What I Remember When I Remember Something About Running

Remember – It’s Only Pain….

At my best, I wasn’t as good as the best runners,

but I was faster than most of the rest.

Recall one event in Phoenix

where I was running ahead of a rather large field.

Spectators, who I had to guess,

hadn’t been spectating long, cheered me loudly

as I strode past them.

I admit it, I waved like I deserved the applause.

Know they hadn’t been there long,

because if they had been,

they’d have seen the lead pack – so far ahead –

pass by a few minutes earlier.

***
Another time, I was at a small race,

so small you could look over the milling crowd

and basically determine your finishing position

before the gun even sounded.

Was thinking maybe low single digits myself,

when a long, many-windowed white van

came to a sudden stop in a cloud of dust.

A coterie of lithe young kids leaped out.

Oh, crap, it’s the Tuba City cross-county team.

Suddenly, I am thinking mid-teens,

if I have a good day.

Well, I had a good day,

a few guys got away and I am running alone,

just knowing any minute now

a bunch of speedy Native-American children

are going to come scampering past,

they have no mercy

and frankly their talent is scary.

I can hear their footsteps

and so I accelerate

and when I hit a turn,

I surge, trying to get away,

trying until I can’t really try any more

all I can do to hold this pace,

which is too fast.

I can hear their footsteps,

so finally I work up the courage

to turn around

and see how many of them there are.

And there is no one there.