Human Race
The day before the start of Ramadhan, I ran my first 10 K with a good, good friend of mine. I ran two 5K marathons before, so I know the race was going to be tough. Ok, I did walk some parts of the race, it was not like I ran the whole 10K without stopping. Although I wish I did. My body hit a wall when approaching 4 K, that was when I started to feel pretty drained and really hot. It was funny, cuz around the same time, I heard this coming out from some of the runners: “How come here got no McDonalds?” and I heard another runner in front of me asking, “Where is the finishing line?” and we hadn’t even reached half the distance! We were running in the middle of central business district on a Sunday, practically all shops were closed. At that point, it dawned on me that things were only going to get harder. I was thinking, “Oh no…what did I just signed up for?” Then I saw the water stand and I can’t tell you how relieved I was. It was the best tasting cup of plain water and 100 plus I had EVER tasted. Most precious. From there onwards, I ran at a slower pace and walked when my legs hurt. My friend, who is a long-distance runner didn’t even sweat the whole marathon, I’m not kidding. It was like a stroll in the park for her, she was singing and cheering me to keep on going. I’m so glad she was there, it really made the difference.
Running makes me feel alive. In this age when most things are convenient and automated, running keeps that human fighting spirit alive. When I’m running I feel like I’m striving for something greater. It feels like a natural thing to do. You have the humble earth, the air to breathe and a huge open sky above, and you just run. It is so humbling. A few minutes after I finished the race, it was Ramadhan. That sweet feeling came back. The sweet feeling that I only felt once a year. I don’t know how to describe it except that it is soft and sweet. Ramadhan Kareem!
