Seriously, what a great morning! Yesterday was the goal race for my Learn to Run group. It was the Rebecca Run for Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Prior to this event I hadn’t heard of the disease before. It sounds like a really terrible one. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have ongoing and increasing weakness. It must be devastating. The money raised by the race will go toward research to finding a cure.

We met up at the Running Room at about 8 a.m. and headed up to Newmarket at 8:30 a.m. The plan was to group together at the store and carpool over. Thing is I think most people wanted to drive. I suppose we ended up leaving a couple of cars behind. Better to have a few than none, I guess. I ended up taking two others in my car. As we drove up the 404 we noticed that the clouds were becoming rather dark. By the time we got into town there were some light raindrops falling down. The forecasts called for a chance of thunderstorms, but I was feeling lucky. I mean the phrase “chance of” opens up the possibility that nothing will happen, right? Anyway, we gathered and took the time to socialize and unwind. There were a lot of pictures taken, and why not? I mean, this was a first for so many of them. Many brought their significant others with them. Some had children in tow. It was fantastic. Thing is, the light rain got a little heavier. I mused that we all might as well just stand out in the rain because it looked like we’d all just get wet anyway during the run. That was great until it started raining even heavier. There were a few flashes in the sky, making us worried about having to race with lightning overhead. The lightning wasn’t particularly heavy, but it still made us a little cautious. When the rain really started pouring down, that’s when I thought that it’d be a great idea to check out the silent auction under the tent. Everyone agreed. Ha!

Five minutes to the gun, we gathered behind the starting line. The rain had let up a little bit by that point, but the ridiculousness of the situation was not lost on me. What kind of weirdos stand out in the rain in order to run 5000 metres? Well, it was for a good cause anyway, right? I did my best to keep everyone’s spirits up. Moments before I turned around to my group and told them just how proud I was of them. The love was returned in kind. And moments later the horns went off. In so many other races I’ve been to, the acceleration toward the starting line was slow. I was surprised though with this race–I actually crossed the starting line in good time.

I started out faster than I should have. I ran the first kilometre at a great rate, but in the back of my mind I knew that I’d end up paying for it. And, I did. After the first kilometre my legs got that familiar leaden feeling. Ugh! As soon as I felt my legs go heavy I knew that I’d screwed up. I slowed down my pace by a minute to a minute and a half per kilometre. That might not sound like much, but in a 5K that’s a huge cut in speed. Despite that, I kept smiling. A couple of my LTRs passed me and I did my best to encourage them onward. It was all I could do. Around a bend even more of them passed me. Again, I just cheered them on as I plodded along. At one point there was a turn with a police officer and a cruiser nearby. I guess I wasn’t paying attention because I tripped over the curb and landed hard on my right foot. OUCH. The police officer didn’t notice and didn’t care. My right ankle killed for a bit. From what I felt, I knew that I could run through it. For the next hundred to two hundred metres or so I hobbled my way through the course. I thought it was something of a cruel cosmic joke. I briefly imagined having to be carried away somehow and become infamous in that right. All of that faded quickly though as I regained my stride. Luckily, the rain had stopped by then.

The course is such that there are two loops in the course. The first loop goes all the way around the lake. The second loop goes around again and cuts across a bridge midway. As I passed the bridge during my first loop I could already see a bunch of speedy people flying by over the bridge and over to the finish line. I was astounded. As I started the second loop I decided to just go for broke. During the last kilometre or so I squeezed my core muscles and just pushed. I ended up passing a couple of people that had left me behind in the dust mud. As I did, some of them encouraged me: “Looking good!” I encouraged them back: “Last bit! Squeeze it out!” In the last bit I could hear the finish line. I checked my watch and noticed that I had a chance to make it in under 35 minutes. I mean, my last officially timed personal best for a 5K was set long ago. I’ve done a few non-chip timed 5Ks since but I’ve never come in under 35. As I neared, the end I felt knew that I’d have to hustle to make it under. When I made it through I gave a triumphant “WHOO!” Sure, I was far from being the winner, but you wouldn’t be able to tell from how I was acting. When I stopped the watch, it read 35:00. Yay! A new personal best! Not fast for the majority, but it’s fast for me, and that’s what matters.

As we reconvened after the race everyone in my group looked tired, but also looked like they had all accomplished something great. It’s like they each had this fire that was just shining from within. In seeing that fire in others, my own fire grew brighter in return. We had all run 5000 metres for Rebecca. We had all accomplished a bit of greatness that day. My group achieved personal bests. I had achieved a sense of relief knowing that I had guided these people to do something they never knew they could do. And now…they’re on the right path for a successful running habit that will pay off dividends in years to come.