9/11

some people call people who do marathons crazy. "26 miles? i could NEVER do that". whatever. it's not that they can't, it's more that they would never want to. i'm pretty sure that if anybody trained, they could do it.

i don't really mind people saying this but what really gets me all hot and bothered is when people start applying inaccurate titles to me or the event. on numerous occasions i've had people call it 'inspiring'. if, because of me, you are now contemplating training for marathon, then fine. but most of the time it's just patronizing wind coming out of their mouth. i am not inspiring, but sarah is.

what is far worse and borders on pissing me off is the 'hero' term. on 3 separate occasions, 3 completely separate people have applied this term to my running. bullshit. bullshit. bullshit. i do not give selflessly. i do not put myself in harm's way to help another human being. i put myself in harm's way because it feels good when it's over. that's it. a more accurate term would be 'selfish'.

tomorrow at 8:03 when i'm out on my run, i will stop. i'll say a quick prayer for some true heros and some of the most selfless people there ever were. then i'll start running again.

a short story:
my first marathon was in 2001 right after the attacks. it was my first race of any kind. i was in awe of the crowds, the number of runners, the american flags, but mostly by the countless number of police officers. at every intersection of all 26 miles there were at least 2 on each corner. at each aid station, there were 20 or 30. at the finish there were hundreds and hundreds. the chicago marathon organization pays for police support during the race but no budget could have allowed for this. a friend of mine who knew one of the officers told me that most of them weren't getting paid at all. they were all there not because a commander told them to be there. they wanted to be there. they wanted to make sure that we could run our race safely and without worry. they were there for us.

now that's a hero.