Thursday, April 17, 2014

A Special Race - Suzi


This past week has been very light on the running, but very heavy on emotions. As each day passes and the Marathon gets closer and closer, I feel more and more excited, and just a little bit anxious about the long road ahead. Despite my anxiety this week, I have received so much kindness and support it’s blown me away. My fiancĂ© surprised me with a large sign of the 118Th Boston Marathon with “Good luck Suzi” written on the top, and “Boston Strong” on the bottom. There is the official Boston Marathon logo on the lower right hand corner and is now filled with signatures and words of encouragement from members and friends at our Crossfit gym. I haven’t gotten to read all of the signatures yet, but I am already so touched by the thoughtfulness of everyone who took the time to write something to me.  I also received a gift from a friend to spend two nights in Boston, Sunday and Monday night, so all I have to worry about is running. The NICEST and most thoughtful gift someone has ever given me.  I also received an email this week from a friend who has run the Boston Marathon in the past and wanted to share some tips for the run. She reminded me to enjoy the whole experience from the expo to the finish line. Her words reminded me how very special this year’s Marathon is to so many in our community. It’s not just another race; it’s a chance to finish what was started last year, and a chance to show that we will come back stronger than ever after last year’s horrible tragedy. I was brought to tears by her words because throughout my training, these were the things that motivated me, that got me out of bed. I constantly reminded myself how LUCKY I am to be ABLE to run, to have the opportunity to be a part of this race. It’s not about the running, but about the spirit of the runners and the community behind them. Everyone knows what happened last year. Everyone was affected or touched in their own way. Her letter brought the things I’ve been thinking about to life. It became real. It wasn’t just something in my head anymore. It is real, and to know that someone feels the same way about this race as I do was so comforting and inspiring at the same time. The spirit of runners is not easily broken, as we choose to endure these long 26.2 miles, the countless hours of training, the cold early morning runs, the snowy runs, all in the hope of making it just a little less painful to cross that finish line on Patriots’ Day. Since my training began after New Year’s, I’ve known how special this race is. This week I’ve FELT how special this race is.  

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