August
22, 2016
Greetings
from the group,
This
week I realized that running might save the world. See, now you have to read
this.
The
city I grew up in began as a cluster of homes around a sawmill, where the first
few pioneers huddled for survival. Through the generations it has grown and
changed, and the people here traded furs for lumber for carriages for
cars. Like any city of its size it
formed neighborhoods, little enclaves of this people or that. Here are Polish families, here are the transplants
from Kentucky, and this neighborhood attracted Hispanics, here where a few
Scottish immigrants gathered. Invisible
lines, most of which I never knew existed, formed around neighborhoods of
different ethnic and racial roots.
These
enclaves become sanctuaries, places of community. People of like interests and traditions and
histories clustered together for comfort and safety and familiarity. And then sometimes they became something else;
factions form within boundaries, resentment is raised up, seasoned with
prejudice and fear and ignorance. And
sometimes the little villages within the big city became isolated from each
other.
It
is true with most cities, and probably with any size group of people. They come together in smaller groups for the
intimacy and support and it can lead to exclusion and isolation. The problems that arise are obvious. The beauty and richness of diversity is
overshadowed by something else. Caring
people in every generation have sought to push back that shadow and find ways
to grow the places where our differences overlap in a stronger kinship.
This
week I realized that running might save the world. In Flint there is a ten mile race that
started 40 years ago. From very simple
beginnings it has become a major sports event, a celebration of the human
spirit, and a force for social change.
The
Crim Fitness Foundation has done enormous good in our area. Raised huge amounts of money for Special
Olympics and a host of other causes.
Created programs in the schools to get kids active, to educate them on healthy
eating, on mindfulness, on living a balanced life. The Crim training programs for adults who
want to run or walk for fitness gathers thousands into its groups every year.
You
have probably read about the water crisis in Flint, and the response from
around the country has been amazing. The
Crim organization began a fundraising effort which they called ‘I Crim for
Flint’.
What
I love about this phrase is how it describes something else. It describes what running creates for us;
another community. What I was realized
this week is that the Crim has created something to belong to that makes us
better. This race brings people out from
their enclaves, out of their channels and clusters, away from what separates
them to what makes them part of something bigger and more beautiful.
‘I
Crim for Flint’ says that when we join this community we stride forward a mile
at a time toward saving the world. If
this sounds a little dramatic to you, it’s probably because you haven’t been at
the starting line and seen the passion, the spirit, the joy that is shared by a
group of people who are incredibly diverse, and yet part of one thing.
The
Crim is first and forever a race. It
began as a ten mile challenge and grew to several different events to include
athletes of all abilities and ambitions. The reason it all started, is still
the Crim Festival of Races. This
Saturday more than 16,000 runners will crowd into the streets of our city and
put themselves on the line for whatever drives them to be better.
When
we lace up and show up we are together in a family that welcomes us without
considering our heritage, our race or color or how we worship. We are runners. Where we come from matters, but it does not separate
us, it just contributes to the story we tell in our community.
This
Saturday will mark 35 Crims for me. The
reasons I started have evolved into something different that keeps me running. I
Crim to change for the better. I Crim
for fitness. I Crim for the
challenge. I Crim for the feeling of
satisfaction in pushing past my limits.
I Crim for fun. I Crim to see my friends. I Crim for the legacy it has provided my
children. I Crim to be a part of a group of people who look at each other with
acceptance and encouragement and caring.
I
Crim for Flint. I Crim to save the
world.
Hope
this finds you Crimming,
David
Copyright
© 2016 David Smith
No comments:
Post a Comment