01202 526977 ae@adam-eason.com

This Easter weekend just gone by has reminded me of one of the things I love about being a runner – the sense of community.

Yesterday saw the US runner Meb Keflezighi win the 188th Boston marathon (Men’s race), the first time an American runner has won the race since 1983 to the delight of the home crowd. Rita Jeptoo won the Women’s race with a course record too. Wonderful stuff.

MebWIns

The real beauty of this race, and significance to me as a runner, was that despite the bombing of last year’s event, several thousand more runners ran the Boston marathon in 2014 than in 2013. People filled the streets cheering, supporting, loving and being vigilant. The spirit of the running community was here for all to see – not even terrorism could dampen that spirit.

The “Boston Strong” campaign has filled my twitter feed and Facebook new feed with joy, determination and a renewed sense of being part of something special as a member of the running community.

In this article entitled The Psychology of Healing After Marathon Bombing, Dr. Larry Berkowitz, Director of Riverside Trauma in Needham, which responded with trauma teams after the bombing, is asked whether Boston is a broken city, and replies with “I am reminded of the quote by Ernest Hemingway, ‘strong at the broken places.’ I believe Boston, one year later, is strong in all the broken places.

I love that.

I think the same is true of the attitude of the running community as well as the city of Boston. The running community from all over the world has wanted to support Boston – the city and the marathon. Again, I love that.

It may seem a stark contrast, but I got some of the same spirit this weekend. On Saturday morning, I ran the Poole Parkrun locally. I had some unusual running equipment with me this weekend – I ran with a double buggy and my two kids on board. of course I was not the only person running with a double buggy; though there are plenty of people pushing buggies around with babies and toddlers on board, seeing marathontalk host Martin Yelling pushing his baby twin boys around (and how cool is it that we get to run in the same event as Olympic marathon runner Liz Yelling!??) and he finishes the Parkrun in 18 minutes even with this obvious handicap!!

My children had such a lovely time. We finished in 26 minutes and I was even able top get in a sprint finish. Every time we went over a ramp, I said “weeee!” and my 2 year old son kept asking “more weeee Daddy?” Then every time we overtook a runner, he waved and shouted “byyeeee!” My 1 year old daughter simply offered a Royal wave to fellow runners and the crowd and though I found it hard work, what made it such an enjoyable event was the running community…

People ran alongside us chatting and complete strangers cheered us on and waved… Even when we got caught up with a lot of running ‘traffic’ people were courteous and kind despite running alongside a cumbersome buggy.

When you spend so much time running alone when training, events that bring the running community together are appreciated by me. As much as I love some of the solitary time I have as a runner tuning into myself and the world around me, I am also greatly buoyed by the presence of other runners. It might be a bone of contention for some, but I am one of those runners who always nods, smiles or says hello to other runners when out.

For years now, I have loved the fact that at events and races runners talk to each other like long lost friends. During every marathon I have ever run since my first in the year 2000, I have spent some time during that race speaking to a fellow runner about how they are finding the race, how their training went, what their aims were. I have run with people who were struggling and who I tried to pick up. I have had others urge me on when I have faced some demons…. And as for the banter among runners…

In 2012, when my brother and I ran a series of marathons in consecutive weeks, we had so much banter with other runners during races, at the starting points and at the finish… A group of guys who we huddled up with at the start of Milton Keynes marathon spotted Ben and I eating a Clif Shot cube and asked for some despite never having tried them before – despite our claims that this was not the right time to be experimenting, they laughed it off.

We ran with a man wearing a vest and a balaclava who told us he ran in it often, though it currently smelled of creosote that he had been painting his shed with whilst wearing it earlier in the year… Then there was the 100 marathon club runner who had lost both of his testicles to cancer and was dying, who ran because it gave his life meaning… A crazy guy who ran past us and talked while craning his neck so much he nearly ran into a tree… I could go on and on with tales, characters, and just wonderful people.

As a therapist, I encounter a large number of people who are ill, depressed, anxious, worried… People who have experienced loss, trauma and unkindness… The reality of that can weigh on you sometimes… I find the perfect antidote to be not just the physical action of regular running, but the sense of community, friendliness, kindness and the general mindset of the running community. Easter weekend has just reminded me of that and I thought I’d remind you all too.

Back soon.