GENUINE COMMUNITY

To the zoo and back.
Up John Hextall Bridge, to 85th and underneath the tracks.
Up and down the hill.
Up and down the hill.
Flies and mosquitoes as my snack.

It's June, and it looks like it's snowing,
Poplar trees sneeze out cotton snowflakes when the wind starts blowing,
Up the nose, in the mouth.
Up the nose, in the mouth.
Must stop running, because now I'm choking.

This sums up most of my runs in the past couple of weeks as the marathon quickly approaches, whether it's a short run, hill repeats, Fartleks (no farting involved) or long runs. The geese have stopped hissing, as I notice the young'uns are nowhere to be seen, probably off learning how to fly.

I was out for my long run this weekend, a 35 km route that was sure to take me to "the wall". It was a quiet morning and I was going at a decent clip, just enjoying the solitude. There are a few segments of the Bow River Pathway that split into 2 sections. A narrower path that has a pictorial sign indicating no bikes or blades allowed. Then there is a wider path with a yellow dividing line, headed by a pictorial sign showing a person in forward motion (one foot in front of the other, arms swinging) with a big, red circle/slash around it. I interpret this as "no pedestrians" on this wider path. What a brilliant idea! Except, on this particular morning, I was informed that my understanding of this system was incorrect!

I have this habit (though probably a detriment to a better finishing time) where I wave to all runners that run towards me. It's meant to be a gesture of encouragement and camaraderie. As I was running on the "no pedestrian" side, there was another runner coming towards me on the "no bikes, no blades" side. I waved to him just as he shot out "you're on the wrong side!" to me. That took me by surprise because 1. people don't usually shout a response back to my greeting (usually it's just a smile or a return wave) 2. his tone was very terse. And then I went from being shocked to being angry. I would expect something like this if I was blocking a large portion of the wider pathway, posing a hazard to passing cyclists and bladers. Or if I was distracted from my running by talking on a cell phone (which I have seen), thus creating a danger to those near to me. I tried to understand the motivation of what seemed to me an increasingly silly remark.

Strange, the things that people will rise up to. Whether it's which way the toilet paper should sit on a roll, a silly movie based on a silly book, or "which side of the pathway you're running on". Is it that people need a cause in order to feel like they're contributing to the community? Or do people actually feel more "in community" when they are able to exclude others. I'd like to think that the real essence of community is more about making oneself vulnerable to those around you, so that others can adopt your joys and pains. If this is a valid definition, instead of relying solely on membership, then how many of us are actually in community? What a lonely world we live in... These ideas were galvanized in a recent message by Jeremy Duncan at Westside King's Church: Christ-like Community

I am embarrassed to admit that this had me steamed for most of this long run. Ironically, the mulling of this incident may have been a blessing in disguise. For it made the time pass rather quickly and I never did encounter "the wall" after 35km and finished in good time. So, I think I've discovered something! I need someone to get me worked up at the starting line!