RunRichmond!

It's all about the run.

Up, up and away

Fifteen weeks post-surgery and great news this morning, I will never be able to start my day again without…….wait for it…..wait for it……be patient……….a Starbucks Trenta Green Tea Lemonade sweetened, holy Mother of God. Ever had one? Do yourself a favor and stay as far away from them as possible. It is seriously like sharing crack cocaine with Lindsey Lohan (I’ll deny it if you tell anyone), I just finished the first one and I’m considering running back to SB (Starbucks, not Sports Backers) for a second dose this morning. If everyone starts drinking them, there won’t be enough green tea to satisfy my habit and that is not acceptable, so forget what you just read. You know what’s really good, triple grande extra hot 2 pump mocha – you drink those and leave the green tea lemonade to me.

Roll up, roll up for the magical mystery tour, step right this way.
Roll up, roll up for the mystery tour.
Roll up, roll up for the mystery tour.
Roll up (AND) THAT’S AN INVITATION, roll up for the mystery tour.
Roll up TO MAKE A RESERVATION, roll up for the mystery tour.
The magical mystery tour is waiting to take you away,
Waiting to take you away.

Roll up, roll up for the mystery tour.
Roll up, roll up for the mystery tour.
Roll up GOT EVERYTHING YOU NEED, roll up for the mystery tour.
Roll up SATISFACTION GUARANTEED, roll up for the mystery tour.
The magical mystery tour is hoping to take you away,
Hoping to take you away.
-The Beatles

It’s finally almost time to start. One week until we start for the tenth time. Actually I am starting for the ninth time but there are a bunch of coaches and a handful of participants that will be starting for the tenth time. Take about 1,100 runners, have them meet each weekend for 24 weeks and run the streets, roads, lanes, boulevards and avenues of Richmond. Add some very dedicated volunteer coaches, some great SAG staff and see what you get. What you get is a magical mystery tour. This is not a recruiting pitch or an advertisement. It’s a tribute, a testimony to the Marathon Training Team, the close to 100 coaches, volunteers and SAG staff, thousands of participants and everyone else that makes MTT magical in so many ways.

Every year when we put close to 1,000 fannies in the bleachers at Sports Backers Stadium, it’s like the first day of high school. The reunions of the many “veterans” and the uneasy looks on the faces of the newbies. The strength and confidence of the “upper classmen” and the fear and trepidation of the “Freshman”. The shock and dismay of this year’s color “scheme”, the enthusiasm and expectations, the goals and fears, the bleachers are full of emotion and we haven’t even run one step.

My first year in the program, we ran from the downtown Y on Franklin Street. Outdoor bleachers in a soccer stadium were not needed, we could all sit on the floor in the old gym and not come close to filling it. If we tried that this year, we would never get parking for everyone.

As the season progresses, we celebrate successes with PRs at local races and PRs for long run distances. We discuss things while running that many people wouldn’t discuss with their spouses, running 20 miles with people will quickly knock down any barrier that may exist. Hell, running 12 miles in July in Richmond can do that. We watch out for each other and make sure everyone gets back to where they started. We counsel on shoes, shorts, sports bras, compression shorts, gu, nip-guards, body glide, socks, singlets, strassburg socks, cho-pat straps, water belts, water bottles and where do I put my key while we run (not to mention bathroom habits and sex the night before a race). There are e-mails, some are stern (don’t run in the street 4 across please), some are funny (thanks for participating in the Richmond Wear-a-thong) and some are informational (eating a burrito for breakfast before the Marathon may not be a great idea) but all add to the totality of the experience.

Then one day, after hundreds of miles, it’s time. The gun goes off at 8:00AM on that Saturday in November and the next 7 hours are magical. Monumental highs and lows that rip the heart from your chest; pushing, cajoling, encouraging, threatening, demanding and counseling participants that are ready to lay it all out there to see what happens. Each year I try to find new ways to be everywhere on the course, I want to run with every participant and help them reach their self-defined goals. Unfortunately that’s not possible, thankfully there are 60 or more coaches on the course doing the exact same thing so no one goes without help.

People stay just a little bit longer
We want to play — just a little bit longer
Now the promoter don’t mind
And the union don’t mind
If we take a little time
And we leave it all behind and sing
One more song
Oh won’t you stay just a little bit longer
Please, please, please say you will
Say you will

Oh won’t you stay just a little bit longer
Oh please, please stay just a little bit more
-Jackson Browne

So at 3:00PM, the first beer at Sine’ always tastes great but it’s also bitter sweet. While I will see many of the same faces over the next thirty weeks, it’s not the same. Thankfully I know that we will be back at it the first weekend of June for another season of MTT and I would not have it any other way.

Run Well.

  1. runrichmond posted this