The Overwhelming Kindness of Runners

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been fortunate enough to witness and experience the overwhelming kindness of runners.  They are a special group, with big hearts and a willingness to put themselves aside for others.

We all saw it in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings - stories of runners forfeiting their own race to stop and help others; of runners uniting to support the victims and their families; of runners simply showing kindness to those around them.

I then saw it in action again at our local parkrun last weekend.  We held our first fundraiser, for Brisbane dad, Col Pittorino.  Col became a paraplegic in a cycling accident last year, and we were raising funds to support his rehabilitation.  We had such a wonderful morning and the community spirit was so strong.  We had 225 runners, who were all so generous, and the morning raised over $1000 - a fantastic achievement!

And as if I hadn't come across enough kindness, the story of this week's long run really takes the cake.  Dean & I decided to make the most of the Anzac Day holiday and get our long run in on Thursday afternoon/evening.  My in-laws came over to play with the kids and we headed out around 4:15pm, with our sights set on 26km.

Just a few hundred metres in, we bumped into one of regular parkrunners, Steve.  He asked if he could tag along for a bit - and of course, we were more than happy to have some company.  But team Gibson hit a snag in the first kilometre, when Dean tweaked his hamstring.  He'd had a bit of soreness on his previous run, but this time, the pain shot right up the back of his leg.  He knew he wouldn't make the distance and didn't want to risk making the injury any worse, so he had to walk home.  I felt so disappointed for him - when you have your mind set on a long run and a particular distance, it's really frustrating to have to cut it short.

But I was prepared for the run, so I continued on my way, still running with Steve.  He was a welcome distraction - it's great to have someone new to talk to on a long run, as it really takes your mind off the task at hand.  After a few kilometres, which had gone by quite quickly and easily, I checked in with Steve about how he was feeling and how far he thought he'd run with me.

Well, in an overwhelming act of kindness, Steve decided to stick with me for the WHOLE 26 KILOMETRES!  Dusk was approaching and it would be getting dark soon - which I was prepared for, with my phone in an armband and an LED light attached to my shoe.  But Steve felt an obligation to Dean to not let me run by myself in the dark, so he just kept on running!

Not only was the company such a welcome distraction, but Steve has run several marathons in his time, so was full of tips and advice for my training.  The poor man - just setting out to run a few kays on his relaxing public holiday, and ending up running 26km!  I was so amazed at his kindness and grateful for his company.  On top of that, I felt it was my best long run yet - and I'm really feeling my body recover more quickly as I get more under my belt.  I've had a great running week, and feel so fortunate to be around other runners - who truly are special types of people!

I don't really enjoy running the 3km stretch of the Hornibrook Bridge, but the sunset certainly makes it more bearable!

The moon was huge & stunning...the photo doesn't do it justice, but I didn't actually stop running to take it!