When I was coming in to work today I got to talking to a co-worker who I have not seen in a while.  She asked me what I have been up to and asked me how I have been.  I told her that I got accepted to the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge and that I am running in four half marathons this year (Applecrest Half Marathon in September, the Hartford Half Marathon in October, the Chilly Half Marathon in November, and the OUC Half Marathon in December). She said congratulations and asked me when I started running and I told her that I started running in High School as a sprinter in Track and Field ten years ago.  Afterwards, I explained to her more in detail about the application process for the Dana-Farber team and I told her that the Boston Marathon is being more selective this year because of last year’s events.  Once I told her all of this, she said to me that I am an inspiration to her; and that she never knew anyone who runs other than a couple of her friends who are triathletes.  She told me that I have now motivated her to get in shape.  She mentioned that last year, she had a foot issue and has not been able to be as active as she would like to be but now since she talked to me, she wants to get back into shape and become more active.

I never realized until now, since joining this team that I will have an effect one way or another on a person’s life. Having realized this, it will only encourage me to work and push harder during my marathon training. I will end this blog post with a quote:

“There will be days when I don’t know if I can run a marathon. There will be a lifetime knowing that I have.” – Unknown