Nothing else has been talked about for days. Rightly so, I would say. We were faced in a very short time with a new virus that we were not prepared for and that-for us lazy, habit-forming humans-changed our habits, preventing us from doing anything we wanted to do, freely. Accomplicated, in some ways, by bewildering information coming from the mainstream media and, even worse, from the thousands of virologists with degrees from the “University of Life” that one reads everywhere.
Small premise, I write and live less than 10 km from Vò Euganeo, the first Veneto outbreak of the virus, a small country town of a few souls that is still “armored” at this time. So, as of Friday, February 21, I am touching every day (as many of us are) the social effects that coronavirus has in our daily lives.
I have neither the qualifications nor the expertise to comment on the news scientifically or even, for that matter, to form an opinion on it. Simply, if I am told to reduce contact with other people, avoid places of large gatherings, disinfect my hands and not participate in competitions, I do so without even thinking about it. And so, I think, should we all.
The only thing I can do-and we can all do-is to run, try to get well and limit any possible damage.
The cancelled races
I have heard all kinds of considerations. From those who are super pissed off because “but why aren’t the races and instead I can go by train?” to those who are expecting a zombie apocalypse. I believe that, again, we should not overthink this. Were we told that you can’t participate in competitions? Well, it’s not done. Period.
On the other hand, it would be important politically to address the economic losses that there will be because of these cancellations; because it is not fair for organizers to lose money if the event does not take place (and they often offer automatic registration for the following year). Just as it is also unfair for amateur athletes to lose out: the Tokyo Marathon hoax in which-after considerable outlay-participants lost everything (except the chance to skip next year’s ballot) was something that, personally, I thought was ridiculous. Were it up to me, by virtue of this, I would remove Tokyo from the majors.
Let us remember, however, that if there is a government decree saying that tenders are not to be made, it might be good custom to think that this decree makes sense rather than-again-improvising economists, virologists, scientists or statistics graduates (always at the University of Life). No?!
The fact remains that, for now, there is no racing in many places, and next month-April-is perhaps the highest density of racing in the entire year, so let’s see what happens. In the meantime, what is left for us to do?
[irp]We can keep running
No one stops us, if we are well, from going out for a run. There is nothing to prevent us – within the bounds of prudence, norms and personal and civic responsibility – from trying to lead as normal a life as possible. Without anxieties, without psychosis, without unfounded fears.
We can run; maybe without going out in large numbers and too clingy. After all, running is a solitary sport; we might as well rediscover different dimensions of our favorite activity. Without races, without too many people around, without anxiety, in the midst of nature (for those who can) or enjoying slightly less hectic cities (for everyone else).
Let us try to see the positive side and seize the opportunities that may lie hidden in a forced change. Because there are some.
And, if the doctor tells us to behave in a certain way, we must do so. We who are runners know better, don’t we! (And those who don’t run should know this, too.)
For everything else, it is enough to approach this situation with calm concern.
Happy racing!
(Main image credits: melis82 on DepositPhotos.com)