Although I completed that marathon, it came with a price. I found out one of my feet is slightly larger than the other. That might not be a problem walking around doing normal day-to-day activities—but when you’re running that far, eventually, it becomes a problem.
Eventually it becomes a problem and it did and for that reason, I was forced to step away for a little while—but this weekend, I returned and oh how I’ve looked forward to it. The people, the organizers, the family members cheering their family and you on…the energy; yeah, I’ve missed that part of my life.
After what seemed like an eternity, we got the call to line up. Boom, the gun went off and so did we! In the beginning, there’s always a huge cluster of runners seemingly stuck together, moving as one. As the race matures, that cluster of runners becomes a series of smaller groups or individuals as we all settle into our race.
I settled into mine and began cruising along. 1 mile down, 2 miles down, 3 miles down—hey I still got it. 4 miles…I’m getting tired, down, 5 miles—maybe I should walk the rest of the way, down. Somewhere during that 5th mile, I blocked out all the voices in my head telling me to stop and walk, gutted it out and finished.
I crossed the finish line, grabbed my medal and a bottle of water, high-fived everyone in sight and headed to my car.
As I was walking, a man’s voice started to shout, “Sir…. sir…. sir” …
No way he’s talking to me, so I just kept moving…but the voice came nearer and nearer until finally, there was a tap on my shoulder. I turned and there in front of me stood a person who up until that point, I’d never seen.
He extended his hand and said, “Thank you”. I was confused but before I could ask what he was thanking me for, he told me all race long, he purposely ran behind me. He said he knew I was going to finish and if he could just stay close to me, he would too.
We laughed for a few minutes before congratulating each other one last time and heading out. As he backed up, he smiled broadly, pointed and said, “You were my pacesetter man”!
I had no idea.
***
You’re running a race each day you walk out of your door. Each time you step foot into your office, their office, the mall, the store or wherever your daily takes you. But while you think you’re just doing you—someone is watching. Yes, they’re watching, on purpose, thinking that if they can just run behind you—they’ll finish. Finishing might be becoming a better parent, a better friend, co-worker or any number of things.
They’re thinking if I can just stay close because they know you’re going places…in life, making the right choices, doing the right things, placing others before you, living with honor and integrity.
This week, when you think about quitting, when things get hard or those voices in your head tell you to stop, keep running…you may not know it…
