Running is both a selfish act and a giving act.
When you go for a run, you relieve yourself of stress, get an endorphin high, and generally feel better about yourself when you are done.
And this helps us be better around our loved ones and friends. Wouldn’t you agree?
I have to say, there is nothing more gratifying than training for a race and completing it. The marathon ranks up there as “the” race to train for and compete in. It’s the race that pushes many to their limits—and when running the marathon is not enough, some of us move up into endurance racing and push our limits even farther, or we run multiple marathons “just because we can.”
In the last decade, the marathon has become the darling race of Americans in particular. New marathons get added each year, it seems, and some are becoming more extreme. There are off-road and cross country half marathons and marathons. It’s exciting—and to be frank, it’s just as exciting to toe the line at a local marathon or half with 200 people as it is to go to the big races with tens of thousands of people. In the end, it’s the adventure, and the satisfaction of ultimately finishing.
This year, however, the sport of running was tested at the Boston Marathon, when our lives were shaken by terrorism. I was there—thankfully not at the finish line, but taking numerous photos at the start. My neighbor, Jan, was at the finish with her sister, and I was frantically trying to find out if she was okay. There were others I knew personally who were there, and I didn’t know if they were okay. Worse, I got a call from my son’s elementary school back in Virginia that my youngest son, Dylan, was being rushed to the hospital, and I wasn’t there to make sure he was okay. My phone was exploding—calls, texts, emails, people asking me, “Are You okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” I said.
But I wasn’t. Between worrying about my neighbor and others I knew who were there, and the added stress of my little guy being rushed to the hospital by a neighbor, there was a moment when I thought I was going to freak out.
And I did get freakedbut after all these years of running and training, and given my personality—I moved beyond the stress and calmed down after a few heart palpitations.
I dedicated this year to running for Boston and doing what I can for other athletes and races. I ran in a couple of charity races for the Boston Marathon to be part of the community of runners here. The DC/MD/VA market is one of those hot spots for runners, triathletes and endurance/adventure racers. We are Boston Strong. Many of us are from Boston, Rhode Island and the NY metropolitan area. Many of us grew up along the Jersey Shore, as I did, and have a certain “muscle” for the extreme. I’ve lived through 9/11 and watched the twin towers fall—buildings where my parents used to work and I used to visit before they retired. I visited my Jersey Shore after Hurricane Sandy, and I stood in support of marathoners as we managed to survive Boston.
Life can be hard, unfair, and rather painful.
Runners do what we do best—we run through it, we raise money, we put our arms around each other, and we love our way through tragedy.
Be Strong.
Alix
Alix Shutello, President and CEO [email protected]
Do you have any video of that? Id like to find out
more details.