The shoes are ready, the training is over and thousands of runners and walkers are counting the sleeps to Sunday鈥檚 Times 91原创 10K.
Almost 12,000 are registered to toe the starting line. When the gun goes off on Sunday morning, it will be the culmination of months of training and a celebration of their hard work and dedication.
Running is one of the rare sports in which recreational athletes wait tensely for the same starting gun as Olympians, and even though everyone knows the elites and the rest of the field aren鈥檛 really running the same race, it鈥檚 still a thrill to be part of that mass of hopeful humanity.
This year鈥檚 race is particularly poignant as it comes two weeks after the bombings at the Boston Marathon. Many of those in the TC 10K have run Boston; many more aspire to run it.
On the course and at the finish line, it will be hard not to think of those killed and wounded.
In memory of those victims, people around the world have fuelled a Twitter campaign called #handsoverhearts to encourage runners to place their hands over their hearts as they cross their next finish line.
If you are running or walking on Sunday, step up to the start line with confidence, knowing that the hard work is behind you and the race is your reward.
As you reach the finish line, be thankful for the enthusiasm of the spectators and savour the joy of accomplishment. You earned it.
