THE DETROIT FREE PRESS MARATHON WEEKEND
It's always a great experience to have a huge marathon in your own back yard. Even if you are not running it, you can feel the presence in the air. The marathon holds special memories for me being my first.
This year, I am runing the half, and am doing so as a Runwell advocate. (Check out my donor page here and support if you wish.) Runwell is an organziation that taps into the power of the running lifestyle to fight addiction. It's a subject I could write a damn book on, and am glad to be part of it. My initial plan was to run a full marathon, but I had to break it down and run 2 half marathons with a 3 week break in between. Twenty one days after finishing the Brooksie Way Half Marathon, I will cross the finish line in Detroit on Sunday
I'm running the second half of the course this weekend, which is a new experience.
I fear I may become what I hate. In years past, when I was running the full marathon I would watch in dismay as fresh runners would pass me by. "Argghhh, you're part of the relay and just started running. I've been out here 3 hours," I would curse under my breath.
Well, this time, I shall be the fresh one, but I am not sure I'll be doing much passing. I've ran just twice since my last half marathon: One 4 miler and a 7 miler. My adhesions (scar tissue in my leg, I've come to know as adhesions) have been throbbing and tightening and pulling on muscles of my thigh making it a tangled spider web of junk.
Whatever happens, I love lining up at the start on marathon morning. I love seeing all the runners in the state converge. Inevitably what happens is you see tons of familiar faces. The runners next to you are people who you will probably never talk to with names you will never know, but you recognize them by their face or their gait. You've seen them on your neighborhood streets running by, or running other events, and you've sweated by them side by side, hardly saying a word but sharing in the same experience. You don't' really need to say hello since you're already connected.
The event is special enough to me that it is featured in my second novel, The Jade Rabbit, the only novel in the history of all time to feature the Detroit Free Press marathon as the climax of the story. (this could easily be wrong, but, until its disputed, the comment remains). Check it out on Amazon.
Hope to see you there on Sunday. I'll be in my Runwell gear. Running through the 'D', and feeling very cool for it.
