Out Front
Last Sunday I was one of the lead bikes in the Vermont City Marathon. Two of us started ahead of the lead runners and behind a motorcycle. After a couple miles the lead pack split with the eventual winner pulling away. The other biker went with him. I then led the chase pack of eight runners that winnowed to four by mile 6 and stayed together for most of the next ten. Eventually two runners emerged and my charge was to make sure they had a clear path to run as we caught up with slower runners still on their first loop of the two-loop race. This was easier said than done as most of these slower runners were plugged in and oblivious to what was going on around them. I let the runners I was leading know I’d do my best to give them a straight shot.
The day before I was a course monitor for the Mini-Milers races, which were ½ mile, 1 mile, and 2 miles in length, all finishing down the chute where the following day’s marathon finished. Over 700 kids ran, ages 4 to 14, mostly in the younger categories. The energy and joy was evident. While some of the youngest kids seemed nervous, most were having a good time. These are future runners in the making!
The runners I led in the marathon ran 2:19, a 5:20 pace, so I had the chance to see first-hand what it’s like to run a marathon at that speed. Compare this to my marathon PR pace of 6:36––a big difference. Though on a bike, I was close enough to get a good sense of how they were working together and the choices being made to keep the hammer down. This was in real time and it’s a totally different experience from watching a race on TV or online. While these runners are not on par with those now running close to or breaking two-hour hours, they are still very serious runners, with the top ones qualifying for the Olympic Trials. On the hills I had to work hard stay ahead of them!
Staying engaged in running is possible in various ways. Gratefully, I can still show up at races up to a half marathon as a participant. For a marathon, I’m quite happy to push the pedals to be part of it, knowing that I am helping to keep the runners safe, on course, and relieve them from having to worry about colliding with slower runners. They have enough to do without thinking about that. I expect next year, I will once again be out front––on my bike.