Cambria Wu
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2021. A new start, a new way to race, and hopefully, SOME kind of finish line in sight.
I’m no marathoner. And apparently, as far as hobbies go, I’ve discovered I’m not really great at being “a real runner,” either. This past year has caused me to rethink—as it has for many of us—whatever confidence or beliefs we previously held in terms of training, habits, and abilities. For me, I’ve learned, throughout many lonely neighborhood miles, half-assed tempo attempts and lame fitness challenges (25 burpees a day, anyone?), I need a starting line—a real one, I mean—not a virtual one. Let me be clear; I’m not arguing against virtual races– I think they should (and probably will) be an emergent option for every road race going forward, but come on, real talk here: a virtual race should never cost more than $10. I just mean that I’m the kind of runner that isn’t really a runner without a real race on the calendar. I race into shape. Every year. For at least the past 20+ years. It works for me (and a lot of others, too). 5ks are great like that—you have a bad race one week? So what? Race again next Sunday, train through a few more like that, and pretty soon, you start feeling like a real runner. So that being said, regardless of what kind of runner (“real” or otherwise) we consider ourselves to be, 2021, no matter where you live and train, is shaping up to feel like a most unusual race, with a seemingly wavy finish line off in the distance.
As a team the idea of hosting a road race has always been a topic of conversation, and it has sort of remained as just that—an idea that never really got started. But like many other projects and vague ideas that took a pandemic to actually set in motion, this time, we had more of a reason to start it. We needed that starting line. So what better way to start off the New Year for our group of competitive women runners than actually putting on some racing flats and competing in a road mile? And let’s be honest, anyone can run a mile, right? It’s short enough to test your fitness and long enough to be considered punishment for another sport, as some t-shirts would lead you to believe.
I mean, my 12 year-old neighbor does a couple miles in the neighborhood daily just to “stay in shape” for her club soccer team. And she does not consider herself a “real runner” (yet)! Anyone who starts out running, whether in a school setting, or later on as an adult, pretty much starts with a mile. Consider the times you’ve mentioned that you’re a runner to someone; they usually respond 1 of 2 ways: “Oh yeah? How fast can you run the mile?” or “Oh cool, so do you like, run, marathons?” In that sense, a mile (in the U.S. anyway), is still kind of considered synonymous with being a runner, and if you’re going to run marathons, you obviously need to run a lot of miles. It’s kind of where you start.
And let’s be real about something else—a mile isn’t a big deal compared to everything else currently going on in this world—but it is the start of something, and we all have to start somewhere. There have been countless individuals that actually started running over this past year, for a variety of reasons, of course—so when “real road races” actually do make a return (remember, we’re in SoCal, so it might be awhile) it will be interesting to see the numbers out there and who chooses to step up to that starting line. I know a lot of us need it, again, for a multitude of reasons, and really, every morning—every run—every race—needs a starting line.
So for our team, it made sense. Start small (just our teammates), create a banging race top (Gwen, as always, coming through!), add a little bit of competition each time, and hopefully drop a few seconds with each effort. Who knows if this little start will grow into something larger, more competitive, an annual tradition for local runners, or just a way to start off every New Year as a member of The Janes?
As for the finish, I don’t think anyone can say for sure when, or where, or what that even looks like. Like many other runners, I am extremely eager to pin a bib on a sweaty singlet and stand in a crowded corral waiting for the gun to go off, and remember what “real racing” feels like, but until then, I guess a road mile is a pretty good place to start. And when you’ve got an incredible group of women out there running with you, it feels pretty real.
