I am in awe of the community of runners in this country.
The Last Supper |
I was invited for a pre-marathon dinner with the Inter
Lebanon Runners. Actually, I was there to accompany the runner in my house (Aragu
Sisay Abate, watch out for that name in the papers). And I met an interesting
group of people that are all going to run the 42 K in the Beirut Marathon tomorrow.
Some are running their
first 42 K, but many are on their third or fourth. Some of them are branching
out, and run marathons now in Boston and New York. Just for the pleasure of it.
This group will all run 42 kilometers tomorrow |
They sat together for their last supper before the race,
rather symbolic, in the house of the man who trains them, advises them and
encourages them, as he gave them a final
pep-talk, and some advice.
There was talk on how to pace the race, how to stick to
your training schedule, and how to work with the water stations. He closed the
talk with “And whatever happens, don’t look back. Don’t look back to see if the
competition is closing in on you. “If you look back, the guy behind you will
know you’re beat. It’s a psychological game. So whatever happens, do not look
back!”
There will be about 320 Lebanese marathon runners at that
start line of the Beirut Marathon tomorrow at 7 o’clock. If you are in town, go
cheer them. As I understood, the first 20 K is easy; it’s after the 21st
kilometer when the going gets tough, and they need your encouragement.
Aragu Sisay is not running the marathon tomorrow, due to meniscus problems, but goes for the 10K instead. She’s running with the number #1, now if that is not telling, I do not know what is. |
1 comment:
I loved the community of runners in Beirut! I ran with the Veteran's/Elite Running club. Very welcoming group!
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