All Downhill From Here

“There is no such thing as last. In every race, there is an invisible
crowd of thousands behind you who didn’t have the guts to start.”
– seen recently on a Penguin Yahoogroups message board

I often prefer to think of the last person in a race as an extremely necessary, important part of the event. They ARE, after all. We often make the joke around here “Someone has to be last, how else would we know the race is over?”, but it’s really not a joke if you’re the last person. It’s just a plain fact. One can take shame from it, be proud of it, or just accept it.

Many newer racers take on a sense of shame at being last, even go home from starting lines because they’re intimidated by a fast-looking crowd, but we Penguins know better. We know about all those folks snoozing at home, the injured, the afraid, the under-trained, those recovering from some other race or just not up to the course or the weather that day. We are not there to not-be-last. We are there to complete our chosen distance, do it the best we can, and be recognized at the clock and in the results for our training and ultimate effort.

Last summer I showed up for an “intimate” club race and finished last. I knew even before the race by looking at the crowd that I stood a good chance of closing the course on my own. I didn’t mind. It was my gift to all the other racers faster than me that day. I wouldn’t try to be last, but if the banner fell to me to carry, I would. The others would race and say “at least I wasn’t last” and I would carry the honour for the day.

“Honour?”, you say? Why yes, I believe it is. Just as only one can finish First, only one can finish Last. You aren’t done reading a book until you read the last chapter. You don’t finish a race until you’ve run the last mile. The opera isn’t over until the fat lady sings. You get the idea.

When I finished, EVERY racer had already finished and had the opportunity to cheer me in. I gave a huge whoop of joy as I approached the finish with a 10 minute PR!

I used to race for “not last”, but I have since learned that Last has it’s own dignity.