Fraternity of runners

Our sport is special.  In what other sport can the average runner compete in the same event as the best professionals in the world?  In distance running, average runners can participate alonside champions in marathons, half-marathons and even 10K’s.  This forms a common bond among runners of all abilities and all ages.

Participation is the key ingredient
As VP of Pike Creek Valley Running Club, I attended the USA Track & Field Mid-Atlantic Award Luncheon in Pennsylvania.  Our club earned prize money for finishing 3rd and 2nd respectively in their Grand Prix (road running) and Off-Road Series (8-10 events in each series).  This primarily happened because some of our members (my friends Rich & Dean) went out of their way to recruit enough of us to field a complete team for each race.  We have some speedsters, so it’s often vital just to bring enough people to fill the 6-person requirement.  Even our slowest runners could contribute to the cause!

Delaware Distance Classic 15K

Honoring our fellow athletes
What impressed me most at the Awards Banquet was that the honorees were male and female, black and white, and of all ages (6 to 95!!!).  The young inspired the old and vice-versa.  Some won awards for being national and world-class athletes.  Others were recognized for simply participating in the maximum number of local events.  Officials and volunteers were also honored.  We were all there because we love our sport and appreciate the common effort that each of us puts in to reach our own goals. 

USA Track & Field

Track & Field Programs
USATF is the governing body for the olympic sport of track and field in the United States.  USATF Mid-Atlantic  supports event organizors, athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers in the PA, NJ, DE area.  The Youth Athletics program contains divisions from Sub-Bantam (8 and under) through high school age athletes.  Some of the kids are affiliated with clubs and some are “unattached”.  All get to experience the dedication and fellowship that gives them a better foundation for life ahead.

Start running at any age
Some runners started on elementary and high school track teams.  Many others, like myself, started much later in life.  I got involved through a “team” put together by Arthritis Foundation to fundraise while training for a marathon.  I was then lucky enough to find Pike Creek Valley Running Club when they started a “half marathon training group”.  Being on a team or a club magnifies the benefits of running – and gives you plenty of support for the difficult times such as dealing with soreness, injuries, or just finding the motivation to go out for a run on low-energy days.

Race day atmosphere
I’ll always remember the first time I felt the buzz and energy from a gathering of runners for a big event.  Philadelphia Distance Run half marathon was my first large-scale race and even though I’d only been training for a few months, because of the kinship I felt with the others, I had a feeling of belonging.  Both before and after the race, being in the midst of thousands who went through the same long hours of training created solidarity.  And the mid-packers had experienced much of the same as the elite Kenyan runners who we’d never catch.

We can’t go on group runs every day.  But when running alone in the park on a dark, dreary day and a familiar face is coming in the opposite direction, it picks you up.  Maybe it’s a friend or a teammate or a fellow club member.  Maybe it’s someone you see at local 5K’s every now and then.  We’re all part of the running community.