Who inspires you?

A few years ago  I was visiting my friend who lives in Boston.  It happened to be when the Boston Marathon was being run and as luck would have it, she lived just a few blocks from part of the course.  We went to watch for a while and I happened to see Dick and Rick Hoyt run by.  I had heard of them before because they are well known in running and triathlon circles. They are a father and son team, dad Dick pushes Rick in his wheelchair when they race.  Not only do they finish marathons and Ironman triathlons but they sport pretty good times as well!  If you are not familiar with their story, go read it, it will most certainly inspire you on your next run.

Often though you don’t have to look far to find inspiration all around you.  This morning on my run I saw a mom pushing a triple jogger with triplets.  And she was running!  I know how tough it is to get one kid wrangled into a jogging stroller and push that thing so this was one amazing mom.  There’s plenty of inspiration all around me, my mom who has rheumatoid arthritis and had rotator cuff surgery is running again and ran almost every day last week.  My little brother stopped smoking (YIPPEEE) and stopped eating meat and started running and has lost over 20 pounds.  My friend Sandy is training for her first half marathon and building her mileage.  Each one of them is doing something that is challenging them and that’s one of the really cool things about running.  Even if you don’t race you can challenge and push yourself just by running faster or farther.  You’ll not only be doing something good for your body but you’ll be learning a lot about yourself.  Whether your run is easy or tough, either way you get a daily affirmation that you are strong and who doesn’t need that?

Here’s one of my favorite songs that inspires me, especially on the rainy days we’ve had this week.