SweatyShe Monday: To Cape or Not to Cape

Sweaty She Monday-On Friday (04/16/10): To Cape or Not to Cape
By: Susan Farago
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Let's face it, the Boston Marathon is a big deal in the running world. Participants have to qualify in order to participate. It's not like you can just show up and run...or at least not with a clear conscience. So given it is THE running race of running races, it is to be respected, revered, and those who run in it are to be admired.

I trained hard in the winter of 2008 and qualified for Boston the Austin Marathon in February, 2009. I was elated to see all that hard work pay off. I registered for Boston that following summer and was all set to run Boston in April, 2010.

And here we are, the night before we leave for Boston.

The big question that has been on my mind these past few months hasn't been about training, recovery, or proper nutrition. It hasn't been how to beat my best marathon goal or to try to requalify for Boston at Boston. It hasn't been on which Boston Athletic Association apparel will I buy at the race expo.

The big question? Should I wear the cape?

By cape, I mean super hero cape of course.

I've been mulling this over and over and here are my top five reasons for wearing the cape:
1. What better way for Leary to find me on the course amongst 20,000 other runners.
2. Self-entertainment for 26.2 miles.
3. Additional warmth on race day - it's supposed to be in the low 40's.
4. Leverage in talking my running buddy Richelle into also wearing a cape.
5. In the words of my Mom, "Because I can."

But there's a tiny voice inside my head that is telling me this would be blasphemous. It's like showing up to the presidential inauguration wearing a clown suit (although these days one would fit in quite nicely amongst certain politicians - ha!) But you get the idea. Such a race steeped in 114 years of athletic excellence and historical significance warrants the utmost respect, doesn't it? But then again maybe I've just been indoctrinated with too much "Keep Austin Weird" influence.

So the question remains: to cape or not to cape? Stay tuned.