Running Commentary

The final page in Runner’s World magazine is a feature titled “I’m a Runner,” which spotlights famous people and tells about the running side of their lives. Well, today I am a famous person (if only in my mind) and feeling like I can once again say, “I’m a Runner.” Saturday I did the Jingle Bell Dash in my role as a coach with my running club’s beginning class. The temperature at the San Pablo Dam Reservoir, site of the Dash, was 34 degrees when I arrived around 8 am. Brrrr. Cold but crisp and beautiful. I was able to complete the 5K (3.1 miles) without pain—even ran farther than that because I was jogging back and forth among the students. Marco, Cheryl, Marcia, and Mary Ann (see r.) collected some hardware for their great performances in the Dash. Santa was on hand. Oh, come on. Why not? Then today! Remember at the beginning of my injury saga how I mourned the mobility I had taken for granted BP (Before Piriformis)? I posted a picture of the UC business school building as a

Winter is a dark time, no doubt about it. Which, oddly enough, makes it a time of light. These days I am back to running before dawn (jog/walking, really), and the salient feature of running through dark streets is the brightness of the lights. Surely the dead of December is what inspired the pagans (there's a prejudicial word for you) to celebrate with ceremonies of light. The air has been so crisp and clear. I've been tempted lately to try to photograph seasonal lights--a bad idea when I'm armed only with a camera phone. Monday early, after completing a fairly pain-free four miles, as I stretched at my favorite stone wall I was lucky to notice I was myself being noticed. Winter, a time for starry skies and inky black cats. Also a time for the city to get dolled up in lights. For the first time in a long time, I feel a bit of Christmas spirit animating my outlook. Sleigh bells ring--am I listening? I'll try to listen Saturday at the Jingle Bell Dash 5K . I'm runnin