Future Average Runner

I love almost everything about Portland. The people are warm and open. The city and its environment are beautiful. It has a lot to offer culturally. And it’s a great place to run. But boy-oh-boy do the clouds and the rain get to me sometimes! This spring has to be the rainiest one I’ve experienced in my six years here. It rained pretty much every day in April. It rained all through May. By the time June came around I needed a break.

Thankfully, I got one just before I went crazy. I was invited to make a couple of appearances at the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Marathon and Half Marathon last weekend. The weather was just what the doctor ordered: dry, sunny and warm. Unfortunately I’m nursing a bit of a low back injury, so I didn’t get out to run while I was there, but Adam got enough sun for both of us on a couple of long ElliptiGO rides and came home with a nice farmer tan.

I went to the race expo at the Convention Center on Friday and Saturday and had a great time meeting runners. There’s no way to say what I’m about to say without sounding vaguely condescending, which is a shame, because that’s not my attitude at all, I swear, so please just take my word for it: I really love talking to “everyday” marathoners. They’re so positive and so passionate about running. I think maybe the reason I appreciate spending time with middle-of-the-pack runners so much is that I see them as purer versions of myself.

I became a runner because I fell in love with running. My pure love for running remains the primary reason I do it. But along the way I developed other reasons for running: achievement, recognition, money. I certainly don’t think there’s anything wrong with pursuing glory as a runner or trying to make a living at it, but I believe there’s no better motivation to run than the pure pleasure of it, and I’d like to think I’d still be running today even if it did not attract attention or put a roof over my head. I know some of the runners I met at the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Marathon Expo admire me because of my dedication and talent, but I admire them just as much in return, because of their spirit.

I love the camaraderie of training with a team of elite runners in rainy Portland, but there’s a different sort of bond I experience when I’m around non-elite runners that’s just as special. I saw my own past self in the Rock ‘n’ Rollers I met last weekend, and perhaps my future self. Let me put it this way: I hope to keep running long enough to be a middle-of-the-pack runner (again) someday!