Run Woodlands Run!

March 2, 2014

As I sit here, comfortably, watching the runners go by, and I mean literally go by my gym, F.I.T. Human Performance on Glen Loch Drive, I am thinking, “I could have done that!”  Well, not that I have ever run further than the end of a parking lot chasing my dog or to the bathroom during a commercial, but, of course, I think, “I could have done that, but I am just too busy today.”

WRONG!   That is the denial game.  I hate running, and since my Saturday line up of clients and exercisers were steered away due to running and volunteering (and I wasn’t busy at all), I parked my rig up front and watched the runners.  Woodlands 2014 Race Director, Willie Fowlkes, said that more than 20,000 supporters came out to cheer on the more than 8,500 registered runners.  Although the skies were overcast, the weather was cool and mild – runner’s weather.  The full (26.2 miles) and half-marathon (13.1 miles) stretched out over a single loop and although they both started and finished together, they ran separate courses.  Information booth director, Marilyn Renken, said that more than 1,500 volunteers manned twice the usual water stops along the way.

AND THEN MY “AH HA MOMENT!”

As I started back into my gym, I noticed the yellow Penske truck slowly making its way up Glen Loch Drive,  gathering the orange cones.  Running  about 50 yards in front of the truck, was an elderly gentleman, running with his white headband and old worn out sneakers.  He was running in what most of us would think of as slow motion with small baby steps.  BUT, there he was running, and there I was, standing and watching with my coffee cup in hand.  No, this guy was not running for notoriety, or a trophy, or a medal.  But he ran and he trained and he tried and he could be proud of his effort.  AND I DIDN’T!  UNTIL NEXT YEAR!

We all have so much to be grateful for and we all can accomplish so much more than we give ourselves credit for! Let’s all get ready for next year …

In good health,

Bob

“God gave us legs, so we try to use them,” – Brad Bennett