The Day I Didn't Run a Marathon

The Day I Didn't Run a Marathon, aka The Day I Ran a 10K, was today.

Admittedly, I do not have that much racing experience, with only three races to speak of under my belt. Still, I noticed some key differences between racing in the States and racing in Guayaquil.

1 - Nobody else in the city, other than the runners themselves, seemed to have been alerted to the fact that there was a marathon going on this morning. This made for lots of angry drivers sitting and honking their horns at the traffic cops and runners. Very angry; lots of honking. If their aim was to spur the runners on to clear the streets sooner, it certainly worked with me.

2 - I'm not sure whether people cut so many corners in the States when running a race? Can anyone confirm?

3 - English-speakers stand out. Met some other PCVs, some women from Chicago, some US Consulate workers, and a Guayaquileño couple who split their time between here and New York.

4 - In the States, you are less likely to be woken up at 3am the morning of your race by your neighbors, who have decided to hold an impromptu dance party and turn their music up so loud that your bed vibrates to the bassline.

Other than that, racing here is quite similar to in the States. You get up at an ungodly hour and meet up in a trance with a bunch of other athletes in the dark; there's a hum of excitement and energy as everyone waits for the race to begin; there's water stations; delirious running thoughts; the thud of your feet on the pavement and the rhythm of your breathing; there's people you pace with and people who pace with you; there's the final kilometer...er, mile...and at the end, the swag and the refreshments and the port-a-potties, and the rush of endorphins and feeling of accomplishment, accompanied by sore muscles, and the sitting on the grass and taking off your shoes to rehash the whole race with friends, continued over a bowl of tuna stew.

Okay, maybe not the tuna stew part, but the experience always ends with food, right?

And when you tumble into bed after lunch, you can feel satisified that you have Accomplished Something that day, so a nap is completely justified.