Not Alone

It’s amazing; I actually woke up in time to run the Celebration of Running 5K on Sunday. I know it’s hard to believe. But I’m glad I did, it was a perfect day for it. It was almost cool (for FL this time of year anyway), and hardly humid at all. There were about 1,650 of us running/walking in this event, but it was two people at the end of the race that made a difference to me.

Most of the time I try to encourage co-workers and friends to walk or run these 5K’s with me. It’s more fun to see familiar faces along the way. So after I finished the 3 mile jaunt, I sat near the finish line to see if the regulars from my office actually made it out. I never saw anyone from work but it was at about the 55 min. mark when two people came trotting around the last corner. It was a young boy, maybe ten years old or so, and what looked like his mom. They were both tired but as the mom ran up behind her son she encouraged him by saying ‘almost done, we’ll finish together.’ He smiled as she took his hand and they ran the last few hundred yards side by side.

I don’t know why that made such a difference to me, but it did. Maybe it’s because I watched one too many Nooma videos Friday night or maybe it’s because I understand how it feels to be where that boy was. It seems like a long, hot race, so many people have finished ahead of you; you’re tired and sore and just want to be done. Then you are encouraged by someone near you and you realize you’re not alone.

It reminded me of the Christian song that has a bridge with these words: ‘and even though I feel so lonely, like I have never been before, You never said it would be easy, You only said I’d never go alone.’

It’s nice to feel inspired and encouraged every now and then. It allows you to have a reference to come back to when everything else is crappy.

That’s all I really have to say about that.