Winning is the Warming Cape — The Lexington Line

Every time I have accidentally come across a marathon, I am instantly in tears. It is the rawest form of community and beauty wrapped into the form of watching people run around a corner. If you’ve never experienced a marathon, you may think of it as an inconvenient way the city is closing main roads and doesn’t seem sensical to watch random people run.

But someone did something right on the marathon’s PR team. Every time I've been to a marathon (never on purpose by the way) it's been hundreds, even thousands of people packed along the street, holding signs, yelling with joy, supporting not only who they came there for, but every person along the way. It's loud in support, in joy, and in community.

You go to a marathon likely to support one person, or maybe you just stumble across the path like I have many times. Either way, you know the amount of work, the amount of blood sweat and tears these runners put into getting to this moment.

Running is such a point of community between all humans because there is not one human that hasn’t run. Running is possibly the most natural and inherent thing about us, and it’s also something that every person has experienced some kind of pain and/or emotion attached to this sport. Therefore, it’s a point where every person can relate. Relate to pain, the motivation, the fear, and the satisfaction.

The day after the New York City marathon, I saw around forty people wearing either their finishing medal, that blue or maroon windbreaker, or even their warming cape. Many of those times I overheard an interaction between that person and a stranger, the stranger congratulating them.

A marathon is perhaps the only form (or the closest form) of public community we have anymore. Such little things happen within the public forum, leaving us lacking relationships, community, even just talking. A marathon is a beautifully positive experience, one that maybe used to be regular, but definitely seems irregular in today’s social climate.

Source: Sophia Whitsett
Remnants of the marathon

While the illusion of choice gives us the opportunity to explore any niche we could imagine, it may be bringing us apart from our peers. Coming together to celebrate committing to something extremely challenging is a beautiful and unsought idea.

Do you think we should have more activities within the public forum? Leave a comment below.