The Best

The best best thing I did this weekend surprised me. Surprised me with how much I enjoyed it and what a great experience it was.

Sunday, which, yes, was the 10th of the 10th of the 10th and such, was also the day of a Marathon here in town.

The 10K I participated in earlier this year was the first kind of event like that I'd been in or been anywhere near and I remember how awesome it was to see regular people out on the side of the course cheering us on. It was touching to have people come out and just be there for those of us who were trying to do this thing whether we were walking or running or some combination of the two.

So when my run clinic leader suggested we go out this weekend and cheer on people in the Marathon I thought why not?

I grabbed myself a tea in the morning and headed down to the waterfront portion of the race and I stood there.

I stood there and I cheered.

I cheered and I clapped and I encouraged and I gave thumbs up and when I could read their names on their shirts I told them they were doing awesome.

I was so proud of them, these strangers of all ages and sizes and shapes, all determined and focussed on completing this very challenging, difficult thing. It was awesome and awe-inspiring and I am so glad I went down to be a part of morally supporting and cheering on the marathoners.

There was something amazing about having a stranger look you in the eyes and say thank you when you told them they were doing great. To have someone struggling physically, nod at you when you threw some encouragement their way.

I think it helped me, knowing how awful it can feel to run and how much it can take sometimes to push through when it hurts and you don't want to and you're wondering why you thought this was a good idea in the first place. I'd always imagined people who ran marathons were these super elite athletes and that maybe they were all tall and thin and....perfect. To see these ordinary, every day people doing this and knowing to some extent how bad some of them must be feeling really made me want to do or say whatever I could in the hopes that it would help someone just a little.

I don't know, but somehow I ended up being out there for over three hours. If I could have pushed people with my mind I would have. And the strangest, most awesome thing about it? I feel like I got so much more from being there and watching and cheering than I could possibly have given them.

I didn't know what to expect when I went out to cheer on the Marathon. Maybe that I'd cheer for a few minutes, finish my tea and head back home having seen Olympic-type runners doing their thing. What I got was a three hour boost to my spirit.

It was, by far, the best best best part of my weekend.

Awesome.