Saturday, May 12, 2012

Two More Reasons

If you’re not sick of me yet and want to read an interview with yours truly, click HERE to visit the Center for Podiatric Care and Sports Medicine’s Happy Feet Blog. You’ll learn the one secret I think all runners should know (and it isn’t carrying toilet paper or doing an enema before a big race).

I heard one of my favorite quotes ever come out of my 11 year old’s mouth today. She had just finished a local 5K  -the Happy Smackah (Remember this one from last year? Our community raised money for Mr. Cribby, my son’s teacher who almost died and lost his arm to a deadly bacterial infection. Today was the second year of this race, and while Mr. Cribby is fine, the community raised money for two local 15 year old twins who are suffering from nephrotic syndrome which threatens their kidneys. You can read more about Kaylee and Aubree HERE. A wonderful race for a wonderful cause).

Anyway, we were driving home after the race and Emma said,

Whenever I see on old or tired person running on the road, I want to yell out to them to keep it up and to keep going. I just want to give them support.”

I am not sure what her version of “old” is – maybe she was talking about me. But, I think she was referring to anyone who is out there really pushing it and doing their best. I love that girl. I think her statement shows how runners feel about runners. We are a community of support. Even an 11 year old feels the connection that runners share.

Here are some pictures from today:

I worked the water station. Yes, it was freaking freezing:

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You hear it all the time – thank your volunteers. Being on this side of things, you really notice when people take the time to thank you. Means so much – don’t forget to do it!!

My two amazing girlfriends, Kathy and Nicky, volunteered as well:

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There goes Mr. Cribby! He ran this year. Incredible. Hard to believe a year ago he was fighting for his life. This man, who now is missing his left arm, stops at nothing. He runs, mows the lawn, drives a stick shift. So, if you are making excuses, knock it off.

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My girl, Emma, about a mile from the finish:

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One of the absolute coolest things about runners is how we rally for each other. We saw this with the Virtual Run for Sherry, and we see it every day with Team in Training, and hundreds of others of charity races around the world. It is genius go combine giving with running. Participants donate to a worthy cause while doing something that they love. The community spirit at these events is always overwhelming and incredibly positive.

Running unites. Running gives back. Two more reasons I love this sport.

Ever participate in or organize a charity race? My first marathon was with Team in Training. Since then I’ve done several other charity races of all distances.

Do you volunteer at races? I don’t volunteer a ton, but I try to do it at least once per year. As a runner, it is invaluable to know what the “other” side of a race is like.

Do you run races with your kids? This is one of my most favorite things to do. We try to do at least 1-2 races a year. One races we never miss is the Bolder Boulder 10K coming up on Memorial Day.

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KenEmmaBB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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26 comments:

  1. You are totally right and I say it all the time - the running community is awesome and I love how we support and encourage for each other. I love being a part of it. :)

    I ran a race with 3 of my boys today. Pics on the blog. :)

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  2. Love this! And love your Emma's sweet spirit. You are doing something right as her mama...Happy Mother's Day!

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  3. Love your post here. Raising money for the twins really hit home for me, b/c I had a similar kidney disease which caused my kidneys to fail and I had to have a kidney transplant.

    I have run in several charity races, such as Run for the Cure and the Hallowe'en Howl. Also did the 1k walk as a family so that my daughter (2 yrs old at the time) could participate, both in The Terry Fox Run and The Santa Shuffle.

    I have not volunteered at a race yet, though I hope to in a few years when my daughter is older. In the meantime though, I have volunteered in the past 2 yrs for KidneyMarch...not a run, just 100k walk over 3 days out along the highways in the wilderness.

    I totally agree that the running community is a giving community. Another reason why I love running so much.

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  4. I think every sport has a form of comradery among it's participants. But I'm happy to see that she has it at that age.

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  5. Yep, ran the Chicago Marathon last year for the local charity UPS for Downs--support for literacy and scholarship for kids with Down Syndrome. One of my friend's kids has Downs, and I told her that if I ever ran a marathon, I'd do it for her charity. Running for a charity is great because you can't back out of the race! Well, you could, but you'd be letting all your supporters down....

    Since I'm injured and training for nothing except Ben and Jerry's, I was thinking of volunteering at the Chicago marathon this year. It could be fun to experience it from the other side.

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  6. "Running unites. Running gives back." Yes, ma'am...so true :)

    I've run in charity events, I am looking to do my first stint volunteering in ages next month, and I have run races with my stepkids but never my own kids. I should do that!

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  7. just ran a mile race with both my girls, 5 and 7. my 5 year old rocked it in 9.26 and my 7 year old didn't quit with a 10.26.....love running with my girls....

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  8. My kids are 8 and 6 and LOVE running 5k's with me. When I am doing a longer distance they ill do the kidie mile or kiddie K. Sometimes my husband will walk the 5K with one kid and I will get to run with the other. My 8 year old son is almost faster than me, but always crosses the finish line WITH me, holding my hand at his insistense. My 6 year old daughter is lots slower, but I don;t mind doing a slower run with her. She always kicks it up and sprints the finish and "beats" me. When we finish the race we always go to the finish line and cheer on everyone until the last racer has come through. My kids even now ask who the race is helping and have started telling people (strangers even) they help people by running for _______ (insert charity here).

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  9. Training now for my first half with Team in Training and so far so good. I am holding a virtual 5k to help raise money.
    I am volunteering for the first time this year and can't wait. It will be for a half ironman.
    My kids like to run with me, but they are still young and it is more for fun.
    Happy Mother's Day!

