I am a runner

There. I said it. I am a runner. I am not fast. I don't run long. But I am a runner. An every other day, between 5 and 12 K, don't push myself, for the cardio, only as long as it feels good ... runner.

In 2005 Robin ran in the ING New York City Marathon. He tried to convince me to train with him, but remember my limits of 5 - 12 K. Not quite long enough for a marathon. But I wasn't going to miss the race. Our cheering section rode the subways all over NYC to see the race. It was amazing. Our first stop was 3 miles into the marathon. We got there early enough to see some of the disabled athletes race by. I wish I had taken pictures but at the time I could just stop and stare. They were incredible!


The next group to pass was the elite woman. Again, I was just in awe. Can you tell the difference between my stride and theirs? They are traveling a lot faster than I ever do. They flew by! And it all looked effortless.


Next, the elite men raced past. 3 miles is about 5K. I do that in about 27 minutes. They probably reached us in 15 minutes and they made it look easy. I just enjoyed watching them run. I know this sounds trite, but it really was beautiful.


By the time Robin reached us, the streets were full of runners. He looked so happy to have caught us and we were so proud of him. And isn't is just cool that runners of all shapes and sizes and backgrounds can participate in the same event? They can all call themselves runners. However only a few can truly be called athletes and only a select few can be called elite.