A City in Motion
The Inaugural San Antonio Marathon Takes Off
Writer & Photographer: Torry Sledge
The movement of a city determines the health of a city, from outer suburbia to the inner city streets of local commerce: sunny drives along hilly, rustic farmlands, to the weekend walk around monument-studded concrete commons.
With the kick-off of the inaugural San Antonio Marathon, the city of San Antonio was in full motion. Early morning volunteers arrived at the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center, city road crews began locking down transit routes, and 15,000 people arose for the day, prepared to undertake a feat that — for many — would be the greatest challenge they’d ever faced.
As hints of light crept into the morning abyss, scattered participants began their trek to Main Plaza Square. Clock ticking down, the groups turned into a herd, the massive crowd drowned out by the angelic voice of Mateo Lopez as the national anthem echoed among the barren silhouettes of downtown.
An anxious stillness hovers above the shared momentary silence, and an air of emotions set in; some reluctant, most determined. Many have chosen to embark on 13.1 miles of excruciating self-doubt and physical torment. Others have chosen more. The full marathon, 26.2 miles. A distance said to have been traveled by Pheidippides from Marathon to Athens to announce the military victory of the Battle of Marathon. These runners, these few were set to place their names among the halls of divine kinetics.
The first corral lined up. 3 … 2 … 1. Smoke ballooned from the starting pylons, and cheers roared from all directions, vibrating the spirited atmosphere into a frenzy. A rumble of concrete battered soles forward into the morning, on to conquer, unto legacy.
As hours passed, onlookers and officiants, families with handcrafted signs, and loved ones with the blown-up faces of their runners all clung to fences and hands in anticipation, eyes scanning the distance for a familiar form. One runner appeared from the distant shadows, exhaustion evident, yet feet in stride. Cheers erupted from the finish chute.
Name? …Not important.
Time? …Does not matter.
Everyone is celebrated and lifted across that line.
One by one, in celebration, in pain, in reverence; but not a single one in defeat.
Clenching their medals, praises and hugs were showered upon runners rejoining their supportive groups at Hemisfair Park. Tears and congratulations poured out.
Slowly, a line forms. At its head, a platform and banner of accomplishment rises in the middle of the park. Upon it, champions pose, one by one, solidifying their greatest movement.
For one morning, San Antonio did more than host a marathon.
It revealed itself — alive, resilient, and in motion. ■
