A note to all the compression-socks-wearing, tank-top-and-shorts-sporting, giant-GPS-watch-bearing runners who started way too far back in the pack at the B.A.A. 5K in Boston on the weekend. We know you’re awesome. You know you’re awesome. How about giving those of us who aren’t so awesome a break and not crashing into us as you speed through a 6,000-strong crowd of runners (a moveable beast?) in a misguided attempt to get to the front. Did you spend too much time at Starbucks and forget that the race started at 8am? Or maybe you just wanted the rest of us to see your awesomeness in action. In which case, mission accomplished. This is exactly why compression socks give me the fear.
Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, here’s a photo.
Crowds gather in the shadow of a couple of Boston landmarks (Trinity Church and the John Hancock Tower) for the B.A.A. 5K.
I always try to find the joy in this running lark. Otherwise what’s the point? But this weekend’s 5K was packed with folks who take the pastime seriously. Very seriously. Which is fine, of course. I am full of admiration, awe, respect, etc., for people who can a) run a marathon; b) run the Boston Marathon; and c) run the Boston Marathon in extreme heat, which is what I know many of the 5Kers were doing the day after this run. So, go ahead, take running as seriously as you like. But do it from the front of the pack.
Wait, am I ranting again? Here’s another photo.
More milling in front of another Boston landmark: the public library. It’s very old.
I guess I shouldn’t have expected anything different from a 5K put on by the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.), which hosts the world’s oldest and most prestigious marathon. If ever there were going to be a collection of uber-runners in one place, it was this weekend in Boston.
There was a benefit, though. This run was fast. Really fast.
Stride and Joy 