Lure of the Loincloth

Beach to Bay is just a mere 12 weeks away (12 weeks from last Saturday to be exact). What is Beach to Bay you ask? For quite a few locals, it's the only reason all year that they peel their butts away from the couch. Some even put in a few weeks of training to prep for the 6 legged relay marathon. Each year the organizers let it grow just a little bit larger, so that in most recent years the city ends up with about 9000 runners/walkers struggling through the heat and wind to finish their leg of the run. Some of the runners are so serious about how they do in the relay that they practically take applications from potential runners; as well as, require oaths that team members will give every ounce of exertion for the team come race day to ensure maximum placement in the racing category. For the most part, I have always kind of fell somewhere in between the two extremes. Okay, I've probably been closer to the competitive side but I've never taken an application. However, there was the one year our team missed it's projected time and I found it necessary to interigate my fellow team members to find the guilty party. For your future reference, it's always the one who isn't quite sure what their time was because they forgot to start their Polar until a mile or so into the run.

So where does the lure of the loincloth come from? Well...In December, I found myself running a half marathon in town shortly after I finished reading "Born to Run". If you've never read it, pick up a copy because the only reason you'll want to put it down is to go run. So I'm running my half, getting into my groove, holding my form, and imagining myself on the endurance hunt just as Christopher McDougall writes in the book. I didn't see myself running down Ocean Drive but instead across the African plains with spear in hand. Running my prey to exhaustion just as our ancestors most likely did it. That's when I started thinking that it would be awesome to run my leg of the Beach to Bay Relay Marathon with nothing but warpaint, a spear, and a loincloth. Can you believe my wife wasn't excited to hear that? Still I stand undeterred. So with Beach to Bay just a mere 12 weeks away (12 weeks from last Saturday to be exact), I find myself in the market for a brand new loincloth.