Blown away

The wind on Saturday was overwhelming. So much so that I bailed after just a few Ks, running back to my car with my tail between my legs. I don't think I've ever felt like I would be blown off my feet before, but this weekend, it happened.

I'd run from Kingsford Smith Drive along past Newstead Park and into Teneriffe. When I turned back I knew the morning was a write off. I decided to stop along the way and smell the roses, so to speak. It's in doing this that I was truly blown away.

I'd run this route dozens of times and though I'd noticed the monuments and plaques through Newstead Park, I'd never taken the time to find out what they commemorated. On Saturday I learned that the plaques are devoted to wartime feats. An American eagle keeps watch over Lyndon Johnson Place, which also honours the alliance between Australia and the US and acknowledges the commitment US troops had to defending Australia during World War II.

There is a bit of a history lesson about the fleets who served during this time, and where they have served since. More recently, a plaque has been laid to honour those who served in the Vietnam. Closer to where I'd parked along Kingsford Smith Drive, there is an ANZAC memorial to the young men of Hamilton who lost their lives in the Great War of 1913-1918.

On Saturday I was touched by the sacrifices previous Australian generations have made, so that I have the freedom to run. You could say, I was blown away.