Twas the Night Before Philly

'Twas the night before Philly, and all through the city
the runners were anxious; all wired and jittery;

Their shirts were laid out with bibs all pinned on
waiting for the alarm that’d go off before dawn;

They tried to be nestled, all snug in their beds,
and picture the finish line dance in their heads;

But sleep would evade them, and fidget they might
as they obsessed about something for one more night,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
We sprang from our beds to see what was the matter.

Away to the window we flew like a flash.
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the lawn gave a beautiful glow
and we wanted to run but we shouldn’t, we know.

When, what to our wondering eyes should appear,
But a wide eyed runner, showing none of our fear.

With a gait that was spunky, so lively and quick,
I wondered out loud, “This dude must be sick.”

More rapid than than Coach John much closer he came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called out some names;

"Now, Davidi! now, Caroline! now, Caitlin and Irene!
Oh Mel and yes, Aimee!  Your nightmares must leave!

To hydration and fueling! To hitting the wall!
Just dash away! dash away! dash them all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

The runners would rock, this little dude knew,
Even if it meant a blister or two.

As we drew in our heads, and were turning around,
Down the chimney runner dude came with a bound.

He was dressed for the dance down the finish line chute
His clothes all wicking and layered to boot;

A bundle of Gu he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a winner; at the back of the pack.

His Garmin was absent; his pace not a care
Distance was fixed and mile markers were there.

He motioned for us to gather around
So shocked were we all, we made not a sound

“From May to November, you've trained for this day
Yet still you can’t keep the anxiety at bay”

“In the heat of the summer; and chill of the fall
You've done hills and speed and conquered them all”

“You've sweated and hurt, but whine you did not
Rock this, you will; I mean that a lot.”

Then taking a pause as he turned but to leave
The secret, he said, is you have to BELIEVE!

He posed for a picture then sprang to his corral
Hoping he had done enough to boost our morale

And I heard him exclaim, ere he jogged out of sight,
"Keep smiling and moving and you’ll be alright!"