BOLDERBoulder 10K race

I ran the BOLDERBoulder 10K race on Memorial day last month. And as always it was an experience I will always cherish. The race that started in 1979 has grown in momentum and size by leaps and bounds over the years with over 50K participants from all over the world.? It was my 5th BOLDERBoulder. Before you jump into any conclusions let me clarify that I am not a runner. I didn't participate in this race to beat some personal records. Over the years this race has made a special place in my heart and mind. Something inside me nudges me to do it every year. So, this year I was pondering over what it is that makes me want to do it every year. I was especially curious because I don’t have any friends who are particularly excited about participating in this either. Then what is it that attracts me to participate?

Just the thought of participating in the BOLDERBoulder makes me smile. It brings me an inner joy that some might find ridiculous. This year I decided to really dig deep into this experience and find my own answers for why I feel this way. This is what I now know.

In the simplest form, BOLDERBoulder gives me HOPE. Hope for a better future. This race brings together hundreds of thousands of people. Some who are participating in this race and others who are there to help and cheer their friends, family and even complete strangers along the way. As the gun goes off and the waves of people start to run, there is a sense of exhilaration, joy, passion, courage, belonging, excitement and so much more. This year I was accompanied by my husband and my 21-year-old daughter. We are all at different paces so on the sound of the starting gun we all set out through the roads of Boulder experiencing the race in our own unique ways. Very early on I noticed that the smile on my face just would not fade. I caught myself smiling constantly.? Around me was a sea of people, everyone on their own journey.

A family of two dads accompanied by two little girls. Both the dads dressed up in pretty pink tutus cheering the girls on to keep doing their best. Sticking together, at the pace of those little girls with a wide smile. Being playful and encouraging the girls to do the same. It was a hot day, it was a tough course, even tougher for those tiny 5-year-old feet, but through the smiles and laughter, those dads were teaching the little ones the most important lesson of life. That life will not always be a bed of roses, but a positive attitude and a smile on your face will almost always make it better. Life is too short to be taken very seriously! Your smile not only gives you the courage and strength to keep going but it also helps those around you to do the same. Just like the giggles and laughs of those little girls and the silly dancing by the dads helped me forget all the aches and pains my body was experiencing and made it just a little easier to keep going. A few yards away, a young girl, maybe 17 or 18 years of age was complaining to her dad that her digital watch had unexpectedly stopped working. It had stopped recording her times and she was visibly upset. Her voice displayed a clear sense of disappointment. Her dad calmly asked her to reset it and start recording from that minute forward. The only thing she could do was to take control from that minute onwards, hit the reset button, and keep going forward. Just like in life, there is no point lamenting over what has already happened, what matters is how to respond to the situation. It doesn’t matter how many times you fall, what matters is how many times you will stand up and keep moving forward. That’s the vibe of BOLDERBoulder for me.

Just as I was crossing mile marker four, I noticed an elderly gentleman walking with his body quite tilted to the left. On looking closer I realized he had a walking stick in the right hand and seemed to be paralyzed on the left side. It was one of the most amazing examples of grit and determination I have ever seen. He was beaming with pride as he put one foot in front of the other and kept going. Not stopping even for a moment.? He wasn’t competing with anyone; he was only displaying the ultimate act of self-empowerment. Taking control of your own limiting beliefs and saboteurs. No one and nothing could stop him. People were clapping and cheering him on while finding their own strength as they crossed him. He had an aura around him that is hard to explain, he just kept going. Inspiring everyone along the way to do their best.

One of the highlights of the race has always been the countless cheerleaders along the entire route. And I am not talking about the amazing fellow runners who are cheering you on. I am talking about the countless people standing on the side lines, clapping as you pass them, hosing the runners down with the water sprays to cool you down on the hot sunny day, folks holding huge inspirational billboards, the musicians jamming in several spots along the route making it so much easier to keep going as we tap and dance to their upbeat tunes. The several families who serve water, Gatorade, beer, strawberry’s, chips, energy bars and so much more to the runners. The belly dancers who danced in the hot sun just to spread joy and happiness. There were little kids as young as two-year old along the side lines giving flying kisses. Holding their little palms forward to greet everyone who will engage them, with a huge smile and a solid high 5. In these moments you forget things like discrimination, race, jealousy, fear and other negativity that plague our society. Here at the BOLDERBoulder, we are all together. This gives me hope for a better tomorrow. A hope that we are raising a generation to respect the oneness of all human kind, with a belief that we are all made the same.? That our future generation will see everyone as equal without the lens of ethnicity, social status, color, or anything that divides us. And all they will know is that the only way to cheer yourself up is to cheer others up. And the only way to rise is by lifting others along the way.

This is what BOLDERBoulder 10K means to me!