And Then There Was One

I started wogging races in 2000. It started because I was walking in an effort to lose weight, and somehow came up with the idea to do a marathon. I searched and found the Air Force Marathon at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio. This marathon appealed to me because (1) it was far enough away so that nobody I knew would know about it or see me in it, and (2) it had an 8-hour time limit.

When I first told my family about my plan, they looked at me as if I had told them I was going in for a sex-change operation and changing my name to Larry. I'm not sure if they knew what a marathon was, but they certainly knew me, and somehow me and 26.2 miles just didn't seem to go together. Nevertheless, I trained and that September, Sam went with me as I set out to do my first marathon. I managed to finish and receive my medal. It was a totally awesome event.

Since then I've completed 125 races of varying distances from 2 miles to 26.2. My pace has always been pretty slow, but I've managed to finish each race. Along the way I've collected a pretty cool set of medals and displayed them on my wall. Recently it was time to add some new ones to the wall, and I was mulling over different ideas of how I was going to do that.

Before I came to a decision, I came across a post on a running forum where a runner brought up a organization called Medals4Mettle. To quote the website,

Medals4Mettle (M4M) is a non-profit organization that facilitates the gifting of marathon, half marathon, and triathlon finishers’ medals. Runners from around the world give their hard earned medals to Medals4Mettle. Our worldwide network of physicians and volunteers then awards these medals attached to a Medals4Mettle ribbon to children and adults fighting debilitating illnesses who might not be able to run a race, but are in a race of their own just to continue to live their life. It is in honor of this mettle and courage in bravely facing these challenges that they are awarded a medal.

All of a sudden, I knew what I wanted to do with my medals - I wanted to donate them. But did I want to donate them all? I have several that are unique and special. In the end, I decided to keep one and mailed 91 medals to the local branch, hoping they will bring a smile and encouragement to someone who needs it.

Do I think everyone should do this? Certainly not - every medal earned is an accomplishment and a reminder of achieving a personal goal. Just looking at a medal reminds us of how hard it was to get to that finish line, and all those memories of getting there. Sometimes I think we should wear them over and over, just so we can be congratulated on what we did. But for now, for me, it was time to send my medals forward.

And which medal did I keep? The first one, because it represents something nobody thought I could do, but I did. It represents a personal goal that I worked for and the beginning of shared family experiences. It reminds me of Sam's support and his belief in me during that first marathon. It encourages me to get back to what I know to do and keep at it.

Sure, in some way I miss those medals. But at the end of the day, I know what they meant. And if somehow those medals can now mean something to someone who is battling to win the race for his or her life, then that medal had found true meaning - because it has found its way to a true champion.

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Today's blessings: U-Haul dude; seeing Sam's office; hauling yard sale stuff and setting up with Molly and Karen