Last night I was invited to be a part of the BlackToe Running Great Equalizer Run. I woke up with a full heart, met some new running friends, and cannot wait to be apart of another equalizer event.
What’s an Equalizer Run? It is an event where everyone starts at staggered interval such that everyone is finishing at almost the exact same time. The slowest person heads out first, the fastest person leaves the starting area last and everyone else filters in between. It takes a lot of care and organization by the event organizers to ensure that everyone is seeded correctly. The idea is that anyone can win the event – hence “equalized,” since everyones’ predicted finish time brings them across the tape at the same time.
Mike and Maya Anderson, owners and operators of BlackToe, brought together their run groups last night to participate in one of these events. Mike organized the times and Maya sent them off. Eric Bang started with the first runners, paused at the turn-around with Phaedra Kennedy and myself, and then ran back with the fastest runners. Phaedra and I, after cowbelling at the turn-around, hoped on our bikes cheering for every participant as we passed them on the way back, and made it back to the finish line to watch the runners come en masse to the finish line.
It was really incredible to watch the runners all start to gather together towards the end. The event was made even more special hearing all the various people cheer for their teammates old and new as they passed each other on the out and back and eventually caught up with each other. Runners who were out with injuries (myself included) were able to participate in other ways that made us feel equally a part of the group.
If you’re group is looking for a really fun way to bring together a workout, I highly encourage you to host on your own #GreatEqualizerRun.
Photographs by Edison Yao.
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