Dream Big

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What a crazy, busy, amazing month it has been! Since my last update, I have seen one project completed and begun another, plus I’ve hit double-digits in my long training runs for the NYC Marathon.

First, there was the Mud Run. 19 wonderful women started their training for the race back in June, and on August 7, we donned our red Run Like a Mother shirts and hit the sand for the 10th Annual ASYMCA Mud Run. Anyone who has run that race would agree that SAND Run would be a more apt name. For most of the 4.97 miles, we trudged through deep, soft sand and rolling dunes, but some of the course had us traversing packed, wooded trails; wading through waist-deep creeks and knee-deep trenches; and wallowing in thick, chunky mud. It may not sound like an ideal way to spend a Saturday morning for some, but for us it was the perfect way to end our 8 weeks of training.

After a quick dip in the bay, we gathered on the sand with our post-race beverages in hand and celebrated our collective accomplishment. It was a TOUGH race, but we all finished strong, and most of us crazy mommas are looking forward to doing it again next year. And the best part is that these lovely ladies helped me raise $135 for Charley’s Fund, and Team Run Like a Mother should be starting our second official training season very soon!

My next major fundraising project is a stroller-friendly 5K to benefit Charley’s Fund, which will take place in April or May of 2011 in Virginia Beach. Stay tuned here for more information as the plans come together. I’ve taken the first few steps toward getting the race going this past week, and our race committee is being formed and will have our first meeting in the next few weeks. Race directing is a HUGE job, as I’ve learned through researching what goes into a successful road race, but I am confident that I can put together a great group of people who can help me make the race a success. I can’t wait to see how much money we can raise for this worthy cause.

Finally, I hit a milestone in my NYC Marathon training yesterday. For the first time since April of 2009 (just weeks before becoming pregnant with Roan), I ran a double-digit long run! Yesterday morning I hit the trails with a couple of my Run Like a Mother teammates and ran 11 miles. I’m on track for NYC, which is just 84 days away, and I am actually kind of looking forward to next week’s 12-miler.

After my meeting this week with the local race directors who will be doing our 5K timing services, I felt both excited and overwhelmed by the task in front of me. I admit I questioned whether I could really handle all it would take to put on an event like this. But as I drove home from my 11-mile training run yesterday, I pulled up behind a car with DRM BIG on its license plate. It was one of those signs I couldn’t possibly ignore. If you dream big, you can achieve great things.

As the Charley’s Fund motto states: I believe. I can run 26.2. I can organize a 5K. I can raise $50,000 for Charley’s Fund in the next 17 years. And Charley’s Fund can help find a cure for DMD in Owen and Charley’s lifetimes. I dream big, and I believe the seemingly impossible is possible. I hope you do too.

(Photos by Raymond Gwin and Kyle Bloom)

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