Spectating will take practice

Saturday night I was sending some "good luck tomorrow" messages to my friends who were racing in the Philly 10K. It's something running friends do for each other, and it feels good to be a giver and receiver of those messages, so I was mustering up my good running vibes and sending them along. 

I'll be honest...it wasn't easy for me to even acknowledge that the race was happening. I registered long ago, secured my spot, and was going to run it for my fourth year in a row...and the race is four years old. So my thought was that I would run it every year, without skipping a year, because how often are you around for the inaugural running of a race that then becomes your favorite race?  Never, that's how often. I was going to be running the 25th year in a row as a 60 year old!

But, you know, things changed...

So I transferred my bib to an able bodied lady (I hope she had a good race!) and was going to ignore that the race was even happening. But as a good runner friend I really needed to say good luck to a few people.  One of them gently-ish nudged me to stop by the race and say hi. "No pressure, but we'd love to see you" type of thing. 

This is that friend. Super supportive. Understanding. With an awesome Irish accent to boot!

I was planning to have my first volunteer/spectator experience be at a race that I hate running, sometime next year. That way I ease myself into the pain of not running in them. But a bandaid hurts less if you just rip it off, right?  So it might be better to start off right away, when the wounds of not running are still raw, and it happens to be a favorite race. It'll hurt less that way. Right?

I decided to try. 

I got up early and headed to the start and saw some of my favorite running people. I decided to stay to watch several of them cross the finish. Then I headed home. Not sweaty. Not concerned about a PR. Not looking for water. Not wearing running clothes. About to cry after watching my friends crush their goals for the race. Happy tears for them. But also sad tears, if I'm being honest. 

I was glad I went. It wasn't easy. But with practice, I will get better at it. 

Here's some thoughts on seeing things from 
"the other side"

*it was fascinating to see the nerves of pre-race runners and how they manifest in different people. I wonder how my nerves came out. 

*it's seriously exciting to see the leaders come through the finish, something I've never seen before as I'm always far behind them!



*it was pointed out to me by a woman who was watching her son and husband run the race, that the sound of runners' footsteps is mesmerizing and soothing to hear as a spectator. I was always irritated to hear someone else's footsteps when racing...they were usually not in sync with my own and could throw off my rhythm if too loud. But she was right!  The footfall sounds as the runners passed by was soothing and rather delightful! Not sure how to describe the sound. 

*i'm not great at cheering for random strangers!  How ridiculous is that?!  I could easily say "go Emily" or "great race Kinzy," but I struggled to cheer for the random stranger. Not because I wasn't excited for them...but because I just didn't know what to say. Didn't occur to me that I would struggle with something so silly. 

*i was delighted to watch the faces people made approaching the finish line. So many variations of "holy shit, thank god I'm done, what was my time, was this a PR, why is that random stranger (me) staring at my face, where's the water..." It was a fun game wondering what they were thinking at that moment. 

I'm glad I went. I'm glad I ripped the bandaid off. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, the runners here in Philly are a special group of people!

A few more pictures of a great morning:


Comments

  1. TrentAugust 30, 2017 at 9:46 PM

    Recognizing your posts as a Philly runner, I too wish i was in the fray during great events such as the Philly 10k. When I am not able to compete, I join Back on My Feet and volunteer. Not the same exhilaration as a podium finish, but you get to meet great people and experience a race from a different perspective for a great cause

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