It takes a village

You've probably heard the saying, "it takes a village to raise a child." It turns out that saying is true for a lot of other things, too, like getting someone to the starting line of a marathon... particularly if that someone is a mom with a young kid.





The starting line at 15th & Agate



I have heard (and now I have personally experienced) how running a marathon will change you. It changes your physical body, changes your level of confidence, changes your perspective on life. I am an introvert, so I love the mental game of an endurance run. It's what keeps me coming back every weekend: knowing I have the mental fortitude to conquer physical weakness, exhaustion, pain. Every mile I've run has changed me slightly for the better.

But do you know what else has changed for me? My perspective on relationships. This journey to Hayward field has been over four months in the making, and has meant putting a lot of things on hold. Every friday night has been a preparation for the following day's run. I have had to miss things I really want to be a part of: family dinners, church services, ministry opportunities, the Super Bowl. My husband has missed even more stuff, putting his own workout schedule and drum practices on the backburner during my training period.



 Decorations courtesy of my friends

But my little family are not the only ones who chipped in to make this thing happen: my husband, mom, dad, sister, mother-in-law, and incredible (ok, that's a huge understatement) friend Tammy watched Kisa for countless hours while I tried to juggle motherhood and athleticism. Tammy loaned me her BOB stroller for two solid months during the peak of my training, and joined me on a couple of my long runs. My sister, Ashley, has blessed me with countless words of encouragement and resources since I started running. She even let me wear her Garmin on race day. If you're not a runner and don't understand what this means, then just imagine giving someone your most prized possession so they can dump sweat into it for about four and a half hours.

The day before my race, my friends surprised me with a basket of goodies :)

My poor friends (some of whom are not runners... I had no shame) were subjected to endless running-related conversations. I seriously don't even understand how they still talk to me after all the rambling I have done on this subject, but they are amazing and love me despite my crazy and self-centered hobby. It is enormously humbling.

My friend Devon, my parents, my in-laws, Ashley and her husband Mitch all gave up their weekend to come cheer for me in Eugene. Cheering for someone in an endurance race means waking up at dawn and driving around town for hours just to stand and wait for a brief glimpse of them running by. It is definitely a sacrifice, and it was not lost on me.

The more that I process my race, the more glaringly obvious it becomes that despite those hours upon hours of solo training runs, this marathon was a team sport. And I can't even begin to thank all the people who have loved me and supported me and carried me to the finish line. I am richly blessed.

THANK YOU!