Shufflin'

Today was the Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago and rather than try to run it, I decided to volunteer. I was a course coach for DetermiNation and it was a great experience.

As a course coach, my responsibility was to cheer on all the runners and look out for people in need of assistance. I went into it thinking I'd be a cheerleader with a bag of Band-Aids and Gatorade, but it was much more than that.

I had a chance to run with some inspiring people.

My station was at mile 2, which is just before the mid-point of the 8k. At first I thought most people would be breezing by at mile 2, but in reality, there were quite a few struggling. It made me think of my first race, when I was struggling to run 3 miles. Then I realized I could be a giant pain in some one's you-know-what if I don't pick the right people to motivate.

So, I made sure to really pay attention. Some people walk because they want to walk and the last thing they want it some peppy runner who is not sweating to get in their face and tell them to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Surprisingly, though, three people asked me to join them. One was an older man. He said "Coach! I need a partner!" So, out I went to join him.

When I asked him how he was doing, he smiled and said "I'm still running, so I guess I'm OK. Thanks for the company. I'm glad to have someone to run with."

He explained that he ran his first Shamrock Shuffle 20 years ago and it wasn't nearly as packed as it is today. This man had to be in his 60s and his attitude was fantastic.

That's the thing about a lot of runners. Even though running a sport where you perform individually, the running community is very supportive, laid back and upbeat. I'm sure the Olympians and elite runners go for the gold at every race, but the majority of people who run just want to do better than they did before.

As I've said many times before, I have been having a hard time getting into the swing of things. But, Thursday's "Flash" run and today's excitement reminded me why I love it so much.

Now I just have to keep this fire under my butt lit for the rest of the year.

Also, shout out to my friend +Amber Krosel for kicking the poop out of her last Shuffle time!