To The Running Community

Wedding Wednesday will actually be on Friday this week, dear readers, as I celebrate having been engaged for one year this week by sharing some details about my dress with you!  (Don't worry; I warned Jon not to look.)  I've been wanting to blog about the process for ages, so I'm really excited to hit publish.  But for today...

I was hoping to say a few words about what happened in Boston at the marathon exactly a month ago, but, honestly, I still don't know what to say other than that I'm deeply sad.  As further details about the alleged bombers emerge, the tragedy seems even more senseless, leaving us with only more questions.  In the Jezebel article that Gesci linked to above, Erin Gloria Ryan writes, "One of the many puzzling aspects of yesterday's attacks was the question of what, exactly, the perpetrators thought they'd accomplish by targeting what basically amounts to a celebration of human tenacity."  So, since I've now actively started training for my first half marathon in September, I'll take this moment to thank the running community that has embraced me over my last year in DC.

When I was living in suburban Maryland, Megan regularly invited me out on her weekend training runs.  Because she's taken me under her wing, I've never thought that I wasn't going fast enough or far enough - she has only ever urged me to understand that running isn't tied to speed or distance but to heart.  (If you haven't read the guest post she wrote for me back in October, go!)  Her running buddies, who I've met a handful of times at races over the past year, have similarly welcomed me, encouraging me to join them for other events and providing valuable advice as I explore this strange new world.  The most wonderful gift they've given me, though, is support: I've finished near the back of the pack at every single race I've run, and, even if they crossed the line hours earlier, they've been at the end to cheer me through the final steps every time.

And it's not just those I know who have cheered.  Yes, when I pushed myself too hard at the end of the Love the Run You're With 5k and had to find a trash can, Megan instinctively grabbed Charlie's leash out of my hands.  And yes, when I finished the 5 miler in Baltimore side by side with Megan we ran straight into her gang, armed with bananas and bottles of water.  But, half a mile before I could see Jon and Sarah and my mother at the finish line of my first ever 10k, I ran off the fumes of complete strangers' whoops and hollers.  People I'd never seen before were telling me they knew I could do it - so I did.

When I run in DC, especially if I'm out with Charlie, I pass so many smiles.  Other runners warn me about a slippery bridge ahead or a raccoon carcass on the path (here's looking at you, Sligo).  Couples out walking joke with me about training Charlie to pause for pee breaks on uphills rather than downhills.  And sometimes we keep pace with other runners, who always give us a wave and a nod before peeling off on a different route.  We're all runners or we want to be runners or we used to be runners or we know someone who runs, and that makes us a community.

So to you, my friends online who tweet encouragement at me and like my Instagrams of sneakers and are, possibly, just as excited about my new PR as I am... thank you.