The Parkway Conquers Chicago
by Sarah Hull

     October 7, 2001, was a very important day for two reasons. First, a large crew of Parkway Running Club members and support crew traveled by planes, trains, and automobiles to Chicago to participate in the LaSalle Bank Marathon. And second, it was the day America first retaliated for the September 11 attacks by bombing Afghanistan. Quite a juxtaposition (that word is for you, Brian) of two events. Yet it struck me as we all watched the news of the bombings while at lunch after the Marathon, that the tremendous dedication and spirit of teamwork that characterizes each member of our club offer important clues to answers for the larger problems taking place in the world.
      The Marathon was scheduled to start at 7:30 am. Talk about early. As we all congregated at the Congress Plaza Hotel right near the start/finish lines it seemed that Ursula was the only one who really slept well the night before. Just getting to Chicago was a story all in itself. Yet the race day dawned beautifully. The temperatures was in the mid 30's to start, yet warmed up to the mid 50's by late morning. The sky was bright blue and there was no wind at all off Lake Michigan. It was a perfect running day. No excuses allowed.
     Yet the first small "trauma" occurred before the race even started. Carol, Nellie, and Ursula had needed one final run to the porta-johns and the lines were really long. John, Walter and Julie decided to head up to the starting line rather than wait--leaving Dorothy and myself in the middle. As the minutes ticked closer to the 7:30 start time, I got really nervous and kept asking Dorothy what we should do (i.e., head up to the starting line to find John, Walter and Julie or stay and wait and possibly miss the start). Thankfully, Dorothy's wise words of experience on the importance of "sticking together" calmed me down. She also diplomatically reminded me that it was my first marathon and it would not be wise to start out at the pace of our serious veteran marathoners if I planned on finishing. (Thank you, Dorothy!) Thankfully, Carol, Ursula and Nellie arrived back just in the nick of time, and we were off. It was one very valuable lesson in patience and teamwork that I will not soon forget.
    The cheers of the crowd, music blasting from speakers, waving flags, and the sunlight reflecting off the nearby skyscrapers were truly inspirational. Almost 30,000 runners pounding the pavement made it feel as if we were in the midst of a gigantic ocean of people. There was no way any runner could have kept a frown in the midst of such positive, uplifting energy--even for the race being in the words of John Govoni, "definitely hard on the legs." There were many sharp twists and turns on the route. Our dedicated support crew from West Roxbury even got a workout. We agreed that Julie O, Joanne (her friend), and Katherine (Nellie's daughter) must've walked about 26 miles just to cheer everyone on. (Of course, some runners, like Keith, Walter, John and Julie ran by so fast that it was hard for the support crew to catch them!)
    They weren't the only dedicated support crew to participate. Melissa Moore (a previous member of the club) and Susan Kilbourn (a friend of mine) flew out just to come to the famous pre-race pasta dinner! (West Roxbury is clearly hurting for a good restaurant.) Melissa also hopped in during the Marathon around mile 14 and ran 3 key miles with Dorothy and me. It meant a lot because we had often talked of running our first marathon together. She had been sidelined with shin splints, yet still took the trip out with Susan to cheer us all on. Talk about feeling richly blessed.
     Ian (yes, Carol's Ian) took time from his hectic global travel schedule and flew out to support Carol in the race. Lisa (carol's former roommate) and her husband, Sidney, even drove 6...or was it 12?...or no, maybe it was 16...hours to also cheer her on. (It's amazing how a story can change in the retelling with a few glasses of wine!) But the fact was that they made it. Tracey Eisman, Dorothy's niece, and her husband Joe, only came from a couple of T-stops north of Chicago, but were also greatly appreciated for their encouragement and warm smiles.
    A big thank you goes to Keith, who flew out just to get in a long training run of 22 miles before Philadelphia and show his support. (I guess running around the "muddy Charles" was getting a little "stale!")
    There really was something to be said for "being in the moment" as Dorothy's Zen running book had told us to focus on. Just taking in the crowd and all of the sights took up at least half of the race. It also helped to know that friendly faces from the club were strategically stationed along the route. Running through the streets of such a great city was truly a "peak experience" for me-like being in a state of grace. At least up to mile 24. Then the "grace" ran out and the famous "runner's wall" kicked in. Wow! I had no idea how tough it was to overcome the agony of your own mind and body screaming at you to stop. Talk about mentally challenging. I knew that even eating one more vanilla GU packet or drinking one more Gatorade would make me physically sick. Unfortunately, Dorothy and I had split up at mile 20 (back when I was thinking that 6 miles was a piece of cake). I felt physically and emotionally spent. (Even the voicemail Lucinda left me at home prior to flying out to Chicago reminding me that I had it within me to run this race and "be more than I ever thought I could be" went through my mind at mile 24. I kept thinking that she must've had the wrong girl!) but just as I was about to cave in and walk, Dorothy came running up behind me, grinning away and reminding me that we were "almost home! "Can you believe it Sarah!?" NO, I couldn't. Even though I was only able to nod my head and grunt in reply, I hoped she would feel my deep gratefulness for her positive energy at such a key moment. Her energy and enthusiasm are really what pulled me across the finish line at 26.2 and she even slowed up so that we could hold hands as we ran over the line. Talk about teamwork.
   But the support didn't stop then. We found Walter (who had been waiting patiently for over an hour to see us come in) and Carol (who came in a split second behind us, smiling away and not even looking as if she had just run a marathon) to take a "group photo" for our medals. After the photo, Carol realized that I just might benefit from a trip to the medical tent. So she enthusiastically escorted me over to the big white tent near Buckingham Fountain to warm up. The funny part was that while I rested on a cot all wrapped in the silver tin foul, Carol came back with bananas, cookies and Gatorade and proceeded to cheerfully outline the many food choices! It was even funnier when the physician came over and asked her is she needed help, and she exuberantly replied that she was "just fine, and what a great tent, and she was just there to "help me out!" I felt better immediately.
     Even the bombings in Afghanistan couldn't diminish everyone's great sense of accomplishment in a "day well-done." It was wonderful to have everyone finish with no serious injuries...(Ursula even managed to PR despite a fall at mile 9!) and even though we thought we'd lost Nellie at the end of the race, we came to find out she had the best idea of all and went to get herself a post-race massage.
   I learned that running a marathon is really not an individual race at all. As Rob Kerwin stated, "just look at the amount of people you have to rely on in training for these events." (Especially if you are training for Iron Man Tri #2, Rob!) Wives, husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends, kids, extended families, as well as our own club members who help us train (or recover from training like Cindy and her awesome massages!)- all play a vital role in each person's success. After all, as John reminded me after finishing, only a very small % of people on this planet have ever run even one marathon in their entire lives. Just within our club alone, we have collectively run 251. Unbelievable! and that doesn't include the numerous half marathons that have been run by Parkway members. Clearly, we know how to support one another.
       As for the Chicago experience, I figure that John and Dorothy should start their own business running group travel tours since they did such a great job organizing the hotels and the pasta meal--and Walter should be canonized for offering half of his companion ticket to me to help save money. Ursula is going into the Guinness Book of World records for running 2 marathon in a month (right next to Stephen Peckiconis who ran two within two weeks!) And Carol and Dorothy have sprouted angel's wings for making "Team Nancy" T-shirts for us to wear on race day in honor of the year anniversary of my sister's death. (My entire family could not get over how kind you were to do that. Thank you so much.) In the wise words of John Govoni, it was "just a great day."
      Now, if only we could bottle the tremendous spirit of teamwork and goodwill found within this group and send it over to Afghanistan. It really could melt all opposition