1. Finishline women's running of 20 May 2002 in Nuremberg

My first 5-km running, o.k., may be not really the first one, but the first one failed, the Wendelstein panorama running, this doesn't count, does it? Not finished, may be you can rate it as a rehersal. Everybody has to train!

So, the first 5-km . No migraene weather! The bell rings. May be I should wait a little bit longer, after all: I haven't run for a long time. The alarm clock rings the second time. And if it will not work again, may be I should stay in bed and keep on sleeping. The bell rings the third time. And finally I prefer running in the evenings, probably I can not in the morning..... I slowly get up with the fourth ring. Showering, taking on my running cloth, packing my waist-bag (asthma spray, water bottle, dextrose). 5-km-marathon-preparation! I think I go back to bed. Is this not too much strenuous? And so much people and probably I will be the last one, if I anyway might finish. I sweat, already now?

I leave for Wöhrder See. Parking available, near the school, this starts good. I move to the foulding table where 2 men are sitting. Nice of them to help with the womens running, of course, the women have to run. I get a multi-functional shirt, yellow, signed with "1. Finishline Frauenlauf", and the date and it is from ODLO as well. Great. Put on just now? Oh, I see, this is instead of a number, so everybody can recognize me being a 5-km-runner in the middle of all these other runners. I understand. I anyway have to go to the box (anxiety pi), there I can get changed. My own yellow one from Adidas out, the hot yellow starting shirt from ODLO on. It is not yet washed, hopefully I will not get allergic.

So many people are here, why so much men, nearly so much as women and then as well in running gears? Im I right here? "They just run for fun". I see. Just for fun. Und why do they actually run just at a womens running? Here, where the women have to run - same place, same time? Well, o.k., it seems, nothing runs without men.

An info stand from ODLO. Yes, must be, finally they sponsor the race. Und they put the MF-shirts at our disposal. And they have a new, pretty assortment, salmon-coloured, great! Socks? From Falke, sure, from whome else? But this is all of advertising, not very much.

Direction start. More and more women standing around, wearing yellow MF-shirts, talking, relaxed, easy and sympatic. Meanwhile there are others, with numbers, without yellow shirts, they really look like runners, professional, like on TV, concentrated, limbering-up exercises, limbering-run. They do the 10 kilometer. Yet limbering-up? I thought, the 10-km starts one hour after the 5-km, we haven't gone already. So this is an other class, they go for something, for rucksacks and socks and shirts and for glory.

3 Minutes to go! Slowly to start. All MF-shirts are standing relaxed, still, no one directly on the line, gaps between, no barging, pushing, pressing? I am told it is without time meassuring. That's a load off my mind, time limit 45 minutes, hopefully I can do it, but it could be narrow.

Peawhistle, slow move at the front. Stop! Stop? The man with the whistle says all has to have its order and as with every race - race without time messuring? - as with every race a shot has to be heard. The people standing round about are laughing, especially the men. We feel like fools. Sure, everybody knows but us.

Shot! Finally ist starts. Straight away, direction Wöhrder Wiese. I still run in the crowd, o.k., in the last third, but anyhow there in the middle. But not very long. Suddenly I am at the end, just a few walkers behind me. But I can see a yellow shirt. Stay near, not loose it out of visibiltiy, otherwise I might feel lonesome and lost. Now right, through the tunnel, a nice woman is standing here, clapping her hands, shows me the way. Does she clap because of compassion for me? Well, nevertheless I am gradeful.

Straight, passing the Experiencefield of Sence. Looks great, I have to come here one of the next days. Morningsun, not too warm, lonely my way. Left at the untergroundstation Wöhrder Wiese and over the Pegnitz, back the other side. The signpostman who shows me the way looks a bit grumpy. Of course, I would have prefered to sleep off as well, I can understand him. Further on I can see the yellow shirt, that I did'nt want to loose out of my eyes. The differents hasn't really changed.

Kilometer 2. The way is back to Wöhrder See. Why on earth is a 5-km-race-distance longer then a normal 5-km-distance? I wonder if they did meassure the right way? There comes Roland. My running therapist. So I learned how to run from him. He comes towards me and smiles encouragingly and says: "you've done the half!". I smile steadfastly. "yes, fine". Fine? Just the half? O.k. I will manage the rest, won't I? The railway bridge! Including Mount Everes climbing. Slope at least 5 meters. And then the upper way, still higher? I've though the Mount Everest still is the highest mountain in the world?

Go, go, after having climbed a mountain, it should go downhill sometime. Und then the finish is not far away. More and more runners come towards me. Towards me? Oh, yes, the ones for the 10-km are still rehershing, meanwhile they look a little bit determined. More and more people, men in running gears, still just standing around and not running. A few meters in front of the finish a murmur goes through the crowd: "look, another one is comming" a few people are clapping their hands. I am happy, I stretch my arms up, you do that, don't you? I saw that on TV. What? Not the last places? No way, straight there! The audience like me being so happy and clap more and more, I wave my hands about, here is wave upon wave of applause, stronger and stronger, here is the finish. Over. Done. Air! Last in 40 minutes, behind me in short distance 2 walkers.

My face red, I have that after every run, even the shortest - especially the nose has a sunburn, even I used sunprotection factor 20, hopefully nobody sees it - I help myself to something to drink - isodrink red an yellow - watching the 10-km - waiting for the draw, where I anyway don't win something, but when I don't stay, I win definitely - meeting Roland, my running therapist and then straight home. Happy. My first 5-km. The MF-shirt will find a place on the wall, they give no participation certificate - not for the 5-km. Und it was illusory to hope that nobody saw my red nose. Roland sends me a mail, that he has two marvellous pictures of me crossing the finishline and asks if he may put it into the internet. Of cours he may. Red nose in the internet! That's me!

© Petra Schuster
Nürnberg, 2002-05-25 (english 2002-10-24)

I translated the story myself. I peg your pardon for all the mistakes I've made!