Why I Love Races

Thankfully, I finished the Army 10-Miler on Sunday without falling. And I was reminded once again why I love races --here's just a few reasons:

-I was passed by a man singing loudly along to his ipod, "DON'T you...forget about me...."

-I was passed by people wearing shirts saying things like - "Does this shirt make my butt look fast?...."

-I was handed water by soldiers announcing they have "Sam Adams here!"'and balancing cups of gatorade on the bill of each other's caps

-I passed a volunteer yelling "I'd go to the next set of port-a-potties, these ones are nasty!"

-I had people around me cheer for the one female who headed into the trees to pee with all the men (lucky men ...the world is your bathroom!!)

-I continally passed perfect strangers cheering me on

-I slapped hands with an amputee also completing the race

-I passed a father and his little girl standing out on the street, handing out marshmellows to fuel tired runners

-I saw two different couples in front of me during the last mile join hands to spur each other to finish

-I followed a man the whole time and the back of his shirt said "Death waits in the darkness" ...which is nice and motivating when you are trying not to pass out....

-I heard a race official at the finish line yelling "There's water in the hoo-hah!"

Excuse me??

(I finally realized there were bottles of water in the "Hooah" ...which is an Army battle cry, and also the name of a race tent. Ah.)

-And finally, I realized several feet after the finish -- that I was still running. So now there is yet another funny official race photo of me out there. (There's even video this time, which shows everyone else slowing to a walk after the finish (like normal people), and me continuing to trot along, completely oblivious. Classic.