Running Alone but Together: First Call

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

First Call

First call according to the funeral business is the "first call" they receive when somebody dies. That was the story shared with me by a runner that happened to work in this type of business. Not a good story when you had just finished a COLD half marathon on January 2nd; when you are still resting from a delicious and lazy Holidays break; and when you feel, like, well, dead.

For PNW runners, First Call means a nice running group, that puts together low key half marathons, marathons, and ultras, in a special place along Sammamish River. Races are on days like Veterans Day, Presidents Day, and why not, almost the first day of the year.

I knew about this group several years ago, but did not dare to join those races. Knowing they were small, I felt intimidated thinking that everybody may know everybody but me... However, last Veterans Day, Nov 2011, I decided to go, and liked the group very much, the organization, and the fantastic potluck they have after the races. And, in top of that, the races are run in my favorite spot for long runs, the Sammamish River Trail.

The race was 2 weeks before my Houston Marathon, so I went just to log the miles. I timed 2:23:55 and felt like the First Call on the funeral business: dead. But as every race, it had its rewards. I had the opportunity to finally meet Michelle (in person) a blogger I met 4 years ago. Even though we knew we were both from W. WA, Michelle used to run mainly ultras, and marathons one after another, so the opportunities to meet were not too high.

I started the year racing, and I hope to end it the same way. Not sure if I would be able to beat the number of races I ran in 2011 (52), but I will sure try. And for sure, more than one will be from the First Call.