Charleston, SC–annually voted as America’s Friendliest City–is also home to the 3rd largest 10K in the USA…which is how I found myself back in this city along with 40,000 or so others. Charleston and I have a long, complicated history. I enjoy doing a lot of things; running is not one of them, but in a flash of what I can only describe as temporary insanity, I signed up for the 10K. The thinking was that if I knew I was going to run a race, I’d train for it. Ummmm… not so much. I don’t enjoy running, and I enjoy cold weather less so October-ish was the last time I did any real training.
Part of my issue with running is that I get distracted by the scenery… and this is why I make a much better traveler than runner.
We were up much earlier than the sun to catch the shuttle boat from Charleston to Mount Pleasant.
the bridge in the frosty moonlight… it was right around freezing when we headed over to the starting line
we got to see the sun rise over Shem Creek before the race started
I am not a fast runner; my speed is on par with a pack of turtle running through molasses so by the time I started, the winner had already finished. Even my friend DJ was finished or close to it by the time I was off. Since the main draw of the race in running over the Cooper River bridge, the bridge is the focal point.
it is a beautiful and architecturally interesting bridge.
Eventually I put the camera away and concentrated on running. I finished at 1:30:59 which may seem slow, but considering I hadn’t run in over a YEAR, and had never run more than 3.5 miles at once, I am beyond thrilled at my time. Any excuse to travel is a good one.
Charleston is where I fell in love with travel. I vividly remember an elementary school field trip to visit Ft Sumter, Drayton Hall, and the historic battery. It’s a short boat ride out to the fort, but my imagination stirred–what if we keep going? Where will we end up? What was daily life in the 1700’s? 1800’s? 1900’s? As a self-professed history nerd, Charleston has everything. Pre-Revolutionary history all the way to today. Charleston is also where I fucked-up the best relationship I’ve ever been in. So now my relationship status with the city can only be described as “it’s complicated.”
While reminiscing through my history with the city, I ran, jogged, or walked my way through the 6.2-mile course, and when it was over, decided that this was one of the more stupid things I’ve ever done, and decided right then and there that this would be the first, and last 10K I completed.
Run baby run [Sheryl Crow] is what I kept telling myself over the course of the 6.2 miles
