What a night to race!

So my dear husband gets a crazy idea for a "date night" - lets go run a 10k race with hundreds of college kids! And even crazy was my response - why not. Even more crazier, our dear friends willingly joined us as well.

This race was a bit unique. Spondered by Nike, this same race was held all around the world this evening. Through the uses of Nike+, a sensor chip that records all one would like to know about their runs and more, through an IPOD, you have the capability to connect with runners all over the world. It was called "The Human Race", and it was held on The Ohio State Campus following their homecoming parade.

As with any race, you never know what you have in store. As we waited in the starting shoot, rain fell lightly, enough to cover us in a glistening dew. As the buzzer sounded and we were herded like cattle through the shoot, the skies just opened up. It was the kind of rain that felt like drops the size of a tennis ball falling on you sideways. It was dark, everyone wore a red shirt, and we became saoked in seconds, what could I do but chuckle. We have a sincerely twisted idea of a fun Friday night! As fast of the rain fell, was as fast as it ended. Waters flowed in streams down the sidewalks and young men became boys as they purposely splashed in all the puddles.

Before we began, we all talked about a "nice" run, nothing break-neck speed. That was before the race. Whether is was "going with the flow of traffic", or just an instinct to challenge yourself in a true race setting, off we went. The girls stayed together and the boys stayed together, not so much of a date night then, but close enough :) It was a very interesting course. We ran over bridges, by horse stables (you can only imagine the comments), and UP brick streets, dodging guard rails along the way. It seemed to pass by in a blink, yet at times the next mile markers seemed to grow farther and farther away. It was great to run with friends, it was great to run with strangers and simply encourage as I felt led.

We all crossed the finish line around the same time, and we each had a take-away as we chatted. Amanda was able to run despite a nagging injury. Dave was able to run as fast as his potential would allow - he gave it his all! Aaron had to stop and tie his shoes 4 times, getting some sprint work in, and finishing his last mile in great speed. I had fun! Really, an amazing time was a bonus, the experience of running another journey together was like whip cream on my pumpkin pie - sweet and so satisfying. Thank you Aaron for making this a special night. Thank you God for the strength to endure and joy along the way.