The Wicked Running Register June 2012 • Priceless
EST. JAN 2010
Tales From the Mountain Top From Julie Arrison: I had the luck and the privilege of winning the Mount Washington lottery with a team of friends. Jokingly, I said I won the worst lottery in the world, but there was definite excitement, too. Three-anda-half years ago, if someone asked if I thought I would run more than a 5K, let alone up the tallest peak in New England, I would have laughed off the suggestion, but as my priorities and goals have changed over the years in regards to running, Mount Washington seemed to be a perfect race to conquer. Within a week after Boston, I talked with some friends who had run the race in the past and they shared tips, tricks, and places to get some workouts in, although they warned the workouts would never really prepare me for what Mount Washington actually was. Week after week, while my friends jaunted off into Lynn Woods for their fun, yet difficult, Saturday morning runs, I was trying to repeat gate to Stone Tower multiple times. I was missing my D5K on Wednesdays while another friend and I tried to take advantage of the late spring light and cool temperatures while slogging up to Stone Tower, gathering ourselves at the top, and doing it over again and again and again. When sickness struck in late May, I figured it wouldn’t throw off my training too much. In my forced rest period of antibiotics and codeine, my body got the rest it never got after Boston training and when I started to feel better and breathe better, I assumed that the run
and my month-and-a-half of training would just spring back. Much to my surprise, it didn’t and the loss of legs and the lungs took their toll on me while I ran, then walked, then shuffled my way up the 7.62 mile auto road. Though it sounds over dramatic, there were times when I thought, “Falling off the edge wouldn’t be so bad,” or “I wish the sweeper car would come and take me the rest of the way,” or “I’m going to stop and let my friends pick me up on the way down.” As I started seeing a stream of runners come down the mountain with smiles on their faces, followed by cars coming down the mountain, full of runners with smiles on their faces, I looked at my watch. I realized I wasn’t going to make the cutoff. All feelings of pride were gone along with a steady stream of oxygen to my lungs and blood to my legs. Over the weekend, we stayed in a house with some friends who are not in the club and spent a part of our weekend trying to convince them why they should join the club and what was so great about it. Mount Washington made me realize that it wasn’t about the great clothes, the group runs, or our fun travels, but what it’s like to be on a team that makes Wicked—or any running club—so special. I also realized that a group of friends did actually pick me up on their way down the mountain.
Seeing Team Touchette coming down the mountain and having Sarge and Steve cheer for me and bring an impossible smile to my face was one perk of being part of Wicked. Watching the strength of Gail Gordon and getting a high five from Dan Barrett was another. Sure, these are things that these people would have done for any runner in need, but my time of need was clear and present. Without seeing my friends and more importantly my teammates, I don’t know if I would have continued to put “one foot in front of the other,” as both Gail and Sarge encouraged me to do. As I crossed the finish, Marie Duignan consoled me and later Melissa Jaynes offered me her medal, as I wasn’t able to log an official time. While I would never run up Mount Washington again, I would encourage others to be a part of the team atmosphere, the sea of red, and the goodness that forms out of being a part of a group like Wicked. It’s only one hill, but the hill is best when you’re surrounded by a team.