Hope and Possibility
by Caroline Hellman

Last weekend I ran the Hope & Possibility 5 Miler in Central Park. It was way too hot--in the 90s--and there was way too much humidity (over 60%) but it was the best race I ever ran.

Though I had run faster (only by 1 minute) in the cooler 5 mile race the weekend before, the Hope and Possibility run was made great by the participants. The race is sponsored by the Achilles Track Club, which facilitates running for handicapped, blind, and ill people. There were also recent amputees from Iraq (you know, that horrible war without an end in sight) and that hit home, because people think going to war does not have a cost. Trisha Meili, the Central Park Jogger, also ran.

Some runners' ailments were visible, and some were not, and then the race course was not visible to many of them. It was truly awe inspiring to watch the blind runners complete the course--even start the course, the wheelchairs line up, and the people with prosthetic legs and/or crutches participate.

Though it was hot and though I felt as though I was going to throw up afterwards--not fun--it was without a doubt the most profound experience I'd had in a while. It made me grateful for my own health but even more grateful to be running with such admirable members of the human race.