What is it about the end of a run?

By Karen McNew
WSLS10 Anchor
Published: March 17, 2008

What a weekend!  I mentioned in an earlier blog that I was training for a local 5k… the Shamrock Hill Run that starts at Roanoke Catholic School in downtown Roanoke.

So Friday night Matt and I picked up our “packets” - if you have never been in a race that is typically an envelop that contains your “race” number that you will pin on just before the race… a t-shirt with the race’s logo and sponsors and this time there were some coupons and flyers about upcoming races… after packet pick up we drove the course so we could pick some landmarks as mile markers… the whole loop was very flat until you came back to the beginning or I should say finish… there are two small hills… they are small but they are at the END!

We got up early on Saturday morning… the run started at 9:15 am and wanted to find a parking space… I had lined up a specific song selection on my iPod shuffle to listen to during the race.. as we stood at the starting line waiting for the gun to fire I couldn’t believe it was about to start… I had really worked hard for this one and wanted to get a good time… the gun fires and we take off… Matt and I were running with each other at a pretty fast pace… it didn’t take long for him to move about 200 yards ahead of me..at one point I could barely make him out in the rushing crowd I was following…  then I must have gotten a quick burst of energy because around the two mile mark I was right on Matt’s heels… I couldn’t believe how fast my pace was.. I burned up some of my juice a little early though because either I slowed down or Matt got faster but before I knew it he was gone again and I was passing the Coca Cola plant almost to the finish line… thank goodness it is almost over I was thinking because shortly before that my brain was saying - “Just stop…“ so as I am nearing the end of the run my competitive nature kicked in a little bit.. I was gaining on a woman running next to me and thought I would pass her… her body language said “Oh, no you don’t..“ and she picked up her pace.. I crested the top of the hill and then on the way down just unleashed everything I had left… you know the way you run down a hill when you are a kid… you just let your legs go as fast as possible with very wide strides (I’m sure I looked less than graceful) I ended up blowing right passed her with a small hill to go and then the finish line.. I gave it all I had and she didn’t have the chance to pass me back… not even sure why I cared but there is just something about the end of a race… it almost feels like your brain sends a little crazed feeling through you… not sure if that is from relief that the finish line is in sight or what…. shortly after some man was trying to get the chip off of my running shoe and I quickly moved off to the side because for about 30 seconds I thought I might throw up… I didn’t thankfully… I returned the chip on my shoe that allowed the clock to keep track of my time and the other six hundred runners…

So I cross the finish line and ran it in 23:31!! That is a personal record for me and I couldn’t be more thrilled with the time… I got second in my age group.  At first I was bummed that it wasn’t first but then realized it wasn’t about the winning it was about the process… I feel better than ever.. not to mention the fact that it was absolutely beautiful weather… at the post race party inside Roanoke Catholic’s gym, one of the organizers proclaimed… we prayed and it didn’t rain!!