Marathons....

And still with marathons, well actually half marathons. I was across the border in Tunbridge Wells on Sunday and chanced upon the Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon. This one has been going for some years now and attracts nearly two thousand entrants. I know I've said that I've entered the inaugural Tonbridge one this September and that it is going to give me the excuse I need to get fit again but the truth is, other than that, I could never really see the point of these events. Yes a lot of people do great things for charities and I'm sure a lot of cash was raised for several well chosen such charities at the Tunbridge Wells event. But is that enough? Is that really the reason that several hundred people got themselves up out of bed early on Sunday, when they could otherwise have had a nice lay in? Isn't there more to it than that? Standing about half a mile from the finish on the St. Johns Road on Sunday gave me part of the answer to that question. For it was in those few minutes that I saw the skill, the fitness and the commitment of the serious runners; but also the determination, the sense of pride and the cammaraderie of the runners who just wanted to get round the course to say that they'd done it. To say that on Sunday February 27th I did something, I helped make a difference, I was part of something bigger than just my own world. And it struck me that that must be a good thing. I saw some runners helping those who had pushed themselves so hard that they looked like they might collapse before the finish line, I heard many people clapping and egging each other on to get to the finish line inside the magic two hour time and I saw people high fiving young kids who were cheering them on from the cars which were stuck in the traffic jam that their event had caused. It felt good to watch let alone be apart of. I was struggling to understand why people enter these large events; now I sort of get it....