I watched the Boston Marathon this morning and it was a thing of beauty. I just have so much respect and admiration for the athletes. Running a marathon is not something that everyone can do. I like to think that I might be able to do it, if I trained really hard and extensively but I am content to stick to running under 10 kilometers. I actually don’t know how these runners do what they do.
These athletes ran 26 miles, which is about 42 kilometers. And even more impressive was the last five miles for the women. Two women were battling all the way to the finish line. They were neck and neck and it was certainly one of the most exciting races I have ever seen. They pushed themselves so hard and were running the fastest pace they had of the whole race in those last few miles. Their pace, by the way, totally shattered my usual pace for a 10-kilometer run.
Dire Tune broke ahead but was quickly challenged by the other runner. Alevtina Biktimirova caught back up and they stayed together until the very end. Dire Tune pulled away and took the lead, crossing the finish line a mere two seconds before her competitor.
That was a thing of beauty. And not just for these two winners, but for everyone who even finished the race. It is a grand accomplishment and worth celebrating. It was a very exciting race, and definitely a thing of beauty.
2 responses to “A Thing of Beauty”
What a coincidence, that someone in our church yesterday shared an inspiring story about people cheering on runners in the local marathon, and I had the thought come to me:
Next year, I will be one of those people. Cheering, not running. Why not? Might make the difference between someone giving up or not.
I think it does make a difference. The announcers even talked about it today. The male winner was completely by himself for the last part of the race, and guess what? His pace was slower. The two ladies running with each other, neck and neck, pushed each other to run even faster. Everyone can use a cheering on.
One of the mottos in my class is “Cheer Each Other” I adapted it from a Steve Brown quote, “We are supposed to be cheerleaders for one another.” It’s a nice thought.