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  10. I just started running races with my kids. It is so much fun!!! I just did a 5K with my daughter and I laughed the entire time. It was worth the 51 minutes it took to run 3.1 miles ;). Volunteering for a marathon is on my bucket list for this year!

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  11. Tire me no way you inspire me. I am doing my second team in training event the first 1/2 I walked and did in 3,5 hours this one I am walk running and on track for less then 3 hours. At 46 and never been a runner I can't believe I have done this. Thank you for inspiring me.

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  12. I just finished my first event with Team in Training. It was amazing, the amount of support and encouragement that was thrown at me along the course. I swear I didn't realize how close to crashing I was, because nearly every other biker, runner, volunteer was shouting "Go Team!" I actually thought I was running the 10K at the end of the triathlon. My time tells a very different story (my body could write a book about it). I must still be delirious, because I've already signed up up for another TNT event.

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  13. We started our Mother's Day tradition 2 years ago...running around Lake Harriet in Mpls...about a 5K distance. Kids kind of dread it but I am hoping they will look back on it as a fun memory of ME! ;-)

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  14. I've done two races with my five year old daughter and she loves it. We did a 1/2 mile fun run and she walked a 5k last weekend while I ran the 10k. All these races benefit local schools. I am so excited to see her excited about being active. We're already making plans for the next race. I'm planning on volunteering at our local triathalon (the Spudman) this year. I've always wanted to be involved in that race so I can have an idea of how it works before I sign up to do the race itself.

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  15. I love seeing the photos of kids and racing their little hearts out! My daughter just did her first race today at age 6! The Indy 500 Rookie Run, part of the Mini half marathon festival I did last weekend. She was about #5 out of 25 kids and we were just amazed. She took it so serious and gave it her all :-) And frankly, I love seeing "old" runners too. Gives me hope we can all keep this going for MANY years.

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  16. I came to your blog because tomorrow I'm going for my first run to re-start my running "career," if it can be called that. There's almost always some kind of inspiration here, and this post was just what I needed to read. Tell Emma to give me a shout out if she's in GA tomorrow and sees me (I'm 31 - ancient!)

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  17. Great article. Thank you for stating, "If you are patient and train carefully and consistently, you can reach whatever goal you set your mind to. The key is to not compare yourself to others. You will never be the fastest out there, but you will likely not be the slowest either. Believe in yourself and you can do amazing things." I need to keep reminding myself this. Part of me wants to not worry about hitting a PR each race, but rather enjoy it and stay within a realistic timeframe. If it can't be the fastest, I might as well enjoy being in the middle of the pack and slowly increase my mileage. "Do not compare yourself to others" should be written on the back of everyone's running shirts for others to read as a reminder.

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  18. AWESOME! Runners are cool people. It's so exciting working at a running store and getting new people excited to run. And them have them come back to tell me about their race, or a great run they had. I think we all help inspire each other!

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  19. I am a lowly 5K runner and today marks one year since my first race (Race for the Cure - Mother's Day 2011). I ran the same race again (I'm waiting for official times but I think I took over 2 minutes off! Not too shabby for a now-40-year-old!). My kids (3, 5, 7 and 9) all go to watch and my boys insisted that they want to run it next year. I'm so excited to do that!!! I can't wait! We may do the 5K for their school in the fall together (which, for me, is the reason I started running).

    As far as Emma's quote, there was a woman in front of me today with a funky hat, super cool shoes, gray hair and a survivor tee. She got more encouragement - and DESERVED more encouragement - than anyone else I saw!

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  20. Running the fun runs together with family is way fun. Yesterday my 2 boys joined the Happy Smakah fun with me. But I don't think we've ever run 'together'. Yesterday one blew me off with a 21 min finish, and the other did that run/walk thing -- lazy 14 yr old. Then we met at the end and enjoyed breakfast. We have fun doing bike rides together too...they are a lot longer but everyone can ride at their own pace but we always seem to meet up at the lunch spot and of course at the end.

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  21. Great post. I completely agree that the running community is just that - a community! I have never been so inspired before I started running & seeing the amazing efforts of runners - from personal motivations to engaging with the community. Keep it up runners!!

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  22. Emma is such a great person!! You're doing a great job as Super Mom! And yes, the running community is amazing! Such a supportive community, no matter where you go!

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  23. I feel the same as Emma - I want to cheer everyone on, especially if they look like they're struggling. The running commmunity is awesome and so is Emma!

    My husband has volunteered directing traffic 2 years now for a cold December 1/2 marathon. This year I went too and cheered while he did traffic duty. I was the only frozen nut in sight woo-hoo'ing everyone : )

    I've run 2 1/2 marathons with my 16 year old daughter. Those memories will last a lifetime!! I don't think she'll go again but that's what I thought after the 1st one too. My goal is to get my 18 year old(overweight) son to run a race with me.

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  24. He drives a stick shift. I don't know if you meant to be funny or not but I'm laughing. And if he really does drive one: GO MR. CRIBBY!!!!! That is awesome.

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  25. I haven't volunteered for a running event yet, but just may do so at the upcoming Minneapolis Marathon. I know it's something I definitely need to do at least once a year to give back.

    As for running with the kids, it's a MUST! My 8 year old future stepson wants to become a runner. He's done two races and wants to start training for a 5k with me!

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