On Saturday, I did something rather unexpected. Duluth's marathons went off without a hitch, despite the lingering smoke and haze. So I grabbed a folding chair and walked downhill to watch for a while. I've never gotten into watching marathons...seeing nearly emaciated runners just hasn't been of interest in the least. But this time, I went early enough to see many of the half-marathon runners go through, and it was really heartwarming. These were "real" people, of every possible background, shape and size. There were people of every race (and presumably, every creed). There were people walking. There were people running. There were people with prosthetic legs, and people walking with walkers. There were people with pride attire and in Hawaiian garb. There were people walking alone, and people in groups. There were people on their cell phones and people taking selfies. There was even a guy swearing up a storm into his phone! Some people waved back at me, and some ignored my waves and cheers. I mean, I overdo the metaphors sometimes, but this was truly a snapshot of the human condition. I think sometimes it has been hard for me to cheer other people on in their endeavors, having received so little encouragement myself most of my life. But I've finally come more to peace with myself, and am beginning to root for me, and so I genuinely wanted to be there for this motley assortment of runners. Once the elite runners, male and female, started to come through, I cheered for the first few, then headed uphill again.
Would I ever run a marathon? Probably not. It has less to do with some extra weight as it does with my feet. (Too much information alert!) I've inherited from my mom and her mother some serious bunions, which now involve toes crossing etc. Finding shoes, sandals, or winter boots that are wearable is a challenge and a half...at this late stage, I don't want medical intervention. It might make things better, or it might make things worse. Later in their lives, neither grandma or mom did much walking, and now I understand why. I don't have a car, so I need to continue to walk, and I just literally take it a day at a time. But perhaps next year I'll sign up for a kiddie event, just to say I ran a marathon!
