Running is a Friendly Sport

The training group my husband and I work out with for our long runs has really inspired me. The first day Greg and I joined them, we had no idea what the route was that we were suppose to be running. We only knew the distance. No one knew our names, just knew that we were the new couple. It only took a few miles before we hit the first water stop where everyone introduced themselves. They wanted to know how many marathons we’ve run, what we were training for, and our goals. From that moment, they have given me encouragement and make me feel like I can really meet my marathon goal (which I am not ready to say, until I get a few more long runs in). There are runners of all age in this group from 20 something to their 50’s. Some of these women are incredible runners. They could beat most men I know. I learned 2 weeks ago that one of the women in this group is now 3 months pregnant. She is still cruising along, and while she says she is slower… I haven’t noticed. She plans to still run her marathon in a couple of weeks but said she doesn’t care about time now. How great it will be that she can tell her baby one day they ran a marathon. It gave me new hope for myself. If she could run pregnant.. What was I complaining about? It is one of the very few sports where your competition is actually encouraging you while you are in the middle of a race. Where else can you find that? At first I thought how strange, other runners are saying.. Keep it up, nice pace, don’t give up. Now, I have come to appreciate it and find myself saying those very same words when I pass someone who looks to be struggling.