Running for the Hills

By Amy Coward

In just a few short weeks, I will be heading to Lexington, Kentucky to run my sixth half marathon. The seductive headline, “America’s Most Beautiful Half Marathon”, complete with photos of green pastures and champion horses, appeared in Runners World and I was registered just like that!

Some have asked me why Kentucky for a race? Was it the allure of the thoroughbreds? Was it the bourbon? Every race has its draw, I suppose. And thoroughbred farms are beautiful. They remind me of Central Florida where I grew up (yes, there are thoroughbred farms in Florida.) It’s great fun to travel out of town or even out of state to run a race, seeing new scenery, meeting runners from across the country. I’ve run in the Pennsylvania Amish Country, in the Midwest and even through Cinderella’s Castle at Walt Disney World. Destination running adds a whole new element to the experience.

The course description for the Kentucky race said “rolling hills with a few flat spots…exquisitely beautiful…challenging…and inspirational.” Who wouldn’t want to run that? The trouble is….I focused on the “exquisitely beautiful” part instead of the “few flat spots.” That’s code speak for crazy hilly and tough.

I was in big trouble.

I’m already not the fastest horse on the track (excuse the pun), but hills? They suck the life right out of me! The ugly elevation chart on my desk has reminded me daily of the cross-training and hill repeats I need to do. But since neither of those is very fun, I’ve decided to rely on a seriously good playlist to get me through. That’s logical, right?

As I start out the race facing the first hill (at mile 1, I might add), I’m hoping some KC and the Sunshine Band, “That’s the Way I Like It” will psyche me out a bit and make me feel less intimidated. You know, that positive thinking stuff. Or “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing” by Stevie Wonder. When I face the 2-mile incline at mile 5, I’ll need “Mr. Big Stuff…Just Who Do You Think You Are?” to keep me going.  At mile, 11, I’ll likely be singing along to “Whether You’re a Brother or Whether You’re a Mother…You’re Stayin’ Alive, Stayin’ Alive” (doubting every minute of it). And by mile 12, when I’m completely out of steam and still facing the last mile home, I’ll be counting on Michael Jackson’s “Beat It…You Better Run. Better Do What you Can…” to carry me in.

The dichotomy is not lost on me – tranquil fields in my view and blasting pop music in my ears. But, hey, you do what you must to finish, right?

As I cross the finish line, the pain of the hills will all be behind me. I’ll be able to turn my attention to the crowds, the big shiny medal around my neck and the beautiful flat ground beneath me.

Then, and only then, I may say, “What hills?” Then, “I’ll have a bourbon, please!”

Amy Coward is a public relations professional in Columbia, SC. When she is not managing the madness of event planning at Palmetto Health Foundation, she is turning her empty nest upside down looking for fun and finding it.

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