Marathon Expo

I think my roommates here in Oklahoma think I am a little intense about this whole thing. When they arrived I had three restaurant suggestions, the expo schedule memorized and a highlighted map of shuttle stops, food places and local events. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I am totally a nerd about…well…just about everything. Including marathons, I guess.

I just don’t know how to do anything big (but a car, start a garden, pick out a bird feeder) without a ton of research. So I have researched this marathon and committed all of the essential details to memory. I am trying to tone it down a bit but it’s tough. I am super excited and super nervous and I respond to all of this with knowing and being excited about EVERYTHING there is to know and be excited about!

Naturally, I was super excited about the expo. I will get my bib number and chip have all of the things I need for the race. There will be maps to study and tons of marathon info. There will be running stuff for sale and product demos. There will be a whole lot of excited running people. There will be speakers including running legends (that I have realized only I know who they are. Joan Benoit Samuelson, Dick Beardsley, and Bart Yasso.) A marathon expo is a great place to be an excited runner.

I saw a little bit of Dick Beardsley’s talk and related to a few funny t-shirts (“running is a mental sport, and we are all insane” or “I am just doing this for the facebook photo.”) I am “all geeked out” about this. I totally buy into the whole running culture. I love it, Gu and all. And the expo was a place for me to fit in and celebrate that culture. I think we all enjoyed it. I also think my sister will continue to make fun of me for my enthusiasm and for years to come, it’s what she does (I was definitely with people that were not quite as excited about the expo as I was. Hard to imagine!) What can I say? The marathon is a weekend, not just a race. We might as well enjoy the ride and all of the cool gear, speakers and inspiration and quirky running culture stuff that comes with it.