Packard Ave

Occasionally--more so now that I have been training for/just completed Reach the Beach--I like to run hills.  Yesterday, I chose to run up Packard Ave on the Tufts campus.  For those of you who don't know, Packard Ave is a giant hill; it goes from Powderhouse Blvd to the top of the Tufts campus.  It is rarely "fun." 

But yesterday, as I started up the hill I saw a SUV parked on the opposite side of the road.  My first thought, of course, was that it was full of college students.  I don't know why (yes I do--because I am getting old) I do not like running past college kids, or high school kids, or even middle school kids.  So, I was just hoping that they would not notice me. 

As I got closer, however, one of them started to cheer for me.  It was at this point that I realized that the SUV was actually the meeting place for a group of runners my age and up, and that they were in the midst of getting ready for /  just ending their morning run.  Perhaps it was because I still have these great memories fresh in my mind from RTB of all the off runners cheering from the side of the road, or maybe it was just because it was so unexpected--but that cheering totally made my day, and my run!  We all laughed about it, especially as one of the men pretended to hand me a gatorade, as if it were an aide station at any race.  There was even a woman in the group who mentioned just having finished RTB herself (I was wearing my race shirt).  There was just this nice sense of camaraderie for that few seconds as I approached and then passed them on my way up the hill.  Rarely do people even smile as I pass them on the bikepath, and so this unexpected display of good energy was particularly welcome.