The Walt Disney World Marathon is the kind of race to put in your bucket list to run once in your life time. No more than once I would say. It takes place in all 4 Disney parks in Orlando, in a time of the year, right after Christmas and New Year’s, when we eat the most and exercise the least. It feels more like a fun run than an actual competition, since there is a lot to see and it’s totally OK to do multiple stops to take pictures with the characters in the course.

Running is the most collective among individual sports. There is a sense of community and mutual support rarely seen in other sports. When we go for a run with friends or in a race, we feel that we are not alone, that going through the same struggle actually reinforces our bounds.

The same phenomenon happens all around the running event. Those who organize, volunteer, and watch such events also feel bonded among themselves and to runners. They also have the privilege of observing the runners, feel their body language, cheer for them, expecting nothing in return, still willing to assist with anything they need. I like to say that a runner will only understand the true meaning of running when they experience a day as a racer, as a spectator, as a volunteer, and as a organizer.

© Julie Schmidt

What is great about running is the variety of challenges we can sign up for. There are races of all distances, terrains, elevations, weather, and even all together in a single event. That’s the case of ENDURrun, a staged race that offers something different every day for 7 days. I had the privilege of competing at the Sport edition, which covers 80km of paved paths, trails, and track, in different locations around the Region of Waterloo. This is half the distance of the Ultimate edition, which occurs a month later, challenging runners to complete 100 miles in a week.

With a 200 m elevation gain and temperature above 20︒C, Calgary hosted a marathon as hard as Ottawa last year. I worked more on my acclimation to the warming weather this year, but it wasn’t enough to contain my profuse sweating. At least I was 25 minutes faster than that fateful Ottawa race, showing gradual progress over time. On the other hand, compared to the marathon I ran less than a month ago, it was a shame. Should I put all the blame on me?