The very first piece I ever wrote for
Running Times was called
"Did you win?"Since then, I've trained my brother not to ask that awful question.
Today I called him up and asked him to ask me that awful question I trained him not to ask.
He did.
Yes, I said.
I won! I won! I won! The Deepwater Marathon in Farragut State Park in Northern Idaho. All on trails. Around Lake Pend Oreille. Gorgeous.
Now, I said,
ask me how many people were entered.
He did.
The answer was four. All women, all aged 40-49.
Everyone else had entered the half, 50K or 50 miler. It was one of those races where I had to hang my wimpy head when asked which event I was doing:
only the marathon.
The day before (when I'd learned about the marathon and decided to run it), I assured my friend Mo that I no longer cared to compete. That I was past the days when I could expect to win races. That I had other reasons to run. That I had less narcissistic goals.
And then, for 26.2 miles, I led the race terrified that whoever was in second place was going to catch me.
Guess I still have a bit of competitive spirit in me.
