Me and Tom representing Team Beef Arkansas at the 5k.

Today, while waiting for post-race awards at a local 5k, I cried after hearing a woman talk about her first 10k experience. She told her friend that her race was tough and she was struggling in the last two miles. It was taking her longer than she had expected to finish, longer than most of the other racers. When she approached the last aid station, sponsored by Black Girls Run!, she noticed that many of the participants and other volunteers were packing up and leaving. Their races were over, their time obligations were met. She said that when she stopped for water she told the volunteer that she didn’t know whether she should be proud of her accomplishments so far or if she should be embarrassed that she was taking so long to finish. She received an incredibly positive and empowering response from the volunteer and I ducked my head so I could wipe tears off my face.

The conversation started because as we were waiting for the awards ceremony to start, a participant in our race was finishing her first 5k. She was the last person to finish, but she finished. She completed the last mile with the race director beside her. This woman had a goal and she showed up at the start line for an early, rainy race and she finished. From what I could see, she was nothing but proud. She inspired another woman to share her story about what it’s like to be one of the last people to finish, and it hit me hard. I am not the best runner that I know, but I’ve also never experienced being the last finisher. I can confidently say that I would be crushed to see that I was not receiving the same support that my fellow participants were receiving. If your effort is good enough for you, it’s good enough to deserve respect.

I wanted to share this for a few reasons. I want to remind all of you who are fast finishers to remember that this may not be another casual Saturday/race day for other people. They may have been working weeks, months, a lifetime to reach the goal of crossing the finish line. Walk back to the finish after you’ve run your race and cheer others on. Stay at the race until everyone has finished. Stay for all of the awards, even if you don’t get one. Also, Black Girls Run! members in Little Rock might be THE BEST volunteers for aid stations that I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen their organization set up as one of the last stations in races, which is an incredibly tough spot to hold no matter the race distance. You see people at their worst there and you have to help them find the strength to get to the finish. (Shout-out to the BGR! station *Donna Anderson* that I passed twice at my first 3 Bridges Marathon.)

It’s been months since I last raced and I’m really glad I did this 5k today. It’s easy to get wrapped up in your finish time, your place, your age group rank. But we run in these races together and to share the experience with others, whether it’s good or bad or “just another day”. Remember that for every winner, there’s someone finishing last who deserves the same respect.