It is the night before the Toronto Goodlife Marathon, and although I am not running, I am barely able to sleep because I am so excited! I am going to go as a spectator, to cheer and make a fool of myself (costume may be included--but more on that post-race) while enjoying the race atmosphere. My friend Lori is joining me, so it should be a great morning! I love that this race starts at 9am (an hour and a half later than the marathon I ran last month!) so I don't have to drag myself out of bed super early to get there in time. I also love that my mom is taking care of the boys, so I don't have to drag them all over Toronto!
This race will always hold a dear place in my heart, as I ran the half-marathon in this race last year, and although it was a super-cold day, it was one of my best races to date. I ran well, felt really strong, and really felt like I was performing well throughout the entire thing. I am sad to see this race fall off the "fall race" map (it is moving to the spring as of 2011) because it means I won't be running it next year (running even a half-marathon just over a month post-labour is a wee bit too ambitious, even for a crazy person like me)!
As I listen to the radio in these days leading up to the race, I hear the animosity people feel toward their dear roads being closed for races such as this one. "Stay tuned for tips on how to deal with the traffic turmoil in the city's second marathon in just 3 weeks, or, "The city will be a mess for drivers this Sunday due to the marathon," etc. Common, people. It is a Sunday morning. How many of us really need to be driving downtown so early on a Sunday? How about taking a moment to honour all of the early Sunday mornings us runners have dedicated to this race?
My husband's job occasionally takes him to the front line of people fed up with traffic headaches. He witnessed first-hand, some very angry drivers last year during one of the fall marathons in Toronto. When he came home from work, he was talking about just how upset some people get, and how it was very hard to deal with their complaints and rage. Of course, these angry people don't get much sympathy from people in my husband's line of work, but that isn't the point. I know that I am biased because I am a runner, but it angers me that as runners we work soooo hard for sooo many months leading up to these races. We pay good money to take part in these races. It all boils down to the morning of the race. As I run along the streets with other runners, with my head up toward that finish line, I like that it is all about us taking over the street, working toward our goals. Cars have no place in that. In training, as runners, we deal with all sorts of auto-centric problems. Cars driving past through puddles, splashing us at the side of the road. Cars blindly backing out of driveways without seeing us (how many times have I had a close call with a bumper?!). Drivers neglecting to check their blind spot at intersections making a right-turn on a red. The list goes on. Marathon Road Closure Day is our day to win back those streets!! Marathon road closures should be called, "Auto-Centric Apology Day". I am a driver. I live in a two-car family. I am not claiming that I don't hate traffic hold-ups. I just refuse to take out my frustration on pedestrians that are already at a disadvantage.
That's all I am going to say about that. I should really go to bed so I am fresh for all of the cheering and hoopla of the morning. I can't wait!!!
*I should add that I have enjoyed the lovely weather this week has turned out. This morning's sunshine was sooo wonderful to run in!!
Stay tuned for some post-spectating pics!!
No comments:
Post a Comment