In the years in between, I've seen all the states multiple times, run marathons in 32 countries, on all seven continents. I've met thousands of people, and many have become good friends. I've watched while people tested their limits and found out that they didn't actually HAVE limits.
If you went to school with me, you know I was never athletic. I had asthma as a kid and couldn't play sports for crap anyway. I was frequently picked last for the teams in gym class. I got a varsity letter by being on the debate team.
But running. I found out I could do that quite a while later. It changed my life. In the running world, you can be fast or slow and still find lots of people to hang with. You can help other people reach their goals. You can pretty much do anything you want. It doesn't matter if you're fat or skinny, young or old, or most anywhere on the continuum of humanity. Runners will welcome you.
I've been a marathon runner for over 22 years now. It's an amazing life. I hope I'm around to watch the 200th Boston Marathon.
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