On Sunday, my hubby and I volunteered at the Rock n' Roll Marathon in San Diego. My best friend is a doctor and she has her own medical tent that she needed assistance with.
Anyways, for those that don't run marathons (like me, I can hardly jog), a marathon is 26.2 MILES!! CRAZY HUH?! I am afraid of blood and most medical needs plus I am the least bit athletic so the whole day and event was not appealing to me but I was there to support Julie.
The Rock n' Roll Marathon is cool because it starts in a very well known spot in San Diego, the Prado / Balboa Park and ends at MCRD, the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (one of my favorite places to check out new recruits -- makes me cry every time! note, my hubby is a Marine) and there are bands set up every few miles that are playing to motivate the runners. At the end of the event, there is a huge concert at our local Stadium. I'd highly recommend this marathon, great weather, great scenery (bay, ocean), bands, and marines all around!
Close to 18,000 ran the race. It was a qualifier for the Olympics and other marathons as well as a fundraiser for Leukemia.So there we were, at the crack of dawn. Sleepy but ready to go. We could see the runners as we drove up to the race (they started a few hours before we got there). No one was finishing yet so we wandered around the finishline and checked it out (remember this is my first marathon). At around the 2 hour 15 minute mark, runners were coming in. Of course like the first 10 were like from Kenya, and Ethiopia, they are like cheetahs HARDLY breaking a sweat, coming in cool and calm! We did the calculation, it is like 5 minutes and some seconds PER MILE! WOW! I can't even walk to my mailbox that fast!
Then my jaws dropped and my eyes teared up when I saw 3 men in wheelchairs come in! They came in around the SAME TIME! I think they were the first Americans! Yippee! But it was amazing to see these men who were obviously paralized from the waist down come in just as fast as people who had full use of their legs.
If you've never seen them, they almost look like they are leaning forward (if there was an imaginary table they are leaning on) and their legs are squished and tucked tightly underneath them.
Anyways, it brought tears to my eyes to see and realize what things are POSSIBLE if you believe and WORK at them. I was humbled to see that they never gave up on a dream and not just that, they were the fastest Americans to cross the finish line. That is huge! (don't get me wrong, I don't care how long it took anyone, they all accomplished more than I could have, I could never do 26.2 miles). I was so proud of them and their efforts and devotion -- and STRENGTH both inner and physical! They set records in so many ways. Like I said, it left me humbled but happy in my heart to see that "ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE"
I'm Proud to share that this event raised over $12.5 Mil for Leukemia and Lymphoma! YAY!
I worked humbly our medical tent, helping all the runners that were suffering at the end. I was the Tylenol girl and assisted with the dehydrated and naucious people, plus whatever else I could do that didn't involve blood, blisters, or people that were crying (it made me cry!) It was a moving and inspiring day. I met so many awesome runners. young and OLD!
I hope this will inspire all who don't think they can do something...
You can, devote yourself and you will accomplish it!
OOrah (as the Marines would say) for everyone that ran! And for raising the funds for such an important cause!
Congratulations to all! And thank you for reminding me what dedication is all about!
http://www.rnrmarathon.com/home.html
(sorry this was long)
