Well, excuse me.
Some runners say that 5K is nothing to be proud of; that a 3 mile run is just a warm up for "real" runners. Others say it is narcissistic to flaunt your accomplishments and no one will be be impressed. Still others snub the whole practice altogether. There were comments along the line of, "what next, a medal for just making it to the starting line?" and "If I see a 5K on your car, I know you're a pretender."
I had known that there was this dark underbelly of the running community, but I was still shocked at the rage expressed over a 3 inch oval sticker. It actually made my stomach sick a little. And, to be honest, it did make me wonder if I fit in to this community of runners at all.
And then I thought, fuck this shit.
If my wife runs this race and finishes, she will get her sticker. Because she is in constant pain from her lupus. Because she is in constant pain from her fibromyalgia. Because she trained for it for as long as some train for marathons. Because she wants it so bad, she can taste it. Because she has overcome a crippling fear of social situations to make it happen.
The woman gets her sticker.
I decided that some messages will never be understood. I realized that these runners bitching about decals are doing so because they think they know what the runner meant when she put one on her car. They don't have the luxury of taking the time to get to know my wife (or me, for that matter) and understand what that sticker means to her. So they fill in the meaning from what they feel. Their anger comes from a reflection of who they are inside, not from the sticker on the trunk.
For my wife, it is a symbol of a far reaching accomplishment through physical pain and mental anguish.
For me, it would be a symbol of belonging.
For you, I have no idea. And that's the point.
We also have a "my daughter is on the honor roll" type of bumper sticker on our van. It's not there because we think she's better than your kid. It's there so she knows we are proud of her.
And I will put a 5K decal on the van so my wife knows how proud I am of her.
Some people feel that way about finishers medals too. I *like* the medal. I don't need it to but I love the reminder of how far I've come.
ReplyDeleteYou get your wife that sticker - she deserves it. So do you!
Last time I ran this race in 2010, every finisher got a medal. Yeah, it was a bit corny, but the point of the whole race was to get the program's clients out there and exercise. I proudly wore mine the rest of the day, then I put it away in my keepsake box. Every now and again I pull out that box and go through my treasures. You can bet that medal means something to me.
DeleteI read something that has stuck with me lately. It sort of applies. I have never considered myself a true runner because I am so slow. Here is what I read on pinterest (Yeah, I know...but I like some of the stuff that gets posted there) --
ReplyDelete"When you say you are slow, do you mean compared to the people who never exercise or the vast majority of people that cannot run a mile without stopping? You are a runner. There is no such thing as slow."
In general, I think people need to be more compassionate and less judgmental about where people are coming from. I think it is great that she wants to proclaim her accomplishment. Good for her! It's silly that others feel so threatened by these stickers.
Personally, I like the tshirts, the medals, the bibs...I keep them all. To me, they serve as a reminder as to how far I have come in my fitness journey and how much I like living outside that comfort zone I had set up for myself so many years ago.
Your wife rocks. I can't run a 5K, literally am physically unable to do so. She can and she is, and with everything else she's overcoming to make that happen, yes, she deserves her sticker!
ReplyDeleteBless you for getting it for her.
My friend with polio would love to throw down her crutch and run 3 miles!
ReplyDeleteGuess who isn't going to run 3 miles on Saturday? About 97% of the population, maybe more. If you could gather 100 people in their mid to late 40's and ask them to run 3.1 miles (even allowing a few 60 sec walk-breaks), how many could do it?
Yeah, she gets a sticker.
Haters are gonna hate....thank goodness you're not a hater and that you don't care what they think :-)
ReplyDeleteHave a great run! I'm doing a race tomorrow too and will be mentally cheering you on.
ReplyDeleteSomething that struck me when I was reading Train Like a Mother: the authors were often approached by women who said that they were running "only the half marathon." The authors rejoined with, "You're not running 'only' a half marathon, you're running THE half marathon." One trains for different races in different ways. A 5k is not half of a 10k race, it's THE 5k. (I doubt the haters rag on sprinters, but then, what do I know?)
ReplyDeleteI'm wishing both you and your wife well tomorrow. Crank it to eleven! And run in honor of the people who want to run, but literally can't. I do.
Display that 5K decal with pride!!
ReplyDelete