Saving My Bucket List
I have been building my bucket list of races for almost as long as I have been a runner. It is hard not to add to that list when you surround yourself with runners and immerse yourself in running communities both virtually and in real life. Some of my bucket list races are still on the list because, although I have applied over and over again, I have still not been accepted. One is on the list because I kept thinking this would be the year I would qualify and I never did. And some are still there just because I hadn't gotten around to them yet when I got injured last fall.
The End of The List
In the last few months, I have found myself toggling between despair because I know those races will never be run and daydreaming that something would change. I have finally stopped the toggling and found myself, last week wallowing in my despair. Woe is me.
The Solution To My Bucket List Dilemma
But then last week, after speaking with my friend Karen, I realized I don't have to give up the list. No, I can't run them, but that doesn't mean I can't experience them.
This fall, I will be heading to Bar Harbor, Maine, one of my favorite places on earth to volunteer for a race that has been on my bucket list for well over ten years, the Mount Desert Island Marathon. Although I have had this planned for months I had not considered volunteering for others.
Building Excitement
Since this idea of volunteering for my bucket list marathons entered my head last week I find myself excited once again. I spent most of friday going through the list, trying to decide how I can make each one more special by volunteering. I day dreamed of being bike support for Big Sur, registration and finish line support for the crème de la crème of all races, the Boston Marathon, manning a water stop in Manhattan for the NYC Marathon. Oh, the possibilities that have been raised by this new adventure.
And while we are at it, why not hit my triathlon bucket list as well, starting with Ironman Maryland and ending with Kona? And how about the Bay Bridge Swim?
It is so easy to fall into despair. It is easy for me to miss running, regret the races I could have run, and simply walk away from the sport all together but I won't do that. I love running too much. I love the people I have met through this sport. I love the race experience from start to finish. And I have always, always loved the volunteers.
It just makes sense for me to become one.