Quese: “Are we all running together?”
Allyn: “Nope….we are all running our own race!”
I didn’t want to just walk into my 40s – I wanted to run! So, I asked my friends and family to travel to Washington, D.C., to run with me in the D.C. Half Marathon/5K. (If you are wondering…we ran the 5K portion of the race.)
We all met at the Washington Monument and made the trek to the start line near the Lincoln Memorial. The crew found our way to the staging areas, doing our best to keep a low profile for the few guys running as bandits (runners who didn’t register). The weather was perfect, and the atmosphere was full of laughter, jokes, and a true sense of togetherness.
Then the gun sounded, and we all went our separate ways.
Maybe it was turning 40 that had me feeling reflective, but watching everyone run at their own pace felt like a metaphor for life. Moe and Quese shot to the front. Others faded from view, and before long, I was on my own. And that’s life! Everyone is running their own race.
My family, friends, and I are all at different points in our race. Each of us faces our own hurdles, obstacles, and terrain. Some of us are running uphill. Others are sprinting down. A few are taking sharp turns while others are on long, steady straightways. Wherever we are, it is our race to run.
It does me no good to try to run my sister’s race. I can’t follow my brother’s pace. Sure, I may be able to run with friends for a while, but eventually, we each return to our own course. There was a part of me that wanted to keep up with Moe and Quese, but my 40-year-old wisdom reminded me: let them go. Run your race.
The 5K was an out-and-back course, which created a cool moment where we passed each other mid-race. I high-fived everyone as they ran by, shouting encouragement before settling back into my stride. The next time we all saw each other was at the finish line.
Afterward, we grabbed breakfast, and each person shared stories from their race. There were plenty of laughs and smiles, and that 40-year-old need to reflect came rushing back again.
The reality is, I don’t know how long this race called life will be. I’ve been running for 40 years now, and the course has included a little bit of everything. But despite not knowing how much longer the race is, I do know: as long as I’m still here, I have more race to run and I’ll never run my best trying to run someone else’s race.
PeaceofAB 