Running With The Elites

Here is a "did you know or do you care" tidbit which was brought to my attention by my husband. If being a statistic of the less than 1% of the population who run marathons doesn't tickle your fancy, consider this fact. Running, particularly marathons and half marathons, is the only sport in which you can compete with the elite athletes. For example, you won’t find yourself in a basketball game with Kobe Bryant or Labron James. You won’t find yourself playing football against Payton Manning. And you won’t find yourself in a swim meet competing with Michael Phelps.

But you can compete in the same event as Ryan Hall, Kara Goucher, and Mebrahtom "Meb" Keflezighi. I can proudly say that I raced with Meb in the San Jose Half Marathon on October 4, 2009. We never ran side-by-side, but we did cross paths when he was already headed in the other direction to the finish line on the out and back run. Meb may have beaten me by a little over an hour, but nevertheless, I got to run in the same event as him. Meb won the half marathon and later went on to win the 2009 NY marathon as well.

I find this information quite amazing. It makes me feel even more special to be a runner and to be a participant of an event involving elite runners. Long distance running offers equal opportunity for all!

Keep on running!