Running Town

I’ve already talked about how amazed I am with the running club I joined, how 25 or so people show up first thing Saturday morning in mid-August for a seven-mile run. They are nice people, and there's always good conversation during the run, or afterward with a cup of coffee.

That sense of amazement grew during my run. Not by the group I’m a part of, but by the number of runners I saw out and about at 7:00 am. They were everywhere. Several groups of two, three, or four were getting some exercise. Guys, gals, people of all ages, shapes, and sizes, all realizing the importance of being fit. It’s even common for me to see several runners as I drive in to town and wonder whether I’m late (I’ve done well on that so far).

But later that afternoon, the First Lady and I went out for a nice meal and evening on the town, and we sat outside and ate seafood at one of Athens’ high-volume traffic areas, for cars and for pedestrians. It’s also some of the same pavement we pounded earlier that morning. So I’m eating shrimp and grits (omg it was so good) and drinking a Samuel Adams, and I must have seen 30 more folks out running. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing—it seemed like the whole world was running past us. Had to have helped that it was a gorgeous, sun-splashed day, and dry (unusual for the Deep South), with temps in the low 80s at 6 pm.

However, it doesn’t really matter what time of day-- runners are everywhere in this town. I can be driving in to pick up the wife for lunch or on my way to church and I’ll see several folks out doing their thing. It may have a little to do with motivating myself for another solo run, but it sure is inspiring to see so many people getting out there and working hard. I am happy to be one of them.