This past December I ran my first Half Marathon for the 2019 St. Jude Marathon Weekend —successfully running further than I’ve ever ran before. With the help of some amazing friends, co-workers, and family — I also raised $1,500 for the children’s hospital. After combining that with the other Shaw Floors runners, we were able to raise a stunning $169,567! This made our company the Top Corporate Fundraising Team for 2019. I couldn’t be prouder.
Below you can read about my experiences preparing for this race, the reason for running, how race day turned out, and finally a “thank you” built around a super hero reference (you know how I do).
Preparing For Success
Prior to December, the longest race I had done was a 10K. You see, the races always double in length: 5K (3.1 miles), 10K (6.21 miles), Half Marathon (13.1 miles), and Full Marathon (26.22 miles). Since I selected a Half Marathon, I had to double my training from last year!
I quickly found that running such distances had a negative impact on my feet. If I did not change something, my feet would not be able to survive the full 13.1 miles on race day. Therefore, after some great advice, I purchased running shoes and running socks. The difference was instantaneous. The socks in particular were thin, yet built to pad the spots of one’s feet that get worn the fastest. Now I could train multiple back-to-back days.
I tried to run at least a 5K to 10K several days a week, with a single day where I ran as far as I could. These long distance runs were always the most time consuming. While I ran some fairly far distances, I did not run a full Half Marathon until race day. That may or may not have been wise.
The Reason We Run
When I arrived for my race registration, I was blown away by the atmosphere St. Jude had created. As we entered, I again saw the ABCs of Cancer (something I shared last year where the patients would write about their experience using the alphabet). There were many powerful words of faith written by these children — mature beyond their years.
Throughout the building hung vertical banners, paired in groups of two. The first of each pair featured a child, clearly during the time he or she was being treated for cancer. They were typically young and with little to no hair. The second banner showed the same child, several years older and healthy — the goal of St. Jude.
One of my favorite parts of registration space showcased the t-shirts of the various running teams. These were custom-made designs by families and friends as they rallied around a cancer fighter or remembered one who passed away. The t-shirts hung in full view, surrounding a display where we could look up individual designs and read each child’s personal story. Some stories had happy endings… and some did not. All told stories of families moving forward and working to make the world a better place — without cancer.
I saw (a) a little elephant lifting a heart with its trunk, titled “Elliephants,” (b) a whale called “Jonah’s Pod” with inspirational (and relevant) scripture, (c) a colorful leaping unicorn, pyramid, and guitar combo for #teamlilymephis, (d) four dogs, each with their own name for the “Zach Pack,” and (e) a fun cartoony parody “Brady Bunch” shirt — supporting someone who I assume shares the name of Brady.
Race Day
So many people of so many different walks of life gathered on race day. Sometimes you saw family members pushing a cancer fighting child in a stroller, or a friend running in honor of a long gone friend. Even better, sometimes you saw a former patient now running.
Gold armbands were worn by patients and immediate family members honoring a patient. Purple armbands were worn by immediate family members honoring the memory of their St. Jude patient.
The first few miles of the race were among the hardest for me. My mind was fixed on the huge Half Marathon ahead of me. But once I got in the groove, running became easier. I had a playlist jamming — giving me the fast rhythm I needed — but often times I paused the music and simply observed the world around me. There were so many people lined around the path to cheer us on. Whenever I started slowing down, I’d see a funny sign or a hand sticking out. I’d run faster and return the high-five.
As we ran, 5K eventually split away and then even 10K. Finally we got to the point where the Half Marathon and Marathon divided. While we — the 13.1 mile runners — were almost done, other people were not even halfway finished! I could not imagine running 26.22 miles straight. I crossed the finish line with a time of 2:36:10.
Worthy
I want to thank everyone who helped donate towards my St. Jude fundraising goal. Special shoutouts to those of you who donated both last year and this year. I love and appreciate you. Asking for donations has always been a fearful concept to me, but the cause of St. Jude continues to be worthy.
Speaking of worthy: Whenever I think of this word, I think about the inscription written on Thor’s Hammer (you may be familiar with the Marvel character played by Chris Hemsworth). The inscription says, “Whosoever holds this hammer, if they be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” To me, you donors are the real super heroes.
Thank you for being worthy and answering the call, time and time again!
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