March 2005 - Episode One: A New Hope

[El Gordo]

It's a fantastic morning here in West Berkshire too, which bodes well for the race tomorrow.

My own anxieties revolve around the logistics - how many people are turning up here? Will they be late? Will I find Antonio in that bookshop in Shepherds Bush this afternoon? Where will we eat this evening? Will we get to the car park in good time tomorrow? Will we get out again without queuing? Which pub should we go to afterwards?

Oh yeah, and tucked in between these worries there's a half marathon to do, which I've barely even thought about. More questions: what should I wear in the race? It will start off freezing but warm up pretty quickly. Should I take stuff to leave in the baggage lorry and risk having to queue up? Or avoid the queues but risk freezing to death?

I'm not really worried about these things. They're just bits of random, manufactured anxiety designed to keep the adrenaline pumping for the race. As Sweder hints, the much greater emotion is excitement, and these other concerns are just ways of trying to keep it in check.

And a nice thought about the universality of running. The website allows us to communicate, but it's running itself that is the true link between all of us here, and between all runners beyond us. Long may it continue.

See you tomorrow guys.