Ordinary Runners

I’ve recently had reason to think about magazine publications.

What they’re about, whom they market to, and what it takes to “make the cut” as far as the photo department is concerned. 

I get it; magazines are in the market to sell magazines.  So featuring normal humans is tough on the marketability of the magazine.

Running Magazines feature the Great Runners of our day.  Lean bodied athletes who train twice a day, 7 days a week, and perform amazing feats of impossibility.

That’s why people buy them, right?

Or is it. 

Kara awes me.  Don’t get me wrong.  She’s awesome.

However, I am flat out amazed, lifted up and inspired when I meet a normal person doing extraordinary things in running.

Maybe it's because they raise UBER amounts of money for charity….

Or they can seriously run 7 days a week for 14 months in a row….

Or they're a Richmond Elite.  

Or like one of the GBA runners, 3L, a Richmond Elite in her own right (& MTT SNOW runner).  3L took up running only a few years ago.  She kicks my a(star)(star) at every race we've run together, and she inspires me because she is gracious and modest with her successes. 

Or maybe.... maybe these runners inspire me because they just run, because it’s Tuesday, and they want to run because they love it.

Moms, Students, Shop owners, Accountants, Preschool Teachers, Fathers … these are everyday people, doing their thing.  Working 9 – 5, studying 5-9, wrangling their children 24/7, God Forbid they should want to watch a little HBO in their odd free hour… and in between all that, they make time to run.

No excuses can get between these athletes and their run.

They run because they want to run.

Not because their coach said they had to, or ‘cos they could lose their sponsorship, but because they “have to” if they want to attain their goal to run a marathon.

These are the magazine worthy runners.

These are the people I admire.

Ordinary Runners who go out every day and do Extraordinary things.

Pink, Green, Yellow and Blue MTT runners who get up four or five days a week, maybe at 4am, to squeeze their run in before work. 

Red, Silver, Neon, Orange, and Indigo runners who jet home after working a 12 hours day to go for a run. 

Purple, Teal, Navy, and Clear Team runners who balance their need to run with the need to share a piece of cake with their son, a drink with a coworker, or a late night with a friend.  

Coaches who give up 20odd weeks of their own running to run with people who clearly can’t dress themselves properly in the hot RVA air....

Coaches who give up 20odd weeks of their own running to run with people who are significantly slower, cuter, and more friendly than they are or ever will be.... 

Coaches who give up 20odd weeks of their own running and then don’t run America’s Friendliest Marathon because they’re busy giving up yet another day to run with ORDINARY PEOPLE who are out doing EXTRAORDINARY THINGS....

These are the people I want to run like, with, and near.

These are the people who I understand.  People who love to run more than they love sleep, food, HBO, and… possibly their spouse…. but we’re not going to talk about that here....  I'm sure somewhere someone makes a magazine that covers that topic.

~savor the run~