"A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live.” – Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching c.73
Will speaks first; he’s discussing his daughter Sarah’s absence from our running group. “She’s still dealing with that plantar fasciitis in her right foot” he says. His tone is that of solicitude; the concern and annoyance at his daughter’s injury is evident in his voice. Plantar fasciitis is the most common injury in distance running and Sarah is training for her first marathon, following her father’s return from the Boston Marathon, the biggest footrace in the world. It is plain for me to see what’s happened. She’s overtraining because she’s trying to keep up with her dad, the most common mistake resulting in the most common injury, a disastrous equation.
Anyways, Will’s not disappointed in Sarah for not attending the training run; his frustration stems from the circumstances she’s under because he wants her to succeed. He is a supportive man. Immediately Colleen, the most accomplished member of our group and Will’s running partner, echoes this sentiment. “Oh no, that’s terrible!” she asserts. “Yea, hopefully she’ll get it healed up soon,” Will says in response.
Another conversation is taking place across the circle. Brittany came early today because she is running 29km today so had to get in a 6k before our group does our 23. It’s a different sort of vibe. “It’s so nice today!” The endorphins have kicked in already (in most runners this is around 4 or 5k, depending on pace and conditions). “That’s early!” Tuija says. She’s impressed and it comes through in her voice. So am I for the record; the group meets early as is, let alone on a field trip run and the day after Daylight Savings Time. Plus 29km is hard. Colleen speaks again, “after losing an hour too, look at you! You’re gonna do great!” Colleen is a compassionate person, and extremely humble given her running accolades. Colleen’s concern for Sarah and affirmation for Brittany have the same contextual meaning, she wants us to succeed on race day.
Dan, our group leader, speaks now. “It really is early, you basically started at 7 (am).” She would’ve started at 8am, but because of the clocks being reversed an hour, it’s as if Brittany started at 7. “We’ll see if I can do the full 29, though,” she says with just a tinge of doubt. It’s a new distance for her. I know, along with the other runners in the circle, that she’ll do it. But no one speaks; completing one’s first marathon is a personal journey of self-discovery that we won’t steal from Brittany, because we remember ourselves.
Finally, Dan gives his instruction for our run. “Okay, so 23 today.” He goes into the directions next. We’re leaving from Telus Spark’s back parking lot and running into downtown to Edworthy Park and back. “When you reach Edworthy, we should be at 12.” Dan pauses briefly before continuing, “So might as well do 24,” he says with a slight chuckle. The joke is that 23km is already relatively high and we’re tagging on an extra kilometer just so we can turn around at a landmark instead of 500m earlier. It’s a joke because it’s an excuse to do more; a principle that our group, and other marathoners alike, follows. Don’t skimp on distance in training because it hurts you on race day.
I speak now. “I like that.” I say to Will. Dan’s suggestion to do a little more is the sort of attitude I buy into. Will laughs while Dan affirmatively nods in my direction.
“Is there bathrooms?” Lila asks; a fair question on a sunny day where we’ll be out for over 2 hours and drinking over a litre of water. “Yes. Eau Claire and Edworthy,” Dan responds before closing his instruction. “Okay, let’s go.”
Dan is speaking with clarity and composure; confidence clearly detectable in his voice. He’s been our group leader for over 6 years and gets more from helping others complete marathons than he does doing it himself. Our group formed out of the Country Hills Running Room store, and, following the store’s closure, survived as a local meet-up group; a symbol of Dan’s leadership and the dedication of our loyal base of members. Dan’s message is simple and to the point, but has a strong effect on our group, wherein each of us turn around, traverse across a bank of snow towards a trail parallel to the Bow River for a fresh Sunday morning adventure chasing the river’s currents, each other, and our own inner desires.
*Author’s Note: Names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.