Catherine sat across from Chris, engaging in a lively debate of the upcoming Cow Town marathon. Her face was nearly red, and her voice excited. “I am forty-four,” she stares into Chris’ eye. “Let’s get everything on the table, NOW,” she added, “born in 68.”
Chris smiled slyly and responded, “Forty five.” As they were debating if age has anything to do with marathon or ultra marathon performance, Chris responded to Catherine’s challenge. “Forty three,” Shirley, who was tapering for the Cow Town Ultra, joined the debate. Then Shirley looked at Greg, quizzically, who just happened to sit across from her, and were to race the Ultra a week later, for an answer.
“Sixty nine,” Greg had no choice but to answer the group’s challenge. I bulged my eye out at Greg’s answer. “What?” I exclaimed and stared at Greg and his youthful looking face, searching in vain for any lines or wrinkles. “You are sixty nine?” I exclaimed again at Greg’s answer, with disbelief. The runners around me were just as curious with Greg’s contrast of youth with his announcement. We all turned our head toward Greg.
“Born in 69,” Greg apparently caught up on our shocked faces and looks, and added the verb to clarify, ”I am forty three.” I gave out a sigh of relief, immediately followed by an admiration. “You are running the ultra. Good luck.” I turned to Shirley and repeated the same, with the same admiration. She started running less than 2 years ago, and quickly progressed from a casual 5K runner, through Half Marathon, Marathon, and now Ultra.
“Barbara inspired all of us,” Shirley’s modesty kicked in. Instead of glowing in the glory, Shirley, as usual, wanted to give credits to others. Greg nodded in agreement, so was Chris. “Yes, she made us run Ultra,” Greg said, adding that “Barbara, the 67 year old lady.”
I had the luck running with Barbara several time. A thin lean running machine, Barbara’s running speed and stride gave no indication that she is 67 years old. She ran steady, fast, and often pulling in speed and distance that runners in their 20s, 30s, 40s or 50s could only wish for. At 67, she showed no sign of slowing down or stopping. Instead, she had inspired many to follow her to train and race the Ultra.
What is the distance of these races? As runners, we simply know them by heart. 10K is 6.2 miles. Half is 13.1 miles. Full is 26.2, and Ultra ranges from 31 miles, 50 miles or 100 miles, depending on if it is a Baby Ultra, a 50 miler, or an Ultra Ultra.
“Let me tell you a funny story about numbers,” Shirley changed the debate about ages into something else. “My friend,” she qualified, “who is not a runner, went to Lukes Locker to buy shoes.” Shirley recalled with affection her friend’s reaction at the cash register. Her friend saw the bumper stickers on sale. They all had numbers printed — 13.1 or 26.2. “What are they?” She asked the sales lady, innocently. “Are they radio stations?”
The runners around the breakfast table burst into laughter. We laughed at the ignorance that we simply displayed before we became runners. We laughed at the innocence of a non-runner for the running numbers we have since taken for granted. We laughed simply because we can relate to the transformational experience we each went through from a non-runner into a runner. That is what the numbers mean to us. That is what we own — 13.1 and 26.2 are our numbers.
