‘Get Over It!!’

Have you ever (intentionally) walked a shade over six miles in a single stretch? I did.

This April’s Cooper River Bridge Run — the 48th annual event — was a highlight of my vacation. For those of you who don’t know, it is the third most popular 10K run in America…and among the top ten road races in the country. I and at least 35,000 close friends crossed a two-mile long bridge into Charleston from Mt. Pleasand for the the right to say., “I got over it!”

Many ran. I walked.

My dear friend Tonya crossed it with me. Well…more accurately I crossed it with her.

Along the way I got to see many of the changes of Charleston: new hotels, new restaurants. I also got to see some things…and people…that were very familiar. While crossing the bridge, J ran into my former school mate, ex-coworker, and current local Charleston news anchor and legend Carolyn Murray of WCBD News 2.

The race route also went right past the Meeting Street home I grew up in.

After a bit more than two hours of walking we reached the finish line. My legs didn’t hate me immediately after the race. They needed time to get to that point. But a nice brunch afterward at Eleve Rooftop Lounge smoothed things over.

This was the second time I walked the bridge. The first was decades ago…over a span no longer in existence. I’m glad J had the gumption to do it again. I’m weighing whether to take up the challenge again when the Bridge Run turns 50 in 2027. I’ll be nearly 60 then.

I’ll need some time to ruminate on that one.