This One’s For the Runners by Melanie Guthrie

For my people

Who chase the elusive high

That can only come after pushing through

And past

And far down the road

From the wall that was meant to block them.

For my people who wake up before the sun

And gather in small groups

Bending and stretching

In the fog

Before our morning coffee has even been brewed.

For my people

Who grab a tiny cup of water

Held at arms length

“You’re looking great!” and “Keep pushing!”

And savor each drop as if it were the 

Only thing that could save them.

For my one more mile,

One more checkpoint,

One more foot in front of the other

Kind of people

For my badass mother runners

My “Tell me I run like a girl

And I’ll leave you in the dust” sisters

For my people who pull their dainty tutus

Over running tights and tall socks

In order to perform supernatural feats. 

For my people with a closet full of race shirts

And neon clothing

Who still show up in a hodgepodge of colors and styles

To create a demented fashion show

For my people who retire a pair of beloved shoes 

After hundreds of miles together

And feel as if there should have been 

A graveside service to say goodbye.

For my people who really live

Who see life more closely than those

Whizzing by in their cars

And glued to their cellphone screens.

For my people who endure

Ice baths

KT tape

Bottle after bottle of ibuprofen

And torture devices like “the stick” and foam roller

Who know how it hurts in a good way;

A phrase that only someone who has pushed

Past the breaking point could appreciate

To my people who get emotional

As soon as that huge banner

Finish

Comes into view

Who grit their teeth and beg their body

Just a few more feet, please!

And raise their arms to the sky

And tip their head back

And feel the tears welling up as they 

Hear the roaring cheers 

That penetrate their soul

And echo there for years to come.

This was written Melanie Guthrie with her Freshman English class for their Slam Poetry unit. For those interested, all Portland high school students compete in the Verslandia Poetry Slam at the Schnitz every year , and it's open to the public.

Link to Verslandia : https://www.portland5.com/arlene-schnitzer-concert-hall/events/verselandia-youth-poetry-slam-championship