Normally I avoid all post-race photos; however, I had been
training hard, eating well, and hydrating often before my two most recent
races-the 3M Half Marathon and Rogue 10K.
I thought surely these photos would be something I would like to see,
maybe even purchase. I had made sure I
smiled whenever I saw a race photographer pointing their lens at me; trying not
to show the strain of a back of the packer and imploring them to Photoshop me
fast!
What a shock. In my
mind’s eye I was a Kenyan, yet in the photos I resembled the Sam Hurt cartoon
character, Queen of the Universe. I
thought to myself, if I look like this now, what did I look like in the
previous race photos? I wondered if I ever would like one of my race photos and
felt discouraged.
Then, I reminded myself; I don’t run to look like a
runner. I run to feel like a runner. I
run because that’s when I get my best ideas. I run because every time I head
out the door, my shorts fit more loosely than the run before. I even finish a
few seconds faster. So these days, to paraphrase 2 Corinthians 5:7, “I run by
faith not by sight.” One day my race photos will catch up to what my inner
runner already knows. I am a runner.
