Another Year, Another Sun Run

It was probably 1997 when I did my first Sun Run -- taking part in the race as part of a company team. I remember starting the race with one of my friends from work, and losing him somewhere around the halfway point. I remember feeling quite a bit of pain (no training). I remember stopping to walk and then starting to run again when I realized that the pain didn't get any better and it was going to take me longer to finish if I walked. I remember waiting for the crowd to thin out, and it never happening. I remember very sore knees afterwards. But the thing I remember most is crossing the finish line. Exhilarating! Even in a fairly manageable race like a 10K, you just can't beat the feeling of having accomplished something tangible.

I'm running my 9th Sun Run tomorrow. Over the years it's become more of a solitary thing. I don't think there was any sort of organized group at work -- nobody was talking about it, and the friends that I used to run with aren't participating any more for various reasons. I still get jazzed by the crowd energy so I like to get up and run around downtown once a year, but I do miss the social aspect of the race that made it more of an event than simply a way to get 10K under my belt and listen to my iPod for an hour.