Witness

I've made it thirty-six years without having to experience anything horrific. No major accidents, about the worst I can think of was a kid breaking his arm growing up. Right place, right time? Maybe. Or just lucky all this time, I guess. In a blink of an eye, that streak ended this weekend.

It started off as a typical weekend, a race on Saturday in the morning. Neither CT or I were feeling "it" prior to the race starting. We were able to cheer for two of our friends who ran the 10K before our race started, so that was a nice change. Then we also got to visit with some new friends we meet running races. During the run, I felt better than I did all weekend. My legs felt good and I remember feeling a sense of freedom. It didn't feel like I had the energy or desire I needed to really push it, but things felt smooth and very comfortable. I had ran this course before, not this race, but this course. I replayed that in my mind as ran, remembering where I had trouble before and smiling as I felt at peace this time. You know I want in the 19's bad, again I finished close, but that didn't bother me as this run plain felt good for me. CT came chugging along shortly after. We met up with our two running partners and started sharing our stories, then the unthinkable happened...

"Call 911!" Came the shout. Standing only a few feet from the finish line, a man had collapse on the ground. At first thought, somebody is overreacting. Then it switches to, this is serious, but I'm sure he'll be alright. All too soon it becomes something I've never had to deal with this before, I'm witnessing somebody passing away before my very eyes. There's nothing I can do, completely helpless to change the outcome of this situation. That was a horrible feeling and then I felt guilty for even watching. This is where runners instinct took over and I actually had to run out of the reality of the situation to get away.

Checking the news later, he did in fact pass away. 42 years old, wow. I can't imagine. There are a couple of things that are going to stick with me forever, even though I'm writing them down here. Running started as a way to promote myself staying healthy, by forcing myself not to spend hours sitting behind the computer. Witnessing this event, only reminds me that I picked the correct course. The second, life can change in a blink of an eye. It's one of those things that always gets said, but this was another reminder to make every moment count. The last and most disturbing mental image from this whole event was watching how small and insignificant we are. Not sure if that's a problem with society as a whole, but it seemed wrong to be watching a life hanging in the balance, meanwhile the announcer is still calmly calling out names as people cross the finish line. Is that a reminder that life goes on, or it's some cruel joke? Either way, that was surreal and the part struck me hardest.

It was a good run, but the streak had to end at some point. My thoughts go out to the guy and his family.