British London 10K

From my fundraising website at http://www.justgiving.com/medotoole:

"In June 2011, I was fortunate enough to run a 10K in Paris while studying abroad. I had never run a full 10K before, but I beat my PR 5K time during the first half of the race, and again on the second leg.

I have never been more proud of myself in my whole life, and from the moment I crossed the starting line, I was hooked. The atmosphere of the race, the enthusiasm of the other runners--and yes, the French can be very nice people--and the comradery among everyone present was awe-inspiring.

Now, just over a year later, I aspire to run another 10K on my second study abroad trip to London.  On the eve of the 2012 Olympics, it is my hope to pound the pavement--or should I say cobblestones!--in another of the world's largest and oldest cities. After my running experience in Paris, I felt a true sense of 'community' with those who lived and worked in my arrondissement. Although I will be living in and studying at Oxford(!) and not directly in London, I still expect to find a connection with the 25,000 other runners at the race in sharing a true "local" experience. For more information on the British London 10K, please see their website at: http://www.thebritish10klondon.co.uk.  Be prepared to be (very) jealous; the race route is unparalleled for its famous sites.

In addition, running the British London 10K will give me an opportunity to give back to the greater London community. STUBS, the organization for which I am fundraising, gives back to service men and women injured in Afghanistan by sponsoring their attendance at various sporting events. Athleticism is an enriching and rewarding part of my life, and sharing this joy with some of the UK's finest is a very worthy cause."

Written over a month ago, this passage explains my experience running in Paris last summer and my enthusiasm at the prospect of running in London.

Today, that dream became a reality.

This morning, I joined 30,000(!!!!!) other runners on the streets of London to raise money for over 35 different charity organizations. I'll have to admit that the crowd was, at time, a little overwhelming (the professional runners finished the race before I even started!), but I also felt that there was a sense of camaraderie among the runners. I actually met a woman from the States who's mother lives in Myrtle Beach! What a small world... 

I also met some lovely British runners. As it turns out, many of the people on the 6:10 bus from Oxford to London were also running the race. It was really neat to see how smaller communities join together to take part in a large event, such as this race. There were also many running teams who flew in from all over the world to participate in the race. 

The event was somewhat poorly organized--they almost ran out of metals!--and we waited in line for over an hour to start the race. (For future events, I wish Nike would consider start waves, where you start with other people in your timing bracket.) Nevertheless, the London scenery made up for the confusion. Big Ben, Parliament, the London Eye, Westminster, Whitehall, Trafalgar Square, Marble Arch, and the Thames provided a first-class backdrop for a race, and although it was 60 degrees and raining virtually the whole time, I had a great run.

I now feel like I know my way around at least one corner (albeit a very important corner!) of London, and I feel as if I've built some history with the city. I'm not just another tourist. In running for STUBS, I really do feel as if I was able to give back to the greater London community. It made me proud to run for a great cause, vs. running purely for self-interest. Grant it, fund-raising wasn't something I was initially prepared for, but I was SUPER fortunate that my allergist--Dr. Mark Schecker of Coastal Carolina Allergy--agreed to sponsor me for the race. 

Now that I've run both for an organization and as an individual runner, running for charity adds a whole new dimension to the race. One of the teams supported Saudi Arabian Women's Rights. Another team was to help prevent male suicide. It was eye-opening to see the variety of organizations represented at the race, in addition to other runners' personal connections with the charities. There were many Alzheimer's signs that read "Running for Nana. We miss you." and many runners with a picture of a cancer patient and a message attached to the back of their shirt. Thinking about these patients, the wounded STUBS soldiers, and special olympics athletes (one of the other charities) during the race made me all the more grateful A) for my good health and general well-being B) being able to physically participate in the race. There was one man participating in the race who walked the whole thing leaning on a cane. There were several other autistic runners, as well as those who weren't in the best physical condition. Seeing those others on the course was an inspiration to not only keep running but to never give up. If they don't have an excuse to quit, I don't either. (Not that I was looking for one, but still. A reality check never hurts.)

So, thank you to Dr. Schecker and STUBS for helping me become a part of this great event. Who knows where I will run next! Regardless, I am now a 2x international runner!

I did it!

City Smarts

Is it possible to fall in love with something all over again, even when you never stopped loving it?

I think so.

Because today, I fell in love with Paris all over again.

When I first arrived in the city, I felt a little disjointed, as if I didn’t belong. Or as if I didn’t quite have my ‘city smarts’ anymore.

I realized on the train to le centre de Paris that one of the things I love so much about metropolitan life, especially in Paris, is that it challenges your pre-conceived assumptions about people. I found myself wary of many of the men belonging to a minority at the train station, I had to laugh at myself. Here I was, a short white girl from Myrtle Beach, SC (needless to say, NOT a big city in any sense of the word) in one of the most dangerous parts of Paris. And I had to laugh at myself because I realized that in order to survive in the city, you have to let go of those hesitations and co-exist with everyone, regardless of nationality, orientation, religion, or skin color. Otherwise you’ll drive yourself mad.

Ironically, it wasn’t one of the men of whom I was initially suspicious who tried to steal my luggage.

Luckily, I still had my city smarts about me, for I was sitting on the now-crowded train with my suitcase sitting parallel to me, close to my body, my purse strung across me and sitting on my lap, with my bookbag on the outside of my lap, with the zippers locked resting in my hand, and pulled tightly shut.

To kill the suspense, nothing ended up happening, but I noticed two men get on the train together; one stood in front of me, and the other went to sit down about two rows behind me. By a stroke of luck, I saw the man standing in front of me make eye contact with someone behind me, lower his eyes, and ever so slightly shake his head. It was as if he was saying, “Nope, we can’t get this one."

Damn right you can’t get this one. I’m not stupid enough for that.

Nevertheless, it was an eye-opener (and reminder) that I was in a large metropolitan area, and it kickstarted my hypervigilance into full gear. So thank you, would-be robber for my ‘Bienvenue à Paris.’