13.1 Miles of _________.

This Saturday, June 4th, 2011 thousands of people will be running through the streets of South Bend for the Sunburst Races and I will be one of them. In 2010 I ran the 5k. This year I decided to add an extra 10 miles to that.

The gun goes off and a mile into the race there is an eery lack of conversation. Thousands of people are in the streets and all that you can hear is heavy breathing and footsteps in unison. Looking around you imagine yourself in a post-apocalyptic world, the streets devoid of cars, the tall downtown buildings looming above.

The endorphines begin to surge, tiny bumps like a plucked bird's skin appear on your arm, and you can imagine how easy it would be to abandon your civility. You start to envision yourself as some sort of animal, devoid of everything but raw unexpressionable emotions . You don't know what you're running from, but you're all running together, in a herd and it feels amazing. You look at those lagging behind and you know that if a predator gave chase, you would not be the one that it's claws and teeth sink in to.

After 13.1 miles of asphalt, Gatorade, and sweaty camraderie, I will collapse onto the cool green grass of the Notre Dame football field, able to call myself a half-marathoner.