Completed My First Marathon…
Today was a pretty big day for me. I completed my first ever marathon. It was a tough day, with the down pouring rain, wind gusts of 20 some miles per hour, and getting cramps in my legs that slowed me down, I ended the race pretty discouraged. Not to mention I ended up having to be taken to the medic tent after crossing the finish line, which was something my running partner and I had talked about not wanting to have happen to us. Let’s just say it was a pretty humbling experience.
I’m so thankful for all of the encouragement from the many Hope Water International runners the kept encouraging me on the way to the finish line. I especially appreciate Ron Bussa and Nick Jenison stopping to walk with me, checking to make sure I was doing OK, and giving me encouragement to finish. I knew I wasn’t going to give up, I was going to cross that finish line one way or the other. I did get myself to run the last couple of blocks to cross the finish line.
Why did I run today? It was about more than myself or any personal goals I had. It was about taking part in a community effort to change lives, no save lives, half way across the globe. I was so happy to have hit my goal of $1000 raised to bring clean water to the people of Sierra Leone Africa. With the money the team raised, and the matching donations, we will be bring around 15 wells to Sierra Leone. That means changing the lives of more than 1000 people in Sierra Leone. I am blessed to be a part of that. Even if I were to never run another marathon doing this one, no matter how tough, was worth every minute of it. I’ve also been able to be a part of an amazing community of runners and walkers that have the same passion.
Make every mile matter…live in the moment – Bill Clark
