Is a race number just a race number?

How many of you have reached into your race kit to see what your number is?   Do you take comfort in a number that looks fast (i.e. #1) or do you feel better about your race if you have a lucky number in it?  Now I 'm sure we would all agree that the actual number really doesn't mean anything - but lets not forget, athletes are creatures of habit - if the number 8 was in a previous race number, and that race was a good one, we often feel good about an upcoming race if that race number has an 8 in it also.  Nothing wrong with that I say - if it helps you relax and focus then it's a good thing.  Some numbers just seem better than others .......  Why is that?

So, having said that how would you feel about having 911 as your number?  Certainly for me, it conjuerd up all kinds of images, most of them not positive.   Since I am a little on the superstitious  side it took me a while to get my head around the fact that it was just a number.  Don't get me wrong, I certainly didn't lose any sleep over it, as I say it just got me thinking of the wrong kind of thoughts.   911 means help, right!  It is also an infamous date in the US.

During my race, I heard more than one person get a chuckle out of my race number, and to be honest with you, once the gun went off, I didn't care what my number was - I had a great race.   So really a number is just a number .........  however, it can also be something we seek comfort in, or for some of us, bring up the wrong images at at time when we need to be very focused.

Duncan