Run through History
March 19, 2006
Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans

The weather was great in the old cemetery on Sunday morning. The sun was shining and the wind was blowing through the leaves. Every face seemed to have a smile on and it sure felt like it was going to be a great day at around 8AM, while most other people were still in bed. I had been there once before, for the race, and I knew about the maze-like, dizziness inducing, mind-boggling course around the old race track and between the multiple rows of graves but I did not let that bother me this time. I was just waiting for the race to start. It was just another 5K and yet, like any other race, it was unique.

The one-mile race warm-up was a good opportunity to see who was there and to chat with my car-pooling friend, it also gave me a chance to appreciate the beauty of that incredible landmark. So, after the 1 mile run, my goals were set, I was warmed up and pumped up to run my best race ever. I even had my eyes on some competition, younger and older.

Unlike my previous races, this one did not start like a stampede and I found myself almost where I belonged as soon as I took the first of many turns. After a mile, all that mattered was to keep up with my pack, mainly composed of runners who had out-smarted me in the past, because I wasn't able to maintain the wild pace of the first mile and finish strong. It mattered so much that I almost forgot about the difficult course. In the end, things were different that Sunday when I rushed through the finish line, slightly ahead of my competition and not so far behind another group of runners I've been getting closer to for some time now. I realized I've come a long way since I timidly ran my first race about six years ago and since I started running almost nine years ago in Canada.

Within the next hour, as we were leaving the dead behind us, my friends and I talked about running and life like we always do and I realized it was a special time in our lives and that we were lucky to be able to enjoy every second of it. The pressure was off, until the next race at least.