Part of my busy schedule has been tax prep, the dreaded season of paperwork, spreadsheets and numbers. Lots and lots of numbers. I am not a numbers person. Numbers to me generally do not have any meaning, I mean what is the difference between 2 numbers, really!? I sometimes can't even remember how old I am.
It got me to thinking about numbers as it relates to races. Sure, there are the normal numbers that you think of 5K, 3.1, 10K, 6.2, 13.1.... But then there are the numbers that I guarantee any race director anywhere would know off the top of his/her head, ingrained in their DNA. Even me, who does not understand numbers.
The first is a list of dates of their races. I could recite my calendar in my sleep. April 8, April 21, April 30 and so on. But, that can be applied to any business where events or deadlines take place. Not that unusual.
Here are some race related numbers that keep popping up in my head or daily life:
1440 - how many of you know what that number is? Ask any race director and they will know. That is the number of safety pins in a standard size 1 box. 1440, why don't you know that!?
128 - there are 128 ounces in a gallon. Standard water jugs are 5 gallons, standard serving cup at an aid station is filled to 3 ounces that leaves about 200 servings of water, give or take 13 or so cups. There are 450 cups in a Costco package. Also, there are 40 bottles in a Costco container of water bottles. Did you know that?
5280 - off the top of your head? Nope? That's how many feet in a mile. I know this intimately as I have spent a lot of time with my trusty wheel measure, wheeling and marking every 5280 feet.
18 inch - nope, not what you are thinking! 18 inch is the standard smaller sized cones. 28 inches - that is the bigger size cone.
What numbers are ingrained in you? Maybe your PR for a 5K? Maybe the dates of your kid's birthdays? Maybe your head is devoid of numbers all together? 1440! Number of safety pins in a box. I don't think I can ever erase that knowledge!
