The Race I’ve Been Looking Forward to Since Last Year
Here's something I want to be clear about: the hunger cues thing, the clean-your-plate conditioning, all of it—that's not a phase I'm working through so I can check a box and move on. It's ongoing. Some weeks it's front and center, some weeks I barely think about it, and this week I'm thinking about something else entirely, which is honestly part of the point. Life doesn't pause the rest of itself while you work on one thing. You just keep living while you're figuring it out.
And what I'm thinking about this week is Secret City.
I've been looking forward to this race since last year. Last year, I wasn't conditioned to run the half, only the 5K. Though that was the right choice physically, I really wanted to run the half. I lined up for the 5K and watched the half marathon runners peel off onto their longer route, and I'm not going to pretend I didn't feel a little pull toward following them. I wanted the extra distance. I wanted to know what my legs could do over 13.1 instead of 3.1. But I hadn’t built for a half-marathon, and risking my joints for one race wasn't worth it. So I ran my 5K, cheered for the half marathoners at the finish, and told myself: next year.
Well, it's next year. And in between, I ran a whole marathon—the first person in my entire bloodline to ever do it. So this half doesn't compete with anything this time. It's not a detour from a bigger goal anymore. It's just the next one, and I get to actually run it instead of watching from the sidelines wishing I was out there.
A few reasons why I'm so excited! First, it's fall, which in Tennessee means the weather actually cooperates for once. After a summer of running through triple-digit heat indexes, there is nothing—nothing—like a cool morning start. Your lungs work differently. Your legs feel like they belong to you again. Second, the people. Secret City has a genuinely great atmosphere, the kind where strangers cheer for you like they know you, and honestly, after training through a hard summer, I need that kind of energy at a finish line.
Mostly, though, it's just my next big thing. The next mountain, so to speak. I've spent this year working through a lot—some of it running-related, some of it not—and Secret City is the goal sitting out there on the calendar that I get to actually run toward. Not away from anything. Toward an even bigger, longer goal.
And honestly, Secret City isn't even where this ends. There's something bigger already taking shape for early next year. I'm not ready to talk about it yet because it's not fully locked in. But it's there, sitting just beyond this one. Secret City is the stepping stone, not the destination.
More on the training coming soon—message me if you’re interested!
-bk
If you also want to run with us in Oak Ridge on November, 14th, use this link to sign up! We want 1,500 runners!