Dan Kelly
Doomben 2006
I don't know
what it's like for other people when they run.
Before the
race I am uncertain of my running ability as
I anxiously contemplate running at a pace I have seen
run before, but not by me.
I am
incredulous at the task I have been set by a coach who seems to
know the limit of my ability but I am bemused as to HOW.
I am
surrounded by people with whom I have trained. I know they have
the same feelings. It’s not talked about; in the rush of good
lucks and the good-natured seeking of goals, but its there. The
shared sweat and nausea, the shared commitment to achieve.
Yes, there's
hunger. That gnawing ache to run faster or better than before.
To take less time than you once thought was possible to cover
ground that no longer drags in front of you but is seemingly
eaten by your strides.
I love and
hate the start. The tension in the build up to the gun and then
the loss of that tightness in the gut as you seek the pace and
then the rhythm.
And there you
are; Running.
And the work
you have done, the sacrifices you have made to make it to
training, the talks you have had with yourself and others about
doing it, the effort to be there, Ready, are all murmuring in
your head but are drowned out by , THE JOY.
The joy of
being able to run.
That first
half of the race, being in the rhythm, is all good. Those tough
k's after you pass half way when you want to slacken off the
pace but don't because you CAN run it. Those last couple of
kilometres when your thoughts drift to how great it would be to
stop. When it hurts, in your thighs; in your gut; in your head.
When you don't know if you can.
But then you
enter the last k and the pain recedes and the elation floods in
to take its place. And you find that bit you didn't know you had
and the legs go faster than you thought they could, but they
don't hurt anymore.
Then you are
finished and the line is crossed and your Mates, those people
you have bonded with in those dark training hours are there to
listen; to congratulate; to enthuse and to share that moment of
having been a runner. And a winner.
I don't know
what it's like for other people when they run. It's like that
for me.
Dan Kelly
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