There was a nice feel of familiarity today as we set off for the Dublin half marathon. The banter was good as the four of us chatted about strategy as went drove in. I hadn't slept well, about 4 or 5 hours at most, and the effects were showing as we performed a rapid lane change to make the motorway exit I almost missed. On arrival the park was much busier than it had been for the 10 miler, there was about 6000 participants registered.
We had come up with a 'foolproof' master plan on the way in. After alot of thought, we decided that the four of us would stick together and run as a unit at a 6.30 pace for as long as possible. There weren't alot of club runners doing the event for a number of reasons, injury mostly, and the passing and funeral of the father of a senior club member. The warmup was a bit short, and we did it over grass which didn't suit me, and we headed for the start line, positioning ourselves well forward.
When the start klaxon sounded we were all together, and the master plan quickly went out the window! Away went Brian C like the proverbial hare, and me chasing after him. I quickly realised (again), that the pace was too fast and slowed up. Glen caught up and I settled into the 6.30 pace. It was about 3 miles I caught Brian C again and we ran together pretty much for the rest of the distance. I felt really strong and comfortable, and Brian kept urging me to go ahead, but I preferred to stay with him, and after a bit of back and froward, Brian crossed the finish 8 seconds ahead of my time of 1.26.06, a new PB for me by 4 full minutes. We met Gary o'Hanlon along the course and towards the end his words of encouragement really spurred me on.
And so to the title of this post. I am a runner because I run. Many people run for a variety of reasons, each unique to themselves. For me, enjoying myself, and the experience, is one of the most important things. Of course I like to improve my times, do my best, and compare my performance to others, but to race is to try to win. Everyone who ran today, and every day, is a winner in their own personal challenge. I believe I could have ran today's run maybe a minute or two faster had I gone ahead a few miles earlier, but I would certainly not have enjoyed the experience half as much. I doubt if I will ever be good enough to win a race, but when I started to run that was never my aim, so what difference does it make if I am one minute faster or slower? Enjoy the journey, that is whats important. At my level, run, don't race. Victory will still be yours, and it will be all the sweeter when you have enjoyed the journey.
The sentiment in part was inspired by the very sad news that a fellow participant in the event died today. We are all lucky, no matter what time we achieved, to able to go home to the people we care about, and tell them our stories of victory, of the great event on a beautiful day, and run another day, PB's or not. Well done to all my fellow club members, great running by all. Star of the sea cross country event tomorrow, good luck to all participants.
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