Voices of America

I have just got back from my US trip and about to head off to Singapore and Bangkok for the second of my four overseas work trips that I am undertaking in five weeks.

So many stories to relate about my week in the US (me at left on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington) but just have to tell this one, a really bizarre experience that probably belongs to one of those 'only in America' categories.

Walking to dinner a short walk from my Washington hotel I came across St Matthew's Cathedral. The Cathedral is a Washington landmark being among, other things, where JFK's funeral was held in 1963 and the spot where JFK junior poignantly saluted his dad's casket.

When I read the plague at the church describing this I also noticed a middle aged woman sitting alone at the top of the church steps (see steps in photo at right). I asked her why she was sitting there in the dark by herself and she told me that this is where she slept for night. I thought she was just another of Washington's homeless - which in fact she is but with a difference.

This woman - Jean was her name - was well dressed, clean, had polished nails, hair neatly done, and so on; not the typical picture for someone living on the streets. When she starting telling me that it was God's wish that she live on the the church steps and that this is what he had directed she should do I began to think I had a looney on my hands.

But as she continued to talk she explained ever so articulately how she was an adult convert to Catholicism, that she had moved away from her family to devote herself to the church, that she heard God's voices and that him and her talked to each other directly. I was having trouble coping with all this and my internal computer chip marked 'sceptic' was working overtime. Yet there was something about this incredibly articulate and attractive woman. I sat on those steps for a good 45 minutes or so going through the problems of the world and being impressed with her take on them and the church. Never in my life have I had a conversation such as this and I will never forget Jean.

I really struggled with the jet lag in the US and my running was of poor quality. But I did have a great run one morning at dawn (see the US Capitol building at left) where I also met a cute young Californian girl called Samantha. We had a lovely run together around the monuments and sites. She was a delight to talk to and it made me realise that us runners, no matter where we come from, share so much in common.

Anyway, I am about to head to off Asia. A trip to Europe is in the pipeline in a couple of weeks and then I am back to the USA in early November. All this travel and disruption is causing me to fall well behind on my reading of blogs. I also have my wonderful and beautiful family to thank for so much and especially for their patience for what is a very frenetic time. I really am thinking about all my blogland friends too and promise to try and catch up with you as soon as I can. Take care everyone.

Japan and the USA

I am on the road travelling for work again. I have just spent a day in Tokyo and am now in New York, typing this a few blocks from Times Square. I head down to Washington tomorrow and spend a few days there before heading back to Oz over the weekend.

I will try and post a couple of stories and some photos if I get the chance.

Because of my travels I am very behind in my blog reading. I promise to try and catch up with everyone's news as soon as I can.

When I arrived in New York tonight I had to ask directions. Turns out that the the random couple I asked were from Oz and - wait for it - from Canberra of all places. Here I am in this incredible city of 18 million people on the other side of the world and the first people I speak to just happen to come from my home town.

I am going to try and get in a run early tomorrow before the streets come alive.

Canberra Times Fun Run

Thank you so much everyone for your wonderful comments to my previous post. I was greatly touched by many of the things that you said. It just reinforced to me - not that I needed it - that there are many fantastic people in Blogland who are not just fellow bloggers and runners but special friends as well.

I ran the Canberra Times 10k fun run yesterday. I am not going to dwell on it because I had a shocker. It was a gorgeous Canberra day, and perhaps too gorgeous and too warm. I really felt the heat and struggled home in 41.50, almost a full minute slower than the last time I ran this race in 2004. I didn't enjoy the race, but I did, as always, enjoy the atmosphere of the day and loved catching up with everyone again. Just to feel the energy of the day is special in itself.

Lady runners

My Saturday group had another of its lovely runs on Saturday, this time revisiting familar ground at the Cotter Reserve. The group split into two at the start with some opting for a longer 24 km course, and others preferring a shorter 19 kms. It was long and tough no matter which starting point we chose.

The Cotter is simply a wonderul place for running. The trails seemingly go on forever and on Saturday we even had the blessing of a river crossing to contend with (below left). I swear the water in that river was piped direct from the snow country. It was that cold.

The Cotter is not an easy run. Yet, clearly as a group we are getting fitter and faster. As far as I could tell there was not a complaint to be heard about the run itself. Everyone just got in there and did it.

I don't know what it is about the Cotter but I seem to lose myself out there a bit and I came back reflecting on the qualities of women runners, who make up the majority in our group.

Women bring many gifts to this world, not least their intelligence, their intuition, their sensuality, their capacity for feeling and nurture. The ladies of the running world bring all this to running. And they bring more.

I delight in the watching the elite of this world, be they Kerry McCann or Norma "Lucky Legs" Wallet. At the other end of the spectrum are those members of the elite who never make the newspapers but are special just the same.

It's women who can teach us guys a new way of seeing beauty in the world. Think of the exqusite delight of the statue of Venus. This incredible sculpture is one way of seeing beauty. Yet then again look at the ladies in our group. They come with different backgrounds and approaches to this wonderful sport of ours, but all are incredibly fit and are equipped with levels of strength, grace, and enthusiasm that are beyond my words to describe.

I think that perhaps more than us males, running for women is simply a means to an end. Ladies love to run for the fitness and competition that running brings. But it seems to me they run - in stronger tones than us males - for the pleasure of sharing the experience with friends, new and old. I have heard so many times from my lady friends, "I only run for the coffee afterwards". Which I think is code for "I love running because it helps me bond more with my friends".

Running helps us get in touch with our feelings as perhaps few sports do - it helps us map our emotional countours. I just loved the following few words about one of the oldest emotions known to humanity:

"Love doesn't happen in an instant. It creeps up on you and then it turns your life upside-down. It colours your waking moments and fills your dreams. You begin to walk on air and see life in brilliant new shades. But it also brings with it a sweet agony, a delicious torture. It reduces one life to feverish meetings and pining in between." (Q and A, by Vikas Swarup)

If it wasn't for the female of the species we wouldn't be able to say such a thing. If it wasn't for the female runners of this world we wouldn't be able to say such a thing. And if it wasn't for the beautiful (in all its forms) women I have come across through my running that I would be able to say such a thing. Women give insight into what love in this world really means, whether it be in the capacity of one human to love another, a love of running, or a love of life itself.