FOOTNOTES - Celebration of Running

October 17th, 2011

- Finding Your Best Self -

a reflection on the celebration of running

The headlines told of a 100 year old runner Fauja Singh, who finished Toronto's Waterfront Marathon Sunday evening, securing his place in the Guinness World Records as the oldest person — and the first centenarian — to ever accomplish a run of that distance. Wow! What a feat. What feet! What a great celebration of running. He may have been the last person to finish the race, but he is the very first centenarian to ever run a race of that distance. A celebration not only of running, but of the 'soul' of the runner.

Even as event wokers were dismantling the barriers and taking down the sponsor banners, Fanja Singh has raised the bar and the hopes of us older runners who just love to run.

It means the Flying Dutchman has another 27 years of running before hitting the 100 mark. If the Turbaned Tornado can run the marathon in under nine hours at a 100, it gives all of us old codgers and those younger kids - well those in their 40's, a goal for life - to run a marathon at age 100.  What a goal to celebrate!

Today, in a club e-mail we received news about many opportunities to "celebrate" running as members of our little club. Upcoming, is the suprisingly fast and yet testing Fulton Five K - which, given whether we run it clock-wise or anti-clockwise - offers a healthy little hill just to keep us honest as runners.

Just checked it out and this year we will be running in the clockwise direction. It takes place on Sunday, October 30 at 3:00pm and starts and finishes at The Nashwaaksis Middle School in Fredericton - just off Fulton Avenue. Be sure to join us. You can race it or run it easy. There's always a gathering for a meal and 'true' stories told afterwards.

Then, quickly on the heels of the famous Fulton Five comes the majestic Metric Marathon held on the afternoon of Remembrance Day, November 11. We gather at the Gym on Campus before heading down to the start.   It starts at around 2pm - after all of the Remembrance Day observances have taken place.    Be sure to pause and give thanks for this great country in which we are blessed to live.

This run is celebrated among the older club members as it is a time to have a good last run before winter makes its appearance, and to celebrate the freedoms we enjoy in this beautiful city as we run along trails, rivers and lakes. Join us for the celebration.

You can run 13k or do the "full' 26k which takes us over the walking bridge that crosses the mighty Saint John River, then along the trails that run parallel to the beautiful Nashwaak River, and then, up through city streets and along a busy road to loop around the  after summer stillness of Killarney Lake.

We make our way back to the start / finish as we cross the Westmorland Street Bridge and once again run along the beautiful Saint John River. We usually end the afternoon gathering for a celebration meal at a local eating establishment, and maybe a drink too, and that's where the stories are told as we celebrate once again our joy of running.

Then on Saturday Evening, November 19th, our little club will host the Annual Run NB Awards Banquet and Kitchen Party. It is an evening of celebration and music. Roly McSorely, will be the guest speaker. Roly had been around the running scene for over thirty years, maybe close to forty. He has run everything from the Boston Marathon to 1500 meters with times that speak volumes to the runner who knows what efforts, endless training, and competitive spirit lies behind the numbers. Roly was inducted into the Fredericton Sports Hall of Fame on May 6th, 2000.

Roly's daughter Kathleen, a gifted musician, singer and fiddler will also grace us with her playing. This evening promises to be very special as runners from across our province gather in Fredericton to celebrate running and acknowledge those among us to have competed throughout the year in the various categories.   ( Check out the website for full details).

Our little club - the Capital City Roadrunners has always been known for our party spirit - so mark your calenders and join us for a wonderful evening.   Come celebrate running!  

Now to get ready for all this celebrating and running don't forget you are invited for a delicious Pancake & Toast and Homemade Jam Breakfast at Harry & Henny Drost's home at 49 Floral Avenue.  They are being assisted by two internationally famous cooks Noortje and Jos!  

?Well, I will finish this rambling reflection with a quote from that running guru and philosopher George Sheehan who was the voice, heart and soul and inspiration for a generation and whose words and running accomplishmentsw helped us see that 'old age' needn't slow us down.  Having just turned the big six o - roll on the next forty years!! 

the running rev!

"Running has made me young again. I run now as I did at twenty. I have the same health, the same vigor, the same sensations of power and grace. And I have the strength and speed and endurance of those years younger than 1. Not because I am exceptional, but because I do what I do with my whole self. My running is an incitement to energy. It is an outpouring from the very center of my being. it is a vital force that takes me to the peak of my powers and there opens me to myself and to the world and to others." ( From Running & Being )