The Team

Runners like to claim some sort of poetic license to solitude.

Out there on the roads and trails in the pre dawn light.  Breath disappearing in a cloud as the pace drops.  Those first beads of sweat on your neck at the hairline.

That last shakeout run before a big race.  Maybe the first split of that race as you check to see what kind of day it's going to be.  The satisfaction of that finish line.  Yeah, that was me.  I did that.

To a certain extent this is true.  But the fact of the matter is we are the result of the people around us, especially in this sometimes silly sport.  The positivity the community collectively brings to each us is what carries us to the finish line.  Maybe it is the communal aspect of the hunt kicking  in in the recesses of our lizard brains.  I think though that there is something about sharing in the experience of running.  Try conveying the sense of training and really racing to someone who has never done it.  Almost impossible to get the true meaning across.

Those who know, know.  The folks in your training group.  Your friends who wait on a street corner with coffee in hand to cheer you on. Most importantly your family who are there day in and out, just so you can chase something.

Being part of LRC-Nebraska has given me occasion to be part of something bigger.  Something positive.  Something that represents our community of runners here in Nebraska.  This team, made up of individuals each pursuing goals of their own choosing continues to inspire me.  It's not about what I've done.  It's about we can do.