A while ago now I wrote a post entitle “The Value of Fun Runs”. It gave a summary of some of the fun runs around Sydney, their entry fee, and cost per km and a short summary of the good bits and not so good bits of each run.
Impossible to quantify in dollar terms, of course, is the overall sense of well being running in an event such as yesterday’s “Sydney Running Festival” (or the Bridge Run as the festival is more commonly referred to).
What price do you put on being able to run across Sydney’s iconic harbour bridge on a fabulous sunny morning-not too hot(unless you’re finishing the marathon at midday), sun sparkling on the water, surrounded by friends, or at least like minded people. It’s mornings like this that serve to remind you of why you run. Simply put, it makes you feel good.
From our youngest runner, to our oldest, from our novices to our experienced runners, all felt uplifted after the race. I’m not trying to turn a simple run across the Harbour Bridge into some kind of religious experience, but running in a run such as this certainly is something to remember.
Some of the comments I heard from our runners after the race will give you a sense of what I’m talking about.
- “I wasn’t going to stop running because I really wanted to know I could do it” from 6 year old Saxon
- “That’s the furthest I’ve run. Ever!” 11 year old Luca
- “Dav and I heard there was 100m to go and we just bolted. You should have seen how fast our legs were goingD” 9 year old Wilson
- “I’m wearing my number like a badge of honour” one of our nearly 50 year old first time fun runners.
- “It was a spectacular day to be running across the bridge this morning” Bernice – another of our soon to be 50 year old runners
- “That was awesome” – just some random person I heard in the recovery village
- “Just going to brag about my 29 year old” from a friend of mine texting me about her son’s first marathon.
- “Yay me” from Tara, after her first half marathon
No need for me to say any more, really, but I’d love to hear your comments on why you run.
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
