Antioch Ministries

I find myself not only reflecting on the New Year that is only 6 hours away, but also on the 50 miles that I’m about to start running in 4 hours. The words of my boss, and mentor, swirl through my head, “you are crazy!?” So how did I sign up for a 50 mile race to celebrate the New Year? I’m not a natural runner. I didn’t run in High School or college. No one in my family is a runner. I was in the military for 4 years, but never ran more than 6 miles at a time. One time I tried to run 8 and regretted it all weekend while I sat in the ice bath!

But in 2008 I married a man who is a runner. We started an adventure in life and it included running. It was something we could do together, even though I ran significantly more slowly than I knew he could. He stuck with me, and ran at my pace. We were in it together as we built up from running 3 miles around our block, to our first half marathon (13.1) miles.

The truth of who you are really surfaces on a long run. There is a point between spilling water down the front of you, snot rockets, and using the nearest bush where you stop worrying about appearances in front of each other. Mentally, you want to quit and any niceties of your personality will melt away as pain and stress emerge. It will be just you and him, and the battle to keep your feet moving. I don’t think this is limited to just running, but any stressful situation that you are in together. There is a real bonding that occurs.

So, after two short years together, we have run 3 races, and numerous training runs, and we are looking at our longest ultra (more than 26.2 miles) run. Now, even though I wont finish 1st in my age group, or get recruited for a running team, running is something we do together and I’m really thankful for the team building it has forged between us!