Today was the nicest day, weather-wise, since I’ve been back in Poznań – sunny skies and temperatures promising to hit 42 by mid afternoon – perhaps the first day without snow flurries. The runners in this year’s half marathon couldn’t have asked for better weather. Our friend, Sławek, was partipicating, so we walked to the lake to watch for him as he passed by. After a while, we started to worry that we wouldn’t recognize him.
I may have been the only one with that thought. During a Susan G Komen 3-day, 60 mile walk, I remember waiting for our niece and her friends at an interesction. I didn’t see her and she didn’t see me. If it wasn’t for cell phones, we never would have connected. You know, all those exhausted people in their athletic gear, trying to suck in as much oxygen as possible. And if I’m perfectly honest, there’s a much more homogenous look to the population here.
We did catch a glimpse of Sławek and shout a word of encouragement as he went by. We saw some folks running in interesting costumes, from Pippi Longstocking to a guy in a business suit. Ed got some great photos that you can see on his blog.
This was the sixth annual half marathon. They had 7,650 entries and 6,800 runners (a 50% increase over last year!)
Kasia
Sounds like a great event! My friends were looking for me when I ran my first half in March. They were worried they would not see me – but I saw them, ran to them and gave them hugs:) It feels great to see familiar faces – all the cheering is really great and makes you feel good and helps.
Lois B
I can see an advantage to running in costume, your friends will see you.