Charmed and Ready

By Amy Coward

Well the big day is finally here. Tomorrow I will attempt to run my second full marathon and I’m as nervous as the first time. I’ve done everything I can to prepare, but I still have the pre-race jitters.

In order to be successful, many athletes, including runners, have rituals or good luck charms they claim help them to succeed. Runners, in particular, stick to specific tried and true routines the last few days before a race, never trying or wearing anything new the day of the race. There’s a lot of common sense in that. You don’t want to wear new shoes that will cause a blister or a new shirt that might chafe. And you certainly don’t want to eat some new food that might upset your stomach.  But some things are more like superstitions – -they probably don’t really affect success. Or do they? Athletes and fans swear by them, that’s for sure.

My nephew, an avid Florida Gator fan, insists that his Gator helmet be on the mantel during every game in order for the Gators to win. (Apparently, he forgot to put it there until last week’s Georgia game.) Football teams rub rocks, shout chants and claim their mascots are lucky. Baseball players spit in their hand before picking up the bat. Basketball players bounce the ball before taking a foul shot. Bowlers wear the same clothes to continue a winning streak. The list is endless.

In light of my upcoming race, I polled some of my running friends recently to see what brings luck for them. They ranged from sweet to silly but all were sworn to help. One runner carries her mother’s coffee scoop; another carries beads of courage. One has four-leaf clover shoe charms; another has rainbow underwear she swears by. One carries her late husband’s dog tags; another races only with her buddies. As for me, I’ve never liked putting all my eggs in one basket so on race day I’ll have lucky charms from head to toe. My lucky headband says 26.2. My shoe charm sparkles 26.2. My late father’s handkerchief will be tied to my fuel belt. And then there are my lucky pants.

Every time I’ve worn this certain pair of pants, I’ve had a good run. In fact, once after a 17-mile training run, my husband met me at the finish when I was still running strong and exclaimed, “You’re a beast!” Now for a non-athlete like me, those were the most beautiful words I had ever heard. So these pants are really a must on race day.

Most every runner I’ve encountered, including coaches and authors on the subject, has said that distance running is largely a mind game. What you tell yourself is what you’ll achieve. Positive imagery, like visualizing the finish line, will help you get there. And after running several races, I can see where that makes a difference. If you start telling yourself you’re tired, you’re toast. And if you tell yourself that rainbow underwear will give you luck, I would wager they will.

I’m planning to use all my resources tomorrow. I’ve trained for months. I’ve read articles written by all the best runners. I’ve even forced myself to rest these last few days despite how antsy I’ve been. It would be nice if I could be like Samantha in Bewitched and just twitch my nose and appear at the finish line. Or evaporate into thin air like Jeannie and relax in my bottle until it’s over.  But that’s not going to happen.

At dawn tomorrow, I’ll be surrounded by more than 17,000 runners who will start this 26.2 mile journey hoping they’ve got what it takes to finish. Some will do so easily. But most will be counting on something inside to carry them. And some will have a good luck charm to assure them. Call me silly, but I’ll have several and I may just write “beast” on my hand for good measure.