Paying it forward....

Well, I finished my 3rd 1/2 marathon for the year a couple weeks ago - which means I raced 1 marathon, 3 1/2s and a 10k, a total of 71.5 something race miles with an unknown amount of miles on the pavement during training in between - rain, snow, heat, you name it. You might of found me on a treadmill less than 1/2 a dozen times in the last 17 months of training. No hamster wheels! My next adventure - is taking something that I have established a love-hate relationship with and helping others establish their own and achieve something that they probably thought not possible - finishing a marathon. I'm going to coach w/ a local program - Miles that Matter. Training will start in January for the Flying Pig. If you simply have never experienced The Pig - at least go watch. It's actually been named one of the top 10 marathons in the US - absolutely fun and while we can't necessarily be proud of our Bengals or Reds - the Flying Pig can be a claim to fame for sure. It's funny, people come to running for so many different reasons and usually the least of these is to get in shape. I've heard so many stories of people that come to that first training day broken and beat up from life and somehow hope, a renewed confidence, and belief in themselves in unveiled. People can find this in many ways - running isn't just it - but it's an avenue. I believe God uses many avenues. I feel blessed that God led me down this avenue and I hope I can be a conduit in some small way for others.