See Barrage Run

On Sunday, Daniel, Phil, Kiana, Kristina and I ran the Harbor Half Marathon in Corpus Christi, TX.

I must admit, I thought Kiana was crazy in August when she suggested the idea of running a half marathon during tour. Having previously run two half marathons on break from tour, it seemed to me, given our busy touring schedule, the rigorous training required to prepare for one would not only be nearly impossible to complete, time-wise, but it would also have the potential to really injure someone.

Having finished it, though, I'm glad to report that it is indeed possible to train for and compete in a half marathon while on tour with this band!

After the race! L to R: me, Phil, Kristina, Kiana and Daniel.

In some weird way, I think it brought the five of us closer together, in that we had a goal on which we were collectively focusing, completely outside the realm of what we do in our daily Barrage existence. Kristina had made shirts for each of us with the Barrage "B" on the front and our last names on the back, so we even felt like a team when we were on the course. Plus, Daniel had the great idea to turn the race into a opportunity to collect money for a charity, so we've spent quite a bit of time focusing on raising money for Josh Groban's Find Your Light Foundation, an arts education non-profit that is doing some amazing work across the US and Canada.

While I met neither of my personal goals for the race, I'm still pleased with my run given the difficulty of the course!

Feeling cheeky for a race photographer around mile five. (More importantly, this was before we had to cross that giant bridge in the background for a second time.)

The race reminded me, though, how much I love running for its community. It somehow manages to be incredibly supportive and inspirational even in a seemingly competitive atmosphere, and simultaneously draws people from all walks of life: young, old, big, small, rich, poor.
 
If you've not run in a race before, especially a longer one, it's quite common to make "running buddies" out on the course. Usually, these are people next to whom you find yourself for a portion of the race, but sometimes you just end up speaking to them during it.
 
I had a short conversation with one girl next to whom I ran for a good 3/4 of the race, and there was an incredibly built guy who gave incredibly-not-built me encouraging words when I had succumb to fatigue and was walking up a part of the bridge. These types of interactions, however short, take on a greater significance when everyone is collectively hitting mental walls and pushing themselves.

But, my favorite running buddy was this guy who pulled up next to me around mile nine.

From behind he hollered, "Morris! I'm sick and tired of seeing your shirt in front of me! Won't you just let me pass you?! Cut me a break!" I laughed, and said, "Well, you'll probably get a chance here coming up. I'm not feeling very well." His response? "Yeah, I'm not feeling well either...I went out drinking last night and have a hangover."

Later, about 100 yards from the finish line, I saw him walking with his two young children, finisher medal already around his neck. I shouted out to him, "Hey! What happened?! Where did you go?!" He yelled back, "I pushed ahead, man! You're almost there! Finish strong!"

And with those final encouraging words from my hungover, tattooed friend with gold in his teeth, I sprinted to the finish line.