Signs in the Trees

A last backward glance at last Tuesday's meet at Weymouth...

I think I will remember this afternoon for a long time -- the buses full of kids departing for home on an overcast October afternoon, the quickening patter of rain on the pavement and in the woods, the stragglers still hanging around talking about the meet -- At the moment, I don't feel like I can process and put into perspective all the things I've watched this afternoon, and I don't feel like leaving.

And so I don't leave, I run instead.

I set out into the woods, quiet now but so lately filled with the sights and sounds of racing and the passing of colorful squads of runners. It's all pretty quiet now; the paved path on which I run is matted with pine needles and leaves, and my footfalls are muffled and indistinct.

On the course there are signs celebrating and encouraging the runners from Weymouth -- bright and cheery, recognizing each runner (or maybe just the seniors) by name. I can easily imagine a group of girls sitting around someone's living room making these signs and then going through the woods hanging them on trees. It would be the girls, wouldn't it? I imagine the boys wouldn't be caught dead having that kind of fun. Boys are still in hiding at this age, and aren't given to leaving clues about what they actually think and feel. I wonder, do the boys appreciate these signs in the woods? Or do they think they're stupid?

Maybe the signs worked, because the Weymouth girls (and boys) ran wonderfully today. The Weymouth coach tells me that the top six Weymouth girls all set PRs for their home course, the third runner by a minute. Newton North's girls ran a superb effort themeselves, to eke out a narrow win.

Call me a sentimentalist, but I can't help feeling there's more to these signs in the woods than a rah-rah home course advantage. To me, there is something real and poignant about these poster-board love letters hung on trees in the rain. They celebrate the last home meet for the home team, the last home meet for the seniors. Already tomorrow they will be ruined by the overnight showers. Only a few moments to enjoy them, and then the race is over, the season is over. On to the next thing.

The signs are there for all of us, really, a reminder of how good it is to be part of a team, part of a group of people who care about you. And a reminder, too, that it won't last forever. Enjoy it now -- even as you struggle up the hill fighting the impulse to slow down and make it easier on yourself, enjoy it; you'll look back on the hardest race of the year as one of the best moments.

I finish my run. It's raining harder now, the sky darkening. I know I'll be late getting home, I know I'll have to deal with all the traffic on 128. But still I take my time. I'm in no hurry to leave. The signs are still in the trees.