Monday, August 25, 2008

hooked

the five previous posts were sent during the race. i thought they had been lost in the ether forever but they suddenly appeared today, hooray technology.

as the title of this post suggests, i am now rather keen on competitive running races. for more on these developments, we go to an excerpt from an email sent out to the team i ran with:
i had myself so psyched out about leg 20 that the experience of finally running it was nearly mystical. starting in pitch black, no one ahead, no one behind for at least the first mile - just the sound of my feet and the sight of the fog of my own breath in the headlight - gives one a moment to clear one's head... then, as the sun cracks the sky, turning up a gravel road and starting to make a few roadkills. finally, full sunlight, barreling downhill into the mayhem of the exchange point to pass it off to my little brother (i say "little," is anyone else blessed with two younger brothers nearly twice their size?). that was one run i will never forget.
it's goofy, but HTC was truly a life-changing experience, i'm pretty sure i'll be running in a marathon sooner rather than later. you may now click on the images below in order to view:

scenes from a relay race:



and my niece susannah:

5 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm in baby. New hobbies are fun.

Cheryl Thompson said...

Wow, it's so cool to find something new in life that brings such sweet happiness. Thanks for the uplifting blog entry!

Bern Thompson said...

This is actually a related thought, you must now find and read both articles on the first and second week at the Olympics by Anthony Lane, "Letter from Beijing" The latest is for the week of Sept 1, so the issue of August 25th; I kept thinking about your writing style when I read the first excerpt, haven't read the second, but I'm sure it will be similar. There was also a good profile on Ryan Hall in a recent New Yorker, the American who finished 10th in the Beijing marathon, also a good read. When you have time, you should consider writing more about the experience of this year's HTC--you might end up with an article for Runner's World or something similar. Great experience, enjoyed the reportage and the photos!!!

Bern Thompson said...

the Beijing Letters are in the New Yorker . . . i'm commenting too quickly . . .

Whitney said...

Ahh I'm almost giddy to hold Susannah whoohoo! Uh glad you like running, very inspiring for sure!