On a cold and gray Sunday morning, I headed out to watch and support this year’s runners in the More Marathon. The race is for women over 40, and it’s held entirely in Central Park. Happy that I possessed the wrong chromosomes as well as the incorrect plumbing for the job, I could only watch. So I finished my weekend long run on Saturday with the intention of taking it easy on Sunday. And in this case, It meant just watching other runners going around the fun park loop again and again, sometimes a real joy when you’re not doing it.
Earlier this year, the New York Road Runners announced that next year’s ’09 NYC Marathon guaranteed entry rules includes volunteering for at least one ’08 race (plus completing the usual nine races). So the volunteers were out in force, including Cranky running pal Susie, stationed at the Loeb Boathouse.
Long story short, I got to run from one mile marker to the next, and cheer on the ladies who were either marathoners or half marathoners (the vast majority). It was chilly, but clapping and yelling ‘good job’ for a couple of hours does warm you up. And those runners who were able to express their appreciation to me, did. Later, I spent some time at the finish line at the half, and it was about as inclusive an event as I’ve ever seen. Tears of joy, camaraderie, pain, it was all there, and if there had been a group hug, I wouldn’t have been surprised. Quite a change from the shark-infested 5-milers I’ve been in over the last year. I’m not saying I want Oprah and Dr. Phil showing up to sponsor races anytime soon, I just got the feeling it was a different vibe out there, and kind of refreshing to see.
So I cheered the runners on, ran around myself, took pictures, got to hang out with Susie, made one Starbucks run, and watched more runners struggle through. It’s different on the spectator side of a marathon, and certainly not as hard as participating, but I do recommend the experience. Because you know what they’re going through, and they know you know it, too. Even when they don’t say it.
Pictures, pictures:
4 comments:
How fun! I've gone to races to cheer others on but I've never thought about volunteering before - it sounds like it would be a fun experience. I might have to look into this!
ahh fine female posterior chain...I mean nice butts...I mean what a wonderful pursuit by modern female athletes! Just make sure you weren't spending too much time gawking at Deena Kastor to forget to hand her her gatorade.
on the Victorian Surgery Comment:
Touche old boy Touche, now hand me my liston knife and bone saw I've got to get this sod's leg off before the ether runs out!
You're quite the artsy photographer. That first one with the long tables of cups in black and white would probably look pretty damn...artsy. Glad you had a good time...just Cranky and the gals.
Nice! And I agree with Angry, your artistic eye works quite well when up against a viewfinder.
If you like the "Group Hug" feel, then you should do Disney with us. According to Angry the mean time is something like 5 hours, and it's been scientifically proven that slow people hug more and are by and large Oprah fans.
Post a Comment