By The Numbers: BOP

Fourth in the “By The Numbers” series - BOP, short for Back of the Pack.

While not a number per say, it's more of a lifestyle and an acceptance that your pace will be slower than the rest of the group’s…and that’s okay because you know what?   You’re completing the same amount of miles and you're sometimes out there twice as long as those gazelles!  

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As a Back of the Packer, you will never win a race.  You will never break the tape.  You won’t get crowned with the marathon winner's laurel wreath.  You’re unlikely to find a clean port-a-potty.  You will never overcome the faster runners, and you’ll even have to wave to them when they lap you on an out-and-back course.  You probably won’t have your name blasted on the news or your photo in the paper. 

But you know what you will have?  TONS of fun.  TONS of laughs.  TONS of memories.  You’ll never get lost on a training run because you can just follow the slightly faster group in front of you.  You have twice as much time to be with the really cool humans in your pace group.  You get 5 extra find-a-parking-spot-minutes because the BOP sets off last.  If you run/walk, you have time to catch your breath on the walk interval.  You might even be able to miss a run here or there without guilt because no one else on the group chat feels like going out in the rain, either!  

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I am proud to be in the Back of the Pack.  It’s a good time back there.  We don’t take ourselves too seriously.  One of my favorite quotes to come from a training run came from one of my training group friends: running groups are like a mullet -- business in the front, party in the back!  

Keep running with me,

❤Kelsey

PS: I loved this so much, I turned it into a sticker!  Check it out! 

Photo credits: Canva, Kelsey Flynn, Donna McCartney, Joeseph Salyer