Why Do I Run?--The Seven C's

It is not often that I ask myself this question anymore.  Everyone around me knows me as a "runner"--whatever exactly that means.  But this morning, I was participating in a neat 5K race.  It was called Operation Oliver.  It focused on a neighborhood not far from where I work that is being revitalized with help from a number of organizations include one called the 6th Branch--military veterans performing service activities.  The local leader of the project carried an American flag (a large one like you'd hang outside your home) on a pole the whole race and ran not too far behind me.

The race was not the best organized.  No port-a-potties at the start or finish.  Took them a long time to figure out who got awards.  Not the best marked course.  And it was the last part that led me to ask that question--why do I run.

The race was so poorly marked and there may have been miscommunication among people who ran the race that some people ran 2.5 miles and others ran just over 3.  It was almost certainly short of 3.1 unless my watch erred the opposite direction as it does in every other race.  If it was 3.1, my 19:33 would be my first sub-20 time since high school.  As it was, my 19:33 projects out to about a 20:15 which would still be my personal best since high school.  That 20 minute 10K remains elusive.

But, I was challenged to answer "why do I run?" when I thought about what the mis-direction on the course would do to my placing.  Incidentally, I was first in my age group.  That's a nice feeling.  And the fact that I was even worried about it points to one of the reasons I run--I'm still competitive.  I once posted on Facebook "why do I still get butterflies before a race if it's all for fun?"  A friend from high school asked, "Are you sure it's just for fun?"  Today's race clearly showed me the answer is no.

Interestingly, there was a guy from the Back on My Feet team with which I run whom I did not expect to pass but did.  He indicated his frustration with the fact that he lost a place or two because of the misdirection.  Again, someone who is competitive.

My previous entry about Back on My Feet shows that it is not just about competition though.  It is also about community and caring.  A healthy mix of community, caring, and competition is not a bad thing.

And there are other things. I met new people today.  People talking as it got chilly after the race.  The race was run with the sun out.  Then the clouds came and it got cold.  But we talked for a long time about running, racing, and learning.  It was all good.

I saw people as they crossed the finish line.  Some struggled. Some were overjoyed.  Some who had obviously run most of the race slowly had it left in them to sprint as they could see the finish.  The joy and exhilaration that I saw on people's faces was amazing.

And, the sense of camaraderie.  I suppose that may be part of community.  But it is definitely cool to get to see others succeed.  I was the last one from team Christopher's place there today and I brought home medals for six other runners on my team.  I'll give them out on Monday.  It was just incredible.  I was particularly impressed by one woman whose running I knew was strong, but it became extra clear to me a couple weeks back when we did timed miles.  She ran a 6:12.  Few guys on the team were running that pace.  She hung with me and was the second female overall.  It is just so cool to be able to share success (and struggles--like trying to understand where the course actually went and dealing with the chill after the race) as part of being a team.

So, why do I run?  Competition, community, caring, and camaraderie.  To stay with a C theme, I could probably add compassion.  Given the sense of accomplishment that comes from finishing a race I could add "completion".  And, finally, to complete the seven C's, I'd say "consecration".  A dedication to something.  It does not have to be religious.  It does have to be a higher purpose.  I believe there is a higher purpose to running.  And I believe that for me in particular that purpose is a key aspect of why I'm out there.  

Let's go O's! And more...

So, why is the heading about the local baseball team when I am a runner?  Well, today was the opening home game for the Baltimore Orioles (the O's to my non-Baltimore or non-baseball fan readers).  I went for  run with the Back on My Feet--Baltimore, Christopher's Place team this morning.  To celebrate the opening day of the baseball season, we all ran together from Christopher's Place to the stadium to get a picture of the group.  That was fun and I ran with a few team members with whom I had not run before--always working on building camaraderie.

When we got there, one of the members took a picture of the group.  Two local TV stations had camera crews there.  One of the reporters (from ABC 2 News) came over, offered to take our picture including the person with the camera, and then asked us to stand in back to look like a crowd while he and his partner did their spot.  It was fun and Back on My Feet got some good publicity.

It was all the more fun as we were truly excited about the morning.  It is actually starting to feel like spring.  The runners this morning were in a mixture of clothing from shorts, a baseball cap, and a long sleeve shirt (like me) to people still with long pants, gloves, and winter hats. Still, the variation didn't matter.  We're just all in it together.

The excitement also come because spring is so freeing.  It is nice to run and not worry about multiple layers.

Our run this morning also saw an interested new resident of Christopher's Place.   That is also cool.  We'll all run a mile together on Wednesday to celebrate a new member.

Finally, later in the day, I met the local director in person.  She's an incoming part-time MPH student.  We'll be trying to figure out together how to evaluate the organization's good work.  To have the professional and personal and charitable all come together is pretty amazing.

Completion

So, one of the three C's I wrote about the other day was completion.  I talked about the importance of completing things in the bigger life setting.  What I didn't really write much about was what this means in the context of a morning run for Back on My Feet.

I commented last week about "much celebration" as the runs are complete on any given day.  What does this mean?  Well, first, it means that unless a person is really pressed for time, everyone stays until the last person gets back from the run.  Of course, usually it is last group of people rather than last person as we are supposed to run in groups on the early morning streets of Baltimore.

For those who finish early, what are they supposed to do when others finish?  We clap as we see people coming in.  If you are in a further back group, you have more people clapping for you.  And when a person (of group of runners) comes in there are high fives all around.

This celebration of completion makes it clear how important, how special, how wonderful, how significant it is to bring something to a conclusion.

After everyone has been congratulated, we then all stretch as a group and hugs are shared as we part.  This provides a wonderful sense of togetherness (i.e. camaraderie) along with the sense of completion.

Should we do this with all things in life?  Probably not.  Some contexts are not meant for high fives and hugs.  However, we should remember that even for things that are just expectations (of parenting, of home ownership, of being an adult, of school, of our jobs, etc.) finishing is still important.  I'm going to try to make sure that I find ways to acknowledge and celebrate finishing for me, my kids, my wife, and my students to help bring everyone to the next level of being able to get things done and improve our own and everyone's well-being.

Commitment

This morning, I ran a 5K with my son.  It was his best time in a while and I'm confident that by June he will get back to running the same time he ran last June.  He's excited and may even do one or two 5K races by himself this spring as I turn to running with my fellow half marathon trainees.  I do consider my commitment to my son's running interest to be a very important aspect of my parenting and my running.  I also consider my commitment to my fellow trainees important.  And, as mentioned earlier this week, I see commitment as an important part of what I am doing now with Back on My Feet.

I commented earlier this week on three aspects. I've come up with a new way of expressing what I consider to be three aspects of my sharing experience in Back on My Feet: camaraderie, commitment, and completion.  I tried using the word accomplishment earlier this week, but I like the alliteration of camaraderie, commitment, and completion.

Why do I continue to reflect on these?  First, I have commented on how, at the end of the day, the distinction between bridging and bonding capital is almost immaterial.  One reason is that even I have a lot to learn about completion.  I love to begin things.  I have a hard time finishing things.  I hope that one thing I'll get out of my continuing running experience is the inspiration to complete things other than just my running activities.  I have no trouble completing those.  I want to make sure I can complete other things.

When it comes to commitment, I asked my main contact person if there was a minimum for the non-residential members of Back on My Feet.  She indicated "no" but I see at least one day a week as the ear minimum out of respect for the residential members who do have to make a minimum commitment I think I should.  So, I've decided to work on doing this one day a week.  This coming week will be on Monday rather than Wednesday.  I look forward to joining my fellow runners on what promises to be another cold early morning and learning about what everyone in the group has to offer to others.