Tomorrow's Pursuit

Tomorrow is the big day! After months of constant planning and preparation, tomorrow morning I will be once again donning the hat of race co-directer as I assist a friend in facilitating a crowd of close to 900 runners for Des Moines' annual Capital Pursuit road races.

When Tom originally asked me to co-direct this year's race with him, I was a bit skeptical. Not of the race, but more of myself. It wasn't that I hadn't any experience in race directing before, because I have. However, adventure races have much less participation generally, maybe a couple hundred at best. I was more worried I didn't have the right type of experience. I mean, this was a bonafide road race, and a well respected area race at that...one we could expect possibly over 750 participants to sign up for, with likely a myriad of situations and expectations to plan for that I'd not dealt with before. My head swam a little as his offer initially began to sink in. Could I do this?

But the concerns all vanished. My mind quickly went back to one of the sole reasons why I love the running community so much...the fact that they are such a wonderfully giving crowd. How, time after time, in race after race, I have unceasingly been met with a fresh, smiling face...whether from a volunteer at a packet pickup, an exuberant individual helping from a water station along the course, or the blessed individual who places that finisher medal around my neck at the end. And I couldn't imagine any reason why not to give back.

As you can obviously see, my blog (as well as many other projects lately) has taken a slight step back due to the busyness that directing has called for me to do. In the last few days alone, I've spent my time calling on t-shirt orders, tracking down final shipments of finisher medals, and picking up loads of fruit for our post-race activities. Last night, we held our first packet pickup session and saw an overwhelming amount of last-minute race registrations...always a good indication of this race's particular popularity and success.

Though I am somewhat weary and a little sleep-deprived, tomorrow's event will be seen as a personal success in my own eyes; the culminating mark of a dream I've had for years of directing an actual running road race. And you know, somehow I know it won't be my last.

Well, wish me luck!