Friday at the Expo

Today, after getting up way too early to watch William and Catherine get married (after staying up way too late to watch William and Catherine prepare to get married), I worked a shift at the Country Music Marathon Expo. It was probably not the time for sleep deprivation, especially since I am wogging the Country Music Half Marathon tomorrow.

I worked the registration table where I gave out race bibs to the runners. I usually work in the big numbers (30,000 and up) because these runners are usually the most fun to meet. Runners with these numbers usually have one goal in mind: finish without requiring a visit to the ER. Of course, there are exceptions - those who entered the wrong finish time on their entry form and actually should be in a faster corral. For those runners, I give them their bibs and quickly direct them to the corral change station.

For the rest of the runners I meet, I get to commiserate and encourage. For many, this is their first half-marathon. They're a bit nervous and unsure. One lady today was excited, even though she said she hasn't trained a single bit (my kind of gal). I assured her that if she walked at a good pace, kept putting one foot in front of the other, and just kept going, that she would finish before she got swept.

There is a group of fast runners out in the running community that do not like us "back of the packers." They feel like we turtles hurt the sport and make a mockery out of their achievements. I have yet to trample on an elite runner's finish time, or prevent someone from winning, or cause someone not to achieve his or her personal best. In fact, the only people I do inconvenience are the volunteers that man the water stations and finish line. But I have yet to hear a single complaint from a volunteer. Sure, we may be slow, but our finish is as monumental to us as the winner's is to him/her.

Today was a day to spend with my wogging peeps and remember why I continue to do half marathons. I met friends and families who are planning to do the race together, I met people who continue to do this race year after year even though they don't get any faster, and I met people who are in they same physical shape as I am and still push those limits to finish the 13.1 miles. I met people who are running for a cause and people who are running to prove something to themselves. I met people of all shapes, colors, ages, and abilities. But every person I met is an athlete because he or she has the courage to take that first step to do something significant.

Tomorrow we'll gather at the back of the pack and wait our turn to cross the start line. Several hours later, we'll cross the finish line and receive our finisher's medal. And in our own personal race, the only one that matters to us, we will have won.

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Today's blessings: Watching the royal wedding - hats, William, Kate, and all the rest; volunteer dude who worked with me; getting bibs under special circumstances; meeting fellow woggers; sweet note from Emily