The Future

It's now Thursday January 22, 4 days since marathongate. I am still on crutches, still able to put very little weight on my right leg, but there are some signs of improvement and I'm confident that a few weeks of rest should set me straight.

Jill has already decided to do the Olathe Half-Marathon, in Olathe, KS, a neighboring town to Overland Park at the end of March, along with several friends. She's been universally congratulated at work ever since the race, and has become a pied piper of sorts, inspiring those around her to attempt what she has already accomplished. Her long-term goal is a full marathon of her own, though she thinks next year might be more realistic than later this, where Chicago had been eyed as a potential destination.

I of course will not now be able to do the same race, but will, I think, enjoy being on the other side of the wall cheering her and her pals on. Obviously I'd prefer to be competing, but as I enjoy the whole atmosphere of a race, I'll take that as the next best thing.

As for me running again, assuming I can once more take to the streets in 6-8 weeks, my first race will be the 4-mile trolley run in late April, here in Kansas City. It's the largest 4 mile event in the country, with over 15,000 competitors expected to line up. Jill did the run last year, and I met her at the end, and for me, this was perhaps the biggest reason I finally completed my first marathon a few days ago. It was the first time I'd been at a race that large and the atmosphere, the faces on the finishers, the joy on Jill's face as she crossed the line, even the free food at the end, made for an atmosphere that I found intoxicating, and led me down the path I've been following ever since.

I've told those that are interested that I will one day run another marathon, though I suspect it will be an occasional event, a once a year or once every couple of years type thing, just to prove I can, and to keep it as the special distance. I'm not looking to dilute these ultimate experiences by doing too many, nor am I looking to render myself lame by the age of 45. The marathon is both terrific and terrible, and I'm committed to treating it with the necessary reverence.

I do however think that running races is something I will continue to keep in my life for the foreseeable future. I'm officially addicted. Whether it be a 5k, 4-mile, 10k, Half-Marathon or something more exotically measured, you'll see me regularly lining up and exorcising demons with hundreds, if not thousands of others. At 35, I've rediscovered something beautiful.

That, and the t-shirts are useful souvenirs.