Groupie

To begin this post, I want to say thank you to Alexis Thomas. For creating and adding me to the Lynchburg Trail Running Club group.

Wednesday evening was my first run with the group, and it was a blast. We started at 5:30 and ran into the darkness. Was it my fastest? No. Most hills? No. Hardest? No. But was it fun? Absolutely. One of the best things about racing is simply running with a big group of people. When you take away the registration fee, the nerves, and the competition, what you get is an hour or more having a simple, stress-free, genuinely fun time on the mountain with fellow crazies who share your hobby. There is a time and a place for running alone, nobody would argue that. Heck, part of what makes trail running great is just getting away! But there is also a time for fellowship, and that is why I am thankful for this group, thankful for the ultra-running community, and it is the reason for this post.

This morning (Saturday, Feb 23): 5am wake-up. Coffee. Rain. Chilly. What was I thinking? Why did I tell Todd and Zach "yeah! 6am trail run is a great idea on a Saturday morning!"? It didn't take long at all to answer my question. We got to the Wingate first, still questioning if we should have just waited until 7 and start with the "slackers" as the later group was termed (no offence!!). Soon Todd, Dennis, Frank, Sam, and Steve rolled up, and after some jokes and the arrival of Grattan, we started. That's it. Just headed off into the darkness. And it was awesome. Nobody was trying to win (though Frank and Sam pushed us all when in the lead!), no judging; everyone was there on a cold Saturday morning in the rain because they love it and they wanted to be there.

Eventually the group fragmented, some others joined, and small groups did their own thing. Me and Zach hit some nice hills and got 15.5 miles. But that's not what I'm writing about. Had it not been for my friends in this community, I would have slept in, talked myself out of running, and had a lazy Saturday. But instead I got to enjoy time on the mountain, build friendships, pee in the woods, and go to Waffle House with my friends.

I know this is a lame post and is not full of wild stories or a detailed race report. It's simple. It's plain. It's just Saturday morning. And that's what today's run was, and that's why this post fits. I am looking forward to many, many more group runs in Lynchburg. I felt helped and invited, and I hope everyone else did. Happy Saturday everyone.