What a road we just traveled on October 12th
starting at 6am in Cassoday, Kansas. Our
yellow brick road to Oz was a little different than the one in the movie. It was extremely rocky, rather hilly, hot and
generally no shade; but, the finish line was far greater than I ever dreamed.
100 miles is the hardest physical and mental challenge I
have ever accomplished. Going into a
race of 100 miles, I tried to do as much mental preparation and physical
training as my schedule would allow. I
trained for over a year. I had a coach and
a training plan to ensure I was on track with mileage, nutrition, etc. I also did yoga, meditated, prayed and read
positive books to ensure I was filling my brain with the right nutrition. And throughout the year long preparation, I had
a purpose. I was raising money for the
Family Scholar House, a 501C3 organization that changes the cycle of poverty
through education.
But, 100 miles tests you like no other. No matter how much preparation you do, you will
be tested.
It was an amazing journey filled with smiles, sunrises,
sunsets, laughs, tears (just a few), determination, teamwork and
persistence. I learned so much about
myself, life and the power of the human spirit.
I had a heart, courage and brain going into the race but I
was tested. Along my 30 hour journey to
Oz, thankfully the entire infamous cast of characters of “The Wizard of Oz” presented
themselves at just the right moments to help me through to the finish line.
The Tin Man, a fellow racer and friend, paid me a visit the
night before the race, reminding me about the importance of pacing yourself,
especially in the beginning, to ensure you had enough energy to endure the miles
and struggles. He kept me on pace for
the first 40 miles of the race. I was
already aware of the “pacing yourself” concept; but, I think it took God
sending a person to me to make sure I stuck to this because I am notorious for
going out of the gate to fast.
All of my crew members at some time or another over the 30
hours were my Lion, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Good Witch. My crew was the TinMan (brain) for me at many
times, reminding me to eat and drink in the wee hours of the night when
delirium had set in, making sure I had the right clothes on and keeping me on pace.
And oh my, did I have a crew of Scarecrows with hearts. They had heart and brought out the best heart
in me. They wanted me to finish so bad I
could feel it. I was witnessing them
giving everything of themselves to help me finish. The love I felt from them was immeasurable. To witness one crew member, Ann, keep going
when she was hurt herself was beyond having a heart. She was the one taking the majority of the
miles with me and really taking it for the team. She gave everything she had out on that
course; determination, heart, food, music, laughs, light, even the shirt off
her back. In them giving me their
hearts, I discovered more of my own.
And my momma was certainly my heart. She came in and paced me for 8 miles in the
middle of the night. We prayed the rosary during our time together. It was really special to share that time with
her. Although my Mom pulls courage out
in me, in that moment, she represented the scarecrow (love) so much to me, that
I said I really needed the other crew members to pace me in the rest of the way
because when I saw my momma I just wanted to cuddle up in her arms and let her
hold me and cry. Have you ever felt that
way? I am a grown woman but that is how
much I was hurting at that point. So, I
knew I had to turn to Ann and my Sister for the remaining miles and let my mom
comfort me after the raceJ
The good witches came to find me all along the way…they were
of course my crew, the friendly people at the aid stations, my fellow racers,
even crews from other racers (Gary and JohnJ).
The wicked witch certainly tried to creep in at times. Your mind will play tricks on you when you
are in such pain and faced with such challenges. But, I had to stay strong. My body hurt; but, I had to remind myself
that my mind is stronger than my body and I can do this. I reminded myself why I was there in the
first place (The Family Scholar House. We
raised over $11,000 for them but I also wanted to show the people of Family
Scholar House that anything is possible with a goal, a plan and lots and lots
of hard work. I also wanted to show my
children that anything is possible. I wanted to finish what I started a year
ago.) and visualized myself running through the finish line. Through my positive mental talks and of
course, the help from my crew…we silenced that wicked witch and charged on.
Toward the end, we had a car pull up to us who told us he
was the “sweeper”. This meant I was the
last person left on the course. This
could have been viewed as a wicked witch and a bit demoralizing; but, we chose
to let it motivate us.
So, that leads me to
the Lion. Every crew member was a Lion
for me, helping me to draw out my courage.
When I broke my toe at mile 91, I was in excruciating pain. In fact, this is the one time I cried. And I rarely cry. I cried because the pain was so excruciating
and I also cried because I had come so far. I had already traveled 91 miles. I
just had 9 more miles to go. I did not want to stop now. I did not want it to
be over. I wanted to reach my goal.
I had to take my shoe off due to the pain. I tried to put it back on but my toe hurt too
bad to walk on it in the shoe. I just
thought if I could hobble on my heel but my feet were so swollen and blistered
from being running/walking on them for 27+ hours at this point that I could not
walk on the rocks without a shoe and there was no grass to walk on. So, we had to think fast. Well, Ann thought fast. Ann took off her shirt and used the
sweatshirt around her waist and wrapped up my foot. This protected the bottom of my foot to allow
me to be able to hobble along on the rocks.
We kept praying and in about an hour, I was able to put my shoe back
on. Painful, but it was on.
And then came the ROARING LION at mile 96, my sister. I have never seen this side of her. In fact, at times when she was yelling at me,
I almost laughed inside of myself as she was yelling at me because it was so
not her. She was not going to let this
goal slip away from me. She was yelling
at me and saying everything under the sun to get me to run and run faster. Well it worked. She somehow got me to shave 16 minutes off of
my current pace (for 4 miles) and got me to the finish line at 12:04pm on
Sunday October 13th. Yes, 30 hours of
work on that yellow brick rocky road. The “sweeper” was even behind us for the last
3 miles watching us. We learned after
the race that he was calling in to the race director saying, “You won’t believe
this! They are running! They are running!”
He watched us in amazement as my sister helped me to get up to a decent
pace and make it in to the finish line.
Yes, last person to FINISH the Heartland 100. The proudest I have ever been of last place
in my life. I could have bailed out at
so many points during the race. In fact,
there were many other people who started the race that did not finish. But, not me.
Last place or not, I finished. I was not racing against anyone
else. A race of that magnitude, I was my
only competition. My heart actually
hurt for my fellow racers who did not make it to the last aid station at the
cut-off time and were pulled from the course. I finished one of the biggest
accomplishments of my life and certainly the hardest mental and physical task I
have ever completed.
It reminds me of one of
my favorite quotes from Nelson Mandela, “I learned that courage was not the
absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not
feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
Without facing challenges
and facing fears, we are not growing. To
Live, to TRULY LIVE… is to GROW. Through
such a journey to Oz, traveling from light to darkness to light again, I learned
about myself and about the good of humanity. I walked away from the
race, knowing we need people in life. And
it’s okay to need people.
God put us on this earth to do good and help others. He gave us each other for a reason. We are here for one another. We do not need to go at life alone.
As the good witch once said, “You have always had the power
my dear. You have had it all along.”
We’ve all got the power within us to achieve. Life is about giving and receiving. Use your gifts to help others. Give a smile, knowledge, a helping hand. And if you need help, seek a mentor and be
OPEN to those around you.
There’s no place like home.
Home in my books is where you are in the moment. You are where you are supposed to be and that
includes the goods and the bads; the storms and all of the “somewhere over the
rainbows” moments. Thankfully, there are
lots and lots of people to be on this magical journey with us.
Thanks to all of you
who helped me reach this amazing goal. Yes,
I had the power all along; but, thank you to each of you who helped bring out
the best in me to get to the finish line and help me through life.
xxoo
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