Say "Thanks"

As I mentioned, on Sunday I ran the Baystate half marathon.  It's a fast, flat course which all runners love, but the crowd is pretty sparse which makes it challenging in a different way.  For me, this is a race where my music is so crucial.  Without the masses of fans who clap, scream and shout, as they do at bigger races,  I tend to lean heavily on my iPod for that extra motivation.  That said, I was impressed with how many people came out and cheered us on despite the small size of the race.  As we lined up before the start, the race director asked us to please thank a volunteer or two for helping make the race run smoothly.  What I realized is, it doesn't matter whether it's the Boston Marathon or a 5K with only 200 runners, without those people who give up their time, we wouldn't be able to do what we love.  So I tried very hard to say "thanks" at every water stop and to each police man that I passed.  And then, at the end of the race, I said it to one of the race coordinators, a lovely woman, who patted me on the back, and opened my bottle of water for me without asking.  To all of you who do this for us, THANK YOU!

Listen to this:
Heavy Metal Drummer - Wilco