5K runner: Reagan Run is ‘a magical event’

One day in downtown Dixon, I was on a walk with my dog, Holly Mae.

We stopped into Stone Bridge Running to browse, and I was asked if I was interested in writing about the Reagan Run. I was honored and pleasantly surprised for the opportunity. After losing my dog, Maisey, my running companion for the last 10 years, I had been somewhat in a rut.

It brought back memories of my first Reagan Run 18 years ago. At the time, I mainly just played basketball and didn’t have a lot of running experience. I was sitting in the yard one day and saw some runners training for the Reagan Run. I thought to myself that maybe it was time to switch things up and try my shot at running the race as well, and I decided to train.

However, I was no runner, so I decided to train by riding my bicycle three times a week on the hills in the west side of Dixon for 6 miles as fast as I could. I was hoping that would be enough training to excel in the Reagan Run.

The day of the race came quickly. I left my house in Dement town and started making my way to the start of the race. I turned the corner and saw familiar faces, families and running groups. There were volunteers throughout the whole course all getting ready and enjoying themselves.

I could feel the anxiety, excitement and adrenaline in the air. I knew then that the Reagan Run was a magical event. The race began, and I ran as fast as I could for as long as I could. As I approached the armory, I knew I was in over my head. A lot of other racers were passing me. I pushed on and finished the race with a time of 21:42.

Fellow racers were supportive and said that was a good time for my first one. Afterward, my legs hurt for a week, but I was hooked and determined to do better than last time, so I started running every week. Running has been beneficial for me in many ways. It taught me how to have better concentration, allows me to stay present in the moment and helps wash life’s daily worries away.

At one point, I started getting too competitive and hard on myself, losing that special feeling from when I first started. About 10 years ago, it was the day of the race and extremely humid. It was foggy, so I knew it was gonna be a long, hard run. I felt prepared, but I knew after the mile and a half warmup that it was going to be a difficult race.

Once the race began, I felt comfortable that I was in a position to do well as we entered the woods. I made the turn-on straight away, and I stepped off the course. I didn’t want to quit because I knew I worked too hard to quit. However, a million excuses of why I should quit swirled around in my head.

Then, like James Taylor sings in “Carolina on my Mind” – “Just like a friend of mine hit me from behind” – fellow runners started patting me on the back as they were running by. I felt encouraged to start running again. I pushed on and ended up getting third place in my age group that day.

That day was about more than just placement, though. That race brought back that remarkable feeling of the first few races, where it didn’t matter if you won or not or how fast you ran.

It brought back the feeling of community support and camaraderie, seeing the same Reagan Run spectators and volunteers in the same spots every year.

Sometimes, all you need is a pat on the back or some encouragement to help you believe in yourself, whether it be a race you’re in or another goal you’d like to achieve.

Don’t be afraid to start something new, no matter what age.

This year is the 25th Reagan Run, and I look forward to witnessing the community support that comes along with the event.

Terry Cleary is a longtime Reagan Run 5K participant.