We Are the Champions (?)

Some of you folks have been kind enough to tell me that you think my blog is funny. While I occasionally question your judgment, I nonetheless accept your compliments and strive to continue to deliver content that meets your expectations, however low they might be. Fortunately, my life is usually kind enough to generate, all on its own, enough naturally-funny things that I can satisfy your need for amusement here. For sure, I’ve got one for you now.

Disclaimer: Those of you who follow my Twitter feed or Facebook account may already know about this. As a result, you may find it to be less entertaining than others who don’t. If I’ve told you about this, you’ll also find it to be less entertaining. I’m sorry about that, but it’s your own fault for not having more interesting things to do than follow my Twitter feed, read my Facebook status, or talk to me.

I think I mentioned that I raced in Detroit not only for my own personal effort, but also as a member of a racing team. Front Line Racing Team is affiliated with the Kalamazoo Area Runners (KAR), and KAR members have the opportunity to race for Front Line. Back in the summer, I got an e-mail from Front Line that mentioned the opportunity to participate on a team in the Detroit Free Press / Flagstar Marathon. I thought it sounded like fun, and Fred (the awesome guy who handles all that stuff for Front Line) didn’t mind that I was a first-time marathon runner who would count himself lucky if he finished in four hours. That was that, and Fred put me on a five-person team. Full marathon teams are a bit different than five-person marathon relay teams. The relay teams have five people who each run a segment of the course. By contrast, full marathon teams consist of three to five runners who each run the entire marathon, with the best three times counting toward the team time. As you might imagine, the lowest combined time wins.

Dear Fred,

Thanks for organizing the team. You rock!

Sincerely,

Darrell

Let’s fast forward to race day. I saw some folks wearing Front Line singlets, but I didn’t really know if they were on my team or some other Front Line squad entered in the race, as Front Line put forth a few teams. I finished the race, and didn’t really think too much about the team competition; really, my only concern was that I hoped my time hadn’t dragged down the team performance. I wasn’t terribly concerned about that, either, as I had four teammates. Life was good.

A couple weeks ago, I got a quick e-mail newsletter mentioning that the Front Line men’s full marathon team had won that competition. I was rather happy that the team had won, and e-mailed Fred to express my delight that I hadn’t dragged down the team. The response I got was rather shocking. Fred advised me that two of my teammates had dropped, meaning that my time had, in fact, counted toward the team result.

I laughed out loud. In my personal value system, marathon results over four hours don’t win anything except the admiration of friends and other random folks.

One of my friends today described me as a “kicka** marathon runner.” That felt good, even if I’m not entirely convinced that it’s true. Thanks, Erin!

I wrote back to Fred expressing amusement with a dash of excitement, and asked if there was some sort of plaque or something somewhere to which I could go pay homage at some point. Fred let me know that there is no team plaque to which I can go pay homage. Instead, each member of the team gets his own plaque; it should arrive in the next month or two. I laughed out loud yet again. Apparently, 4:38:08 marathons are not only good enough to win, but they are also good enough to merit their own plaque. Go figure.

A quick check of the times reveals why I was able to be on a winning marathon team. My two teammates both ran rather quick marathons; one finished in 2:41, while the other finished in 2:45. I’m pretty sure they both had probably finished, had a bite to eat, showered, and gone off to celebrate by the time I finished. For sure, I could not have won without them.

Dear Eric and Kevin,

Thank you for being super fast and for letting me ride along on your efforts to get a marathon team championship.

Sincerely,

Darrell

The fun twist to this story is that, while I could never have been on this year’s winning team without those guys, they couldn’t have won without me, either. The team had to have three finishers. Had I not finished, the incredibly fast times posted by my teammates would have looked nice on paper but done nothing to give them fancy plaques.

That’s actually the moral of this story. The running community really does require all kinds. Sure, we need the elite runners who go out and do awesome things in races. They amaze and inspire me on a frequent basis. We also need the average runners, though. They do amazing things, too. They may not do them as quickly as the elite athletes, but they still do awesome things that amaze and inspire me. Just like my full marathon team in Detroit wouldn’t have accomplished anything without both the elite runners and the not-so-elite runner, the running community is a much better place because of the blend of runners who comprise that community.

Before you go and fully embrace that moral, do take a moment and laugh a bit more about the fact that a 4:38 marathon can actually be plaque-worthy.