A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse.
A hinny is the offspring of a male horse and a female donkey.
Despite Wikipedia's claim that a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny (see #3 definition here, http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hinny), as of late I have been finding the presence of mules to be rather elusive. It appears that I have been out of their natural habitat and thus I traveled to less temperate climates this past weekend in hopes of a spotting of this species. And much to my delight, I found a whole flock of mules (because didn't you know that mules travel in flocks?) located on the grasslands of a park in Connecticut. It was hard to contain my joy at this rare occasion, as seeing one mule in the wild is a blessing, and finding myself surrounded by mules was a dream. I was so joyous that I didn't even mind the stampede of embraces that ensued less than 60 seconds after stepping out of the car and into the parking lot.
Several hugs later, our cluster of Colby Alumni who had traveled from near and far to watch the NESCAC cross-country championship race stood comfortably on the outskirts of the Colby area waiting for the race to start. I had a weird flashback moment when Coach Deb was explaining the course to me on a map. Per usual, I had no idea where she was describing and started feeling that anxious knot in my stomach. Luckily I remembered that I wasn't actually racing. Old habits die hard...
Perfect weather, a multi-loop course, and fantastic ocean views made for a spectator's dream. It had been almost exactly two full years since I raced xc, and just over one year since I had attended an xc race. Obviously, my love for the sport has not died since graduating from college. This became apparent by my gleeful sprinting from corner to corner around the course to cheer on my friends, and aided by the loss of my voice from screaming. In fact, I'm surprised at myself for not taking splits (blame it on Deb's confusing explanation of the mile markers).
Too many fantastic moments occurred this weekend, and this rambling post makes a mockery of how much fun I had being reunited with my mules, but there was one thing that stood above the rest. An inspirational comeback story of a runner who fought through years of injury and unjust team cuts to finally have the season she deserved.
Congrats to my girl Bah-reezy for killing it this past weekend and all season.
May you run and never look back.
Robyn "many shoes, one mule" Runner
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