'Tough Times Don't Last, But Tough People Do'

Running friendships are pervasive - like comrades in arms, you share a unique and, what would otherwise be, lonely experience, with a few.  The intensity of the training together day in day and the extreme emotion that racing elicits creates special relationships.  Like the rings found within a tree, those experiences and friendships become part of you.

Training with Merciless for the Philadelphia Marathon we discovered late into the training plan that her life was inexpicably diverting from 'the plan' and she was pregnant with her 5th child, the lovely Berkeley. Despite having already put in the gruelling 20 milers, brief soul searching brought her to the view that she must understandably stand down from the race in the interests of as safe a pregnancy as possible.  Running Boston with Q-Less this year, we had both felt the loss of our other two team members.  Giving birth meant no prospect of a Boston qualifying time.  The fact that the two missing team members came out anyway to support was huge. Nonetheless hadn't been able to requalify due to her knee injury, and Merciless, even brought baby Berkeley along to help with the cheer section, eat the occasional deep fried pickle with her lobster roll, and down some Sam Adams along the way.

In the midst of some post pregnancy blues about the challenges of getting out running again, I  had had a moment of genius and suggested Merciless and I register for NYC as I had found out you only needed a half marathon qualifying time, so we both signed up.  I knew the timing was very ambitious, six months after giving birth but it could be deferred, thus preserving that precious half marathon time until she could get back in shape again.  When registration came for this November I had to sadly decline, I had known we were moving cross coast and it would no longer work out, but was thrilled Merciless was re-entered.  A race was a sure fired way to get her out from the diapers and back to her usual running mojo.  

Now with 5 kids ranging in age from 16 - 18 months running was not easy - just finding the energy, one hour a day can be a huge challenge and she was having to get major miles in.  Many of them were with Berkeley, a long slog with a really heavy stroller, and an occasionally vociferous companion.  Being a Mom to that many kids was no doubt rewarding, there she was cheering on all of her kids at their cross country races day in day out, coming up with the 'running healthy' meal plans, washing the muddy uniforms, it was only right that one day out of the year the kids should be cheering her on and I was excited to hear the whole family was making the trek to the marathon to do just that.

As the many miles away as I am from Blue Bell I was strangely starting to have sympathetic marathon pains, every day she tapered I was wondering how she felt.  That feeling of your legs returning to life, the unexplained energy reentering the veins, the slight itch you feel as a race approaches.  They were such visceral sensations I could almost feel them for her, even if I didn't get to run the marathon with her, I was already set up to enjoy her progress and cheer her on through the internet.

I found myself scanning weather channels just as I do before any of my own races and was alarmed when I heard about the approaching storm.  Seeing the scenes of awful devastation in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York was painful.  New York had been hit really hard, and back in Blue Bell many of our friends were without power, the fun hurricane parties were over, and still Merciless who lives in an old farmhouse was struggling in a hotel some miles away as they were on their 6th or 7th day with no power.  Then the debate about whether Bloomberg should give the go ahead to the marathon or not became heated.  Across Facebook and the internet runners were being villified as selfish individuals littering streets with their gels and drinks, taking upscale hotel rooms and diverting vital services from the New Yorkers in their hour of need.  Views were polarized as to whether the race should go ahead.  Hearing the rants I couldn't help agree that of course police and sanitation should be focusing on those in need instead of a race.  But I could also see Bloomberg's perspective.  A marathon is a celebration of honest hard work and a hugely inspirational symbol  of the resilience of the human spirit to anything that life or the throws hurls at it.   Added to that the $34 million raised for charities and the hundreds of lost revenue to the city and you could see his dilemma.

In the case of high profile decisions affecting millions usually the best course of action is to take views, weigh the evidence, but make a decision relatively quickly, and then STICK to it.  By changing course at the last minute he had inadvertently created another population of distressed and displaced people.  Now you had Texans, the Dutch, South Africans, the world and his wife descending on a city awry with so many suffering natives.

Not knowing a race is going ahead when you have trained religiously for four months is excruciating - some had raised thousands for charities or were running to commemorate loved ones, they had hopefully boarded planes and even gone to the expo before they heard the change of heart.  Hearing the news in the middle of our local cross country championships that the race had cancelled and Merciless was on her second martini was like getting a kick in the stomach.  Right now she had no house to go to,  and now no race to look forward to and that empty feeling you get when you realize something you have worked so hard towards has become pointless.

Despite the backlash of the media, runners are not selfish folk preoccupied solely with personal goals; their training is often internalized but but not their spirit.  Hearing all the stories of runners stranded in New York with tins of food to give out as they run the streets solo without the famously warm welcome of the New York crowd did not surprise me, nor did the donation of hotel rooms to those without power, freezing in their homes.  Today's newsfeed was filled with pictures of runners showing up to help the relief effort, rather than run their race.

There are many who think the Mayor made the right decision but at the wrong time and I think that is a pretty fair assessment.  There are marathons in cities every week around the US - wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if the marathon refunded the costly registrations and race organizers around the US came together to try and offer places in all of the other races organized in states where there is no storm damage. In distance running resiliance and flexibility are two of the most important qualities and I know those marathon runners will use their training to purpose and get out and run another race and probably raise a huge amount of funding for the emergency effort in New York and New Jersey and those suffering the aftermath of the storm.  Just like life, the race goes on